Economy
not improving
Independent
Think-Tank Belies Arroyo’s Claims of Economic ‘Gains’
Independent
think-tank IBON Foundation belies Malacañang’s claim of an improving
economy, and asks why the palace does not dare to hype the economic
figures that really matter to the majority of Filipinos.
BY IBON FOUNDATION
Posted by Bulatlat
Independent think-tank IBON Foundation
belies Malacañang’s claim of an improving economy, and asks why the palace
does not dare to hype the economic figures that really matter to the
majority of Filipinos.
According to IBON research head Sonny
Africa, the economic numbers that can best illustrate the economy and that
matter most to Filipinos are the rising jobless rate and deficient wage
levels, and not macroeconomic indicators that the administration hypes
such as rising stock markets, credit ratings, strengthening peso and the
like.
Africa said that the biggest failure of
the Arroyo government is the unprecedented lack of jobs, even amid
so-called continued economic growth. According to IBON estimates, close to
a third of the labor force is jobless or looking for additional work.
Aggravating the jobs crisis is how legislated incomes chronically fall
short of the amount needed for decent living, Africa added, pointing out
that President Arroyo had vowed to veto the bill passed by the House and
Senate granting an across-the-board P125 ($2.568 at an exchange rate of
$1=P48.673) hike in workers’ pay. He said that the amount needed for a
decent standard of living in the National Capital Region (NCR) has already
reached P766 ($15.73) a day, just 46 percent of the daily legislated
minimum wage, and a 50 percent increase from the P509 ($10.45) per day
needed in 2001.
Compounding the problem further, Africa
added, is that the real value of wages in Metro Manila has been falling
since 2002. From a real value of P252.36 ($5.184) in 2002, the real value
of daily wages in the NCR has fallen to just P239.28 ($4.91) as of
November 2006.
Africa pointed out that the economic
values most sensitive to “politicking” have little bearing on the people’s
welfare. The short-term movements of exchange rates and portfolio flows
that the government hype are meaningful mainly to speculators who gamble
in financial instruments.
But the economic figures that the
Arroyo government loves to proclaim as proof of its good economic
stewardship are meaningless to the majority of Filipinos struggling to
make ends meet, Africa said. IBON Foundation/Posted by Bulatlat
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2007 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.