Year Starter: No New Year

CONSUMERS DEMAND!
Herman Tiu Laurel
1/9-15/2012



This column has no desire to be the Scrooge while it tries to change the calendar pages with jubilation.

But I would be remiss in its duty if I just went along and pretended: Pretended that the holidays have indeed been that merry at all and that the New Year will bring with it change for the better.

The national and global picture does not present a promising New Year, especially in the local scene when it begins with an increase in power and water rates mandated by the “capex” (capital expenditures) of the privatized utilities approved by the regulatory agencies.

We are facing the “end of the remittance-led growth” economy too, exemplified by the “Saudization” in Saudi Arabia of “nitaqat,” as well as economic downturn and crises in many other Middle Eastern countries as well as US and Europe.

This year’s export crisis will continue to the next. A measly 5.2% growth is projected for 2012, barely enough to keep from falling off the economic treadmill.

Hoping things may get better
Let’s stop fooling ourselves hoping that by doing so things may get better.

It doesn’t work that way. It plays into the designs of the exploitative hegemonic foreign interests, the local ruling class and its corrupt system’s cultural distractions to prevent the people from waking up and admit how harsh and miserable their situation is.

Let’s get everyone to look hard at the realities and accept that the New Year can only bring more of the worst of the past, and change our attitude from feigning ignorance of the abuse and exploitation imposed on us in the unnecessary and unjust foreign and local debts on our shoulders and instead to start active resistance against those debts; from acquiescence to the thievery of our public assets through privatization of our basic utilities (including oil), vital public infrastructures (such as toll ways, ports, trains, etc.), and the price/rates gouging to demanding and fighting for re-nationalization and re-regulation of all these prices and rates.

Better life for all
The objective measure for a society, its economy and its social institutions, is its success in giving a better life to all citizens.

In China, Singapore, Argentina, to cite a few, this is clear.

Here, even the Filipino middle class is reeling from the overburdening of power, water, transport and toll fee rates while VAT has been expanded again and again over the past 25 years while a move has been made since the new regime was installed to raise it from 12% to 15.6%.

Meanwhile, the BIR and Customs are continuously being pressed by the IMF and World Bank for greater and greater collection which will redound to higher prices, lower business margins (except for the BIR and Customs cohorts) which will all cause a drag on job generation.

This litany of disastrous economic impositions all the administrations continuing Cory Aquino’s “Yellow” legacy have implemented is endless.

Only Estrada, who was never Yellow, stopped power, water and other rate hikes and cut MRT fares in his short 2½ years.

Low-intensity conflict
While changes of these onerous economic policies are crying out to be done, the BS Aquino III administration is engaged in “low-intensity conflict” with the Supreme Court and preparing for one with China (egged on by the US).

These intend to mask the economic crimes being waged against the Filipino consumer, taxpayer and citizens.

Mainstream media and the two major survey outfits, controlled either by direct relatives of BS Aquino III or by foreign polling networks, support the LIC campaign; echoing the mantra of BS Aquino III’s high ratings despite contrary reality of hardships upon the people.

The survey/media mantra creates the impression of a gospel truth despite the fact that BS Aquino III created enormous crises like the 3.6% collapsed 2011 growth rate.

This management of perception one of the most formidable obstacles to our crusade to enlighten and awaken the people to the basic reality that the Aquino government is aggressively demolishing any economic and social hope for the country.

People first, profits later
Our nation cannot have a future the way things have been run the past 25 years and continuing to this day, under the direction of the global exploiters from the West who have not spared their own people, too, in the US or Europe.

Yet, the prevailing political and financial “leaders” here continue to drag us along the financial and economic paradigms of the West with it globalization, privation, deregulation and liberalization.

The countries succeeding – like China, Argentina, Singapore, et al – have first curtailed debts, then, took the opposite road of the “social market” system.

This, simply meaning “People first, profits later”.

In the old economic jargon it was called “mixed economy,” with a balance of public-national enterprises and private businesses which Marcos was implementing.

They stopped Marcos.

The Core of the New Philippines
If there is to be a New Year ever again, it will over and against the interference, intervention and obstructionism of the Western financial institutions and US political sabotage, they suppress sovereign and independent economic and political leadership.

I have been receiving very encouraging e-mails from readers and it is enlightened and awakened Filipinos such as these who will form the core of the New Philippines in the coming years.

(Tune in to Sulong Pilipino/Radyo OpinYon, Mon. to Fri., 5 to 6 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Saturday, 8.15-9 p.m., replay 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for articles and radio and GNN shows)