How to stop or solve the poverty in the Philippines?

[brownprose]

let me ask you. since you are proposing to lower the prices...if you are a businessman, which is easier- to lower prices or increase wages of your employees?

Depends. There are times you need to lower prices in order to compete price-wise and there are times you need to increase wages to keep/retain good workers. There are one thousand and one reasons why you need to do one thing, do the other, or just do both. Meaning you don't arbitrarily decide to lower prices or raise wages in split second. They are decisions that are given serious thought, research and pencil-pushing. In a capitalist regime, wage/price adjustments in a free economy is pushed or pulled by basic supply and demand factors or forces. In fact, we all know from experience how markets respond to price movements be they arbitrary or market-initiated.

Like currencies or commodities, wages too are also ordinarily traded everyday, of course, sans the bourses/stock market because they (wages) are intangible commodities. In fact, hyperwage author himself (Mr. Bentulan) looks at wages as a "currency" and wants to push the idea of wages in exchange for goods and services. But it's there already! It has been long traded ever since capitalism was invented. So, from a businessman's point of view... if you sell me cheap labor, I will buy it; sell me high labor, you don't get the job -- that easy. Unfortunate to some or many, BUT that is a fact of life that hyperwage cannot change.

[al1974]

do you submit to the idea that if we increase wages, productivity will improve? will machination also improve productivity and will lessen manpower needs? will a higher productivity with lesser manpower (with higher wages) lead to higher profit?

[brownprose]

do you submit to the idea that if we increase wages, productivity will improve?

Depends. You might be interested to read some publications about time and motion studies on many labor-intensive jobs. If you like to get some ideas what they are, you may want to visit some Mepz companies in Lapu2x. But let me give you an example -- say in the shoe industry. Studies suggest that an average worker only has the MAXIMUM CAPACITY to produce 18-20 shoes a day. Given, do you think he/she would be extra productive if you give him/her twice his ordinary pay if he goes beyond his production capacity? Remember, humans are not machines that you can reconfigure to produce over and above his energies.

Productivity in other areas of employment works on certain jobs like sales/marketing; special or technical skills that help reduce waste or optimize loads or capacities and etc. Companies are willing to pay extra for these type of "work performances" since they help companies reduce cost or invite business.

will machination also improve productivity and will lessen manpower needs?

Of course. That's why part of the risk of employment is by being substituted for machines. Workers must be prepared to learn new skills that machines cannot replace because market forces will always leverage new technologies to reduce or if not eliminate the need for humans -- another fact of life the world cannot change.

[mo0nstar88]

i think dili na jud ta maluwas ka kalisod.

[ginobretz]

ilisan ang governo

[al1974]

Depends. You might be interested to read some publications about time and motion studies on many labor-intensive jobs. If you like to get some ideas what they are, you may want to visit some Mepz companies in Lapu2x. But let me give you an example -- say in the shoe industry. Studies suggest that an average worker only has the MAXIMUM CAPACITY to produce 18-20 shoes a day. Given, do you think he/she would be extra productive if you give him/her twice his ordinary pay if he goes beyond his production capacity? Remember, humans are not machines that you can reconfigure to produce over and above his energies.

Productivity in other areas of employment works on certain jobs like sales/marketing; special or technical skills that help reduce waste or optimize loads or capacities and etc. Companies are willing to pay extra for these type of "work performances" since they help companies reduce cost or invite business.



Of course. That's why part of the risk of employment is by being substituted for machines. Workers must be prepared to learn new skills that machines cannot replace because market forces will always leverage new technologies to reduce or if not eliminate the need for humans -- another fact of life the world cannot change.

would you agree that most manufacturing plants now employ machineries to increase production in first world countries?
Would you agree that those foreign firms here in our country can afford higher wages for their employees?

[al1974]

by the way, i do have a background on time and motion study being an IE. but there are a lot of labor-intensive jobs here in our country that can still be improved because these companies are over-employed because our wages are very low. to name a some- construction industries can hire so much laborers and pay them really low and overprice the contract, some depts store here even pay below minimum and yet their items are sold with the same prices with SM whose employees are paid on minimum wage, our gasoline stations can be self-service and yet they hire gas boys with P150 per day salary, small bazaars in cebu hire so many salesgirls paid too low, etc. If you noticed, these low-paid employees are not so productive due to poor salaries and even if they get minimum wage, that would still be insufficient to feed their families.

[P-Chan]

@al.. at least nag earn sila.. although gamay.. what should we do? decreasae the cost of living in cebu?

[brownprose]

would you agree that most manufacturing plants now employ machineries to increase production in first world countries?

Yes and there are also those (manufacturers) that cannot afford to buy machines like those "micro-manufacturers" (usually with less than 1M in capitalization). And if you hyperwage these manufacturers (which by the way don't have the luxury of scale economies also) how do you think will they be able to reduce their production costs vs. those that have the machinery to do so?

Would you agree that those foreign firms here in our country can afford higher wages for their employees?

Of course. I may agree with wage adjustments but not hyperwage. And just because a company can afford a raise, it is not a ground to hyperwage everything. It is in fact incorrect to assume that all that have workers can afford an increase. Imagine hyperwaging a sari sari store in a wet market like Carbon which usually has one kargador and one tindera...do you think it can afford a hyperwage? Of course not.

And even if it is forced to, and assuming for the sake of discussion that a sari sari store can afford to make such a huge raise, it will also be forced to raise prices of his isda, utanon and etc. so the moment your worker gets his "hyper-raise", he still has to pay more for the isda and utanon eventually making hyperwage very meaningless and pointless. And what about those that don't have jobs at all?

[brownprose]

by the way, i do have a background on time and motion study being an IE. but there are a lot of labor-intensive jobs here in our country that can still be improved because these companies are over-employed because our wages are very low. to name a some- construction industries can hire so much laborers and pay them really low and overprice the contract, some depts store here even pay below minimum and yet their items are sold with the same prices with SM whose employees are paid on minimum wage, our gasoline stations can be self-service and yet they hire gas boys with P150 per day salary, small bazaars in cebu hire so many salesgirls paid too low, etc. If you noticed, these low-paid employees are not so productive due to poor salaries and even if they get minimum wage, that would still be insufficient to feed their families.

Your observations are very true BUT doesn't always point to the need for a hyperwage. If compliance to minimum wages is a problem what more of a hypwerage?

Low pay is just among the gazillion reasons why a worker is not productive but IT IS NOT THE MAIN REASON to low productivity levels at all. There are those that are poorly paid but are productive as much as there are those that are well-paid but are less productive. Studies suggest there are countless factors why there are less or more productive workers - and a good paycheck is NOT ALWAYS the case although admittedly there are those who are motivated by it. There are also those that are productive yet are not motivated by any pecuniary return at all.