Why Filipinos Are Not Rich

Why Filipinos Are Not Rich

he Street Strategist has arrived at the conclusion that the poor Filipinos are not rich because they do not have money. This is a very simple concept but it takes a genius to appreciate its simplicity. You may notice that I am trying to explain “why Filipinos are not rich” in contrast to “why Filipinos are poor.” Is there a difference? Yes, there is. In asking “Why Filipinos are not rich,” the implication is that the normal state of events should be that Filipinos are rich and we have to explain if ever they are not in the normal state, that is, we have to explain why Filipinos are not rich when supposedly they should be rich. Diminishing circle Anyway, let us proceed. The Street Strategist has arrived at the conclusion that the poor Filipinos are not rich because they do not have money. The Filipinos have no money because the country’s wealth is 235

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Thinking Time: The Misadventures of the Street Strategist Vol. 12

inequitably distributed in favor of a few rich. Wealth is inequitably distributed because the labor sector does not have a bigger share of the wealth. Labor does not have a bigger share because they are mispriced and undervalued. Labor is undervalued because they do not have an equal footing to enter into a fair contract with the rich employers. A hungry stomach does not last one day of bargaining. To gain a stronger footing, the government should step in and prescribe a higher minimum wage. But the government does not want a higher wage because they are afraid the businesses would have lower revenues as a result of higher labor wages. The businesses cannot maintain their revenues in the faces of higher costs because the demand for their goods and services do not increase. The demand for goods and services do not increase because the labor class are not rich, therefore they have lesser disposable money. The people have no money because the wealth is inequitably in the hands of a few rich. Thus, we are locked in an ever...