Saturday, September 15, 2007 Roperos: The rich and the poor By Godofredo M. Roporos Politics Also
APROPOS to the Sandiganbayan’s resolution of the six-year old plunder case against former president Joseph Estrada was the report of the Asian Development Bank that the gap between the rich and the poor in Asia has gravely widened.
It is an eye-opener considering the economic growth experienced by most nations in Asia, the Philippines included, in recent months.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is based in Manila, said that “The disparity between rich and poor has widened acutely” in Asia. Its report suggested “that in most parts of developing Asia, relative inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient—a measurement of the proportionate difference in income between the richest and the poorest individuals in society---has risen.”
Coming as it does when the country’s economic condition is reportedly stabilizing, the ADB revelation is ironic.
Of the 21 countries in Asia that were “surveyed,” so the ADB report said, only six “experienced a narrowing of the gap.” In fact, the same report revealed that “relative inequality had increased more substantially in China than any other Asian country except Nepal.”
And yet, China is perceived to be the fastest growing economic tiger in Asia, the economic engine that is leading the pace of economic growth. ADB said that this “wealth gaps intimate that the poor are still missing out on the Asian region’s” growth.
This means that the “rich are experiencing much greater improvement in their standard of living then the least off.” An ADB economist reportedly commented that “in a region as dynamic and vibrant as developing Asia, low growth in incomes of the poor is reflective of weaknesses in the patterns of growth.”
The ADB thus suggested that a highly positive correlation between wealth inequality, lack of economic opportunities and social unrest and lack of work opportunities for the employable could likely be one cause.
This prevailing condition in Asian countries could be behind the apparent lack of enthusiasm on the part of the masses that used to rally behind the former president at the height of his political power.
The trial of the plunder case uncovered for the masses the fact that Erap had enjoyed material gains through the use of the power of his position. While he mesmerized the masses with his political charisma, he was amassing wealth at their expense, too.
