Wednesday, April 02, 2008 Editorial: Economic 'trickle down' failure
LATEST survey results that targeted the country’s economy have raised deep concerns among the middle level populace who had all along nourished the thought of enjoying a growing economy. The perception of an upward looking national condition has been perpetuated by the Arroyo government which has been projecting the Philippines as an investment mecca in Asia, that it is “a valued investor’s destination.”
One cannot help but wonder why after all the government media hype that this republic is enjoying a rosy economy, survey results suddenly came out to say that the Philippine economy is in bad shape. While the President is reportedly claiming that the country’s “economy is at its strongest in 30 years, two in three Filipinos (66 percent) say the economy worsened in the last three years…”
The survey had some 1200 respondents from all strata of society. The results indicated the sentiment over the state of the economy “is shared 61 to 74 percent of the people in all geographic locations and socio-economic classes.” Only 10 percent reported that their lives have turned better in the last three years, while 31 percent claim no change at all. In fact, 65 percent feel that life has become worse in the past 12 months.
While the country’s economy may have developed positively over the past few years, as shown by the reported 7.3 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate last year, it did not somehow affirm improvement of the economic well-being of the average countryside inhabitant. The National Statistical Coordinating Board (NSCB) reports that there is a domestic poverty rate increase from 30 to 33 percent.
The current problem of cereal shortage on top of a developing runaway inflation has most probably prodded the average Filipino to think that the nation’s economy is on a free fall. This fall is at a rate the government is trying to cover-up with the façade of a GDP that is true only to the elite of the population. This economic well-being has yet to trickle down to the majority of the people.
This is affirmed in the results of a recent Pulse Asia survey conducted February 21 and March 8 that said “nearly six in 10 Filipinos (59 percent) said their life worsened in the past year.” The report said that some 12.8 million Filipino families claim they are very poor. There is the strong suspicion that the Arroyo government “is not doing enough to spread the benefits to reduce the disparity between the rich and the poor.”
The beneficiaries of the nation’s economic growth are more imaginary than real. With the current shortage of rice and corn, raising the price of the cereals by an average 15 percent per kilo, the reality of their poverty has been sadly brought down to the bamboo doorsteps of the ramshackle homes of our nation’s multi-million poor.
