These times of our discontent

Some of my friends say, write positive things about this administration. Write good things about the President. Okey.


There is such a thing as honesty. When you honestly feel that things are not going the way these should be going, then, you have the responsibility of telling the truth, especially to those who read your blog. A bloggers' responsibility is to his readers and that's undeniable. 


I cannot honestly say that the economy is doing great when I know for a fact that it isn't. This administration says that foreign investors are bullish when in fact, they aren't. Local capitalists, yes, they are making a killing simply because of the inability of government, or let me re-phrase this, government's policy of non-interference in how private businesses conduct their affairs. Government does not realize that its liberal democratic policies are hurting the public. There is such a thing as regulatory powers, which government is supposed to exercise especially in these dire times when local and global economies are experiencing turmoil.


When people are having extremely difficult times coping with a fast constricting economy, crimes go up and the social environment transforms into a dangerous place to live in. Hurting, that is what the public feels right now. 


Consumers are feeling the price crunch and it is too much burden. When times are hard, people tend to save rather than spend their precious pesos and these lead to a depressed retail environment. Just try to go to your favorite grocery and supermarket and you'll realize that half of the people there who go shop buy less and less of the things they need. Clothing stores suffer the most because during these hard times, people prefer to buy food rather than spend their monies going after their favorite dress or shoes. When government do nothing, and let business dictate their own terms, and find it extremely hard to rein them in especially in determination of price, what happens is it leads to the death of small retailers. Small retailers are the first casualties in an economic situation like this, and this bodes ill to those who encourage entrepreneurial pursuits. Aside from seeing the death of small businesses, it also leads to consolidation of medium-sized and big firms. Eventually, in a situation like this, the big firms benefit since they have more capital to sustain themselves while smaller firms find it extremely hard to cope with the times.


And if you look at how things are being managed by the top, you'll find that every single thing is mismanaged. There is no clear policy about anything. When there is fluidity in terms of policy, it bodes ill to those who are dead serious in engaging government from the business standpoint. How will private firms do business with a government who has no clear-cut guidelines? Every single thing is subject to numerous interpretations, based on who you talk to and who you engage yourself with. 


Hence, what can I say except that probably these things are happening because the powers that be want us, ordinary citizens, to just accept our slavery and to lose hope eventually. 


Let me share with one of my most favorite videos. I cry whenever I listen to this. Jessica, really, is all soul.