How to stop or solve the poverty in the Philippines?

[al1974]

hahaha.. why im so worried... hello pagkain po yan... dapat tayo mag worry... masmhal mag-angkat ng pagkain..

beisdes...

more than half of the philippines is under rural rather than urban and you're saying agriculture does not matter... check your UNDP index murag naa na sila pila ka filipino ang nasa rural ug urban..

i would also like to point out that the poorest of all filipinos are those in the rural areas... so how would hyperwage solve the problem on rural poverty...

hello!!!!!

yes i do mind... how much should my tenants pay me kung 25k ang minimum wage sa non-agri workers... how about the agri-workers?

or are you saying hyperwage is not applicable to agricultural workers and only to non-agricultural workers?

how about construction worker? kung musaka ila pay, pila namn ang pabuhat ug mga baly ug building diri sa ato-a?

ang rent sa balay musaka ba sad?

YES- there will be increases in salary but this time, employers will now hire the right kind of employees- Quality rather than quantity. Notice that in a building construction, there are a lot of headcounts but not all are working 90% of the time. Same with dept stores, govt offices, etc- most are overmanned who just waits for time to pass.

YES- rental will increase but your tenants can now afford it. Rent will increase to a level that will still be affordable.

Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc will be expensive. Thats why, like in 1st world countries, D0-It-Yourself will be very common.

And yes Maids will be expensive- so most people will give them up. The maids on the other hand can now go back to studying because their fathers whom most are farmers, carpenters, or part of the labor force are by then earning hyperwage salaries.

The career moms can now give up their jobs to take care of the family because the husbands hyperwage income can now support the family.

and yes- local goods will be expensive but the import goods which are already at first world prices will ONLY slightly increase. Shops selling these imported goods may have lesser profit per item BUT will enjoy more profits due to volume. Take note that with Hyperwage, people can now afford these imported goods.

There are a lot more discussed in the book. Only of one fully reads the book will one fully appreciate it.

I kept saying this but not all seems to get the point. Read first. Then we can discuss better.

[Vince Russo]

So you mean to say us Filipinos are not giving the true value to deserve such low wages?

And why is Jollibee opening stores in the US where wages are higher? Is there a value difference on how the crew there cook the burgers and bus tables? Isn't it the same kind of job only the pay their in US is higher.

If you were working here in the Phils with third world salary despite your credentials, does that mean you are not giving the right value?

Please realize that those who post comments challenging the wage increases proposed in Hyperwage are not suggesting that Filipinos deserve low wages! We're discussing ways to reduce the poverty here, not prolong it.

I would think that the Jollibee franchise has opened stores in certain US cities (San Jose and San Francisco, California being examples) because there are huge Filipino populations living there. I'm guessing that they run their operations along the same lines that you will find here. The employees are probably making minimum wage and flipping burgers at the same rate as their Filipino counterparts. And it's my belief that minimum wage jobs were never intended to be CAREER jobs. They are merely stepping stones towards a hopefully more lucrative career. When you walk into a McDO in the US, you will generally find student age employees, and an occasional senior citizen behind the counter. By the way, the minimum wage was $2.00 per hour when I started working in the early 70s... It has taken more than 35 YEARS for it to reach the $7.00 per hour level. My first job was carrying heavy bags of sand and unmixed clay for $2.00 per hour. It was a terrible job, but I knew that it wasn't going to be a career for me. That knowledge pushed me toward seeking a higher paying job in a short amount of time.

[AlexM]

i have only one solution for this... Proper and true education!

i-apil sad ug re-educate ang current teacher especially public school.. most specially remote public school teachers

And of course applying what we learn from education.. values, etc...

[Vince Russo]

YES- there will be increases in salary but this time, employers will now hire the right kind of employees- Quality rather than quantity. Notice that in a building construction, there are a lot of headcounts but not all are working 90% of the time. Same with dept stores, govt offices, etc- most are overmanned who just waits for time to pass.

YES- rental will increase but your tenants can now afford it. Rent will increase to a level that will still be affordable.

Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc will be expensive. Thats why, like in 1st world countries, D0-It-Yourself will be very common.

And yes Maids will be expensive- so most people will give them up. The maids on the other hand can now go back to studying because their fathers whom most are farmers, carpenters, or part of the labor force are by then earning hyperwage salaries.

The career moms can now give up their jobs to take care of the family because the husbands hyperwage income can now support the family.

and yes- local goods will be expensive but the import goods which are already at first world prices will ONLY slightly increase. Shops selling these imported goods may have lesser profit per item BUT will enjoy more profits due to volume. Take note that with Hyperwage, people can now afford these imported goods.

There are a lot more discussed in the book. Only of one fully reads the book will one fully appreciate it.

I kept saying this but not all seems to get the point. Read first. Then we can discuss better.

With due respect, I must say that your comments make it all sound so easy and with such little consequence.. "Employers will now hire the right kind of employees... quality rather than quantity" Hmmm.. What happens to the existing workforce? A reduction in size, no doubt (as in, quality over quantity). Instant Unemployment? You propose to get rid of "90%" who don't appear to be actively working at the const. site, dept. stores and gov't offices? Can't wait to see the unemployment rate after that occurs... I wouldn't want to be the guy delivering that kind of news to an angry man with a hammer in his hand.

So, now the scores of unemployed const. workers, dept. store clerks and gov't employees can now go home and wait for their rents to be increased? (in line with Hyperwage). And those who now find themselves to be unemployed can look forward to the unpleasant task of telling their helper that they can no longer afford to keep her/him/them.. Sounds disastrous to me. But wait, there will be lots of time to do house cleaning chores because of they got laid off from work.

Let's not forget the poor plumbers, carpenters and electricians whose new Hyperwage salaries have driven them out of business (the new "do it yourself" generation will have to make do on their own). I wonder how many "do it yourself" electricians will be injured or die from electric shock injuries during the transition to Hyperwage?

Where will the unemployed, single 40-year-old maids go to school? What course major will they pursue in preparation for their new careers at age 40 or 50+? Who will pay for her schooling (at the new tuition rate caused by Hyperwage)? You stated that her father (the now unemployed carpenter) will be able to pay for her schooling?

I guess that I'm asking for real world answers, not theoretical replies... Creating an army of the disgruntled and unemployed sounds dangerous to me. It seems as though the proponents of HT are willing to accept a certain amount of "civilian casualties" for the sake of the majority (according to an earlier post by HT supporter foolonthehill). Should there be rioting in the streets, does Hyperwage Theory include an "exit plan" to deal with the financial chaos that may occur? Is there a way to click your heels 3 times, say "there's no place like home, there's no place like home" and return to Kansas the way Dorothy did in The Wizard of Oz?

[Tarmac]

And why is Jollibee opening stores in the US where wages are higher? Is there a value difference on how the crew there cook the burgers and bus tables? Isn't it the same kind of job only the pay their in US is higher.

Let's just say you won't see Pinoy doctors and nurses and management-level executives leaving the Philippines to work for Jollibee outlets abroad.

[rickflag]

So you mean to say us Filipinos are not giving the true value to deserve such low wages?

And why is Jollibee opening stores in the US where wages are higher? Is there a value difference on how the crew there cook the burgers and bus tables? Isn't it the same kind of job only the pay their in US is higher.

If you were working here in the Phils with third world salary despite your credentials, does that mean you are not giving the right value?

we cannot equate a worker's salary from the US with the one who works the same task here. the salaries of our US counterparts just sounds big if we convert it to peso but remember that they are spending dollars there too. my brod said that some of the basic services are very much cheaper compared to the US. If you go for a haircut there it gonna cost you $16, thats roughly P750 here already. if you want to have your son circumcized it's gonna cost you $2K+, so that's almost P100K here. if you go to the movies in the evening it's gonna cost you $12 that's roughly P576. the salary of an ordinary employee there is around 3k-4k per month so comparing it with our own is too far fetched. i guess they just have an advantage with their purchasing power over us on some other things like cars. a new honda civic car there cost around $20K, compared to our P800+ here.

[Dakota]

Rickflag mentioned that there is a cost of living difference that is true. The difference is clearly seen in the cost of services. Most goods and services with a higher percentage of labor as as opposed to raw materials are much more expensive in the USA, and cheaper in the Philippines. For example a massage in the USA costs $50 USD an hour, in the Phils it costs 300 pesos or $5 USD an hour. This highlights the effect of over-population in the Phils relative to the number of jobs. The excess supply of labor drives the price of goods and services down. Basic microeconomic theory. Take another examlple like call center jobs. In the states a call center rep can make $4000 USD a month or 200,000 pesos. Here the same job pays $400 USD a month or 20,000 pesos a month. Call center jobs from the USA are exported to countries like the Phils and India. The reason being is both have high percentage of english speaking workers and both suffer from over-population and high uemployment. That is how a free market economy works with labor.

[Dakota]

to Tarmac, the reason why Jollibee opens stores in the USA is because companies have to grow revenues and profits to meet share holder and street expectations. If Jolliebee can crack the USA market it will attain these goals. Someone at Jolliebee looked at the market demographics, prepared a business case that was eventually approved by the company that said it had a positive NPV or EVA with all the required checks and balances. But a business case is just a piece of paper. Jolliebee will have to deliver on these expectations while competing in a very competitve fast food market with the likes of McDondalds, Burger King, KFC, Chick Filet and a host of other wannabees. Jolliebee has a brand upside because so many filipinos are aware of the brand and enjoy its products. The jobs in the USA pay more because of the law, but more importantly labor competition. To attract and retain fast food workers, companies must pay competitive wages in markets where labor over-supply does not exist. Another fundamental economic principle.

[Tarmac]

Dakota,

Perhaps the finance and economics professor can answer this.

What are the monetary implications of implementing hyperwage? How can a currency devaluation be avoided, if at all?

[al1974]

AGAIN, some people would like to ask a lot of questions on Hyperwage Theory but don't want to read the book- read it first and then we can go on to a better discussion. But then again, one can not fill a glass that's already filled.

Read it and realized the answers to your questions.