Is the Filipino that Poor?

[mazdamazda]

Many claim that the Philippines is getting poorer and poorer by the minute. But I beg to disagree.

Judging by the new cars plying on the streets I wouldn't think so. 2.0L compact sedans? V6 mid-size sedans? V8 SUVs? Seems a hard sell a few years ago - yet they are already being offered here. Even our family wouldn't have dreamt of being able to afford a brand-new SUV 5 years ago.

Housing projects are all over the place and condominiums are sprouting like mushrooms. Even our subdivision has seen its share of improvements - whereas less than a decade ago all the houses looked the same (as this was a government housing project), now house renovations & rebuilding are a common sight.

Non-essential amenities are also a given nowadays. Mobile phones, DSL internet, PDAs, Cable TV, Coffee shops, etc.

[the_wildthing]

Maybe the poor are getting poorer is what's meant.

It could be true that the A, B, and C group can afford more luxury than before, but the D and now there's an E, who can't even afford a decent meal.

As to how to alleviate the state of D and E, I have no answer. To fix the problem will take a huge amount of effort from all sides, A, B, C and the government, and even D and E people themselves.

I'm sorry I can't find any better terms for the classes of society. In truth there should be no class system as it is divisive and demeaning. but for purposes of discussion I had to use it.

[skipper]

the_wildthing's right. Only the rich are getting richer. You have only to look at the urban poor and the subsistence farmers to realize the wealth isn't trickling down at all.

[mazdamazda]

Originally posted by the_wildthing
It could be true that the A, B, and C group can afford more luxury than before

exactly my point. am not mentioning that everyone is getting richer, but many people are getting richer. at least the B & C class is already growing. unlike before (as my dad said), there were only two classes of society: rich and poor. the middle class back then was almost minimal.

and also to add, i've read somewhere that Vietnam has already surpassed us economically. sheesh. they should try to visit Vietnam to see the real state of that country.

[doublea]

Financially maybe yes but emotionally no. Try to visit malls almost the whole day are crowded. Iyan ba ang mga walang pera...baka nagpapalamig lang.

[yebo]

the people who say vietnam has surpassed the philippines probably only went to hanoi, ho chi minh and vung tau.

the rest of vietnam is no better than the philippines. probably worse. it's basically a rural, agricultural economy and almost every big business is state owned. in ho chi minh most of the ships berthed at the harbor are russian registry ships - old, ugly, rusted, EMPTY and going nowhere.

[FrankDrebin]

Originally posted by doublea
Financially maybe yes but emotionally no. Try to visit malls almost the whole day are crowded. Iyan ba ang mga walang pera...baka nagpapalamig lang.

Marami nga tao pero napapansin mo ba na may bitbit ba silang plastic/supot? Wala di ba. Mas marami ang nagpapalamig, nagpapalipas ng oras or kakain lang.

Nag-hihirap ang Pinas mga repapips. Siguro hindi niyo lang napapansin kasi medyo malaki ang kita ninyo at nakatira kayo sa magandang lugar.

Pansinin niyo na lang na maraming puwesto/small business establishments ang nagsasara. Maraming vacant na commercial places. Try niyo pumunta sa lower middle class places. Mas marami na ang tao dun. Maraming tambay kasi wala makuhang trabaho.

[jim]

Marami kasing elements para ang isang bansa masasabing naghihirap: nandyan ang utang sa world bank, GNP, percentage ng unemployment, percentage ng mahihirap na tao, etc. kaya bansa natin nasa 3rd world classification dahil sa laki ng utang natin sa world bank. haaaaay naghihirap ang pilipinas dahil kagagawan din ng pilipino lalo na ang mga makapangyarihan na tao........................

[mazdamazda]

Originally posted by yebo
the people who say vietnam has surpassed the philippines probably only went to hanoi, ho chi minh and vung tau.

the rest of vietnam is no better than the philippines. probably worse. it's basically a rural, agricultural economy and almost every big business is state owned. in ho chi minh most of the ships berthed at the harbor are russian registry ships - old, ugly, rusted, EMPTY and going nowhere.

even caloocan city is doing better than those cities that you mentioned. plus, the main mode of transportation is either a scooter and a bike!!! where on earth can you see a bikes plying through the middle of a national highway?

[RedHorse]

wag naman sana humantong tayo kagaya ng feature story ng TIME magazine about Japan where people dress up in office attire, leaves the house as if papasok sa office, yun pala sa park lang tatambay, just to maintain the illusion na meron pa silang JOB

[mazdamazda]

Originally posted by RedHorse
wag naman sana humantong tayo kagaya ng feature story ng TIME magazine about Japan where people dress up in office attire, leaves the house as if papasok sa office, yun pala sa park lang tatambay, just to maintain the illusion na meron pa silang JOB

i really am moved by that scenario... parang yung sa movie na "the full monty"

[Monseratto]

Problem dito sa pinas is the poor are getting procreating like rabbits. Too many people with not enough jobs also causes little money to go around. Another thing is we lack capital. Our country cannot draw on foreign investments, reasons that are too much to mention. Not enough investment results in not enough jobs.

[peterock17]

we need to promote birth control. Its just hard in countries that are predominantly catholic.

[revoGSX]

yup, most filipinos are still poor...

meron tayong:
5-6 ng mga pana (10 t0 20% interest rate per month???)

less than 100php cellphone load.. pwede ka pa mag-pass ng 2php na load..

we abuse text messaging too much, mas mura pa nga pag tawagan mo na lang..

nababaon sa utang sa credit card..

try ninyo gamitin ang cellphone ninyo sa quiapo.. wala pang 5secs eh wala na sa kamay mo hehe..

[boybi]

sa totoo lang, the thing that makes investors stay away from the phils, ang hilig mag rally ng mga tao dito, ang hilig mag strike!

[carlocaraddict]

Poor?? Yeh we are poor. Compare mo naman tayo sa ibang countries, sa atin, tingin natin "sosi" na tayo pero kung sa ibang countries yan, common na sa kanila yan. Pero sometimes, I ask that question to my self, poor nga ba tayo?

[jkyamog]

Yes we are poor. Its like for example your neighbor that dresses well, has a great car, nice house, etc. Pero technically he is in debt, running away from creditors, does not have an honest living, etc.

We look rich pero we are deep inside poor. What is visible the first time may not be what is true. I see a lot of place here wherein in the left side of the read, big houses, etc. right side are poor housing, can't even classify it as a house. Its likely that on this stretch of the road, there are 10 rich people in the left side, while the poor people in the right side number in the hundreds. So if you count them as a whole we are poor.

[mbt]

well, if you look around and see evidence of wealth, it could be just an illusion. in this country, image is really important, and perhaps many spend and spend but have little savings, for example... just a possibility

[kiper]

We are poor becauise the Filipinos in general lacks the wealth of Education. Bigyan mo ng P1million bawat Pilipino, walang mangyayari dahil hindi nila alam kung pano gamitin ang pera. So the rich gets richer, the poor gets richer. Isa pa, ang mga mayayaman lang ang nakakautang kasi alam ng creditor gagamitin ang perang inutang para dumami pa ito.

[empy]

may i humbly suggest looking at some key economic indicators?

per-capita GDP
unemployment rate
% of population below poverty line