I am always surprised when a Filipino accuses me of being an “idealist” or an “intellectual”, as if my writings were somehow detached from practicality. And I am equally surprised when I opine about things that I consider to be foundational about the Filipino social structure, and the economy it generates, and it shoots right past people as irrelevant.
Take the hiring of cousins and classmates, a part of the “trade of favors” that is a major currency, in addition to money, in the Philippines. Look at the US economy. What energizes it is the daily pounding away of people trying, and incented by the boss, to do more in a better way. People compete for raises and for skills and for recognition. It is high octane gasoline.
In the Philippines, people largely just subsist. “Productivity” is absent from the economic lingo, just as “appointment” is a dirty word. The Philippines use wood chips from the dirty kitchen to power the economy.
Why is this dynamic – the collective AMBITION of a people driving for self-improvement – simply shrugged off by Filipinos.
Many, I suppose, because they got their own job by a favor.
“It's our way,” they say. But then they look for scapegoats as to why the economy is doing so poorly, why there are so few jobs and so many mouths to feed, and why corruption is so rampant. Last May, it was Arroyo's fault. Now it is Aquino's.
“Duh,” I scream. It is because you have not OILED THE OLD ECONOMIC MACHINE WITH AMBITION, WITH ASPIRATION, WITH DEVELOPMENT OF SELF, WHICH DEVELOPS ALL, EVERYONE, THE COLLECTIVE MASSES.
That is idealistic? I think not.
That is the way it is. Down and dirty, applied, functional, pragmatic. As real as it gets.
I even scream “PASS A FAIR EMPLOYMENT LAW” that makes capability the only lawful basis for hiring and promoting people, and that is considered just one of JoeAm's intellectual ramblings. Not practical. No one will take that up. Detached from reality, that old Joe.
Christ almighty. How do I get more “applied” than that?
What part of “IMPROVEMENT” do you not see connected with “AMBITION” that channels “SKILL” into the management of “PRODUCTIVITY”?
What part of SOCIAL DYNAMICS and ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY are you BLIND to?
Idealistic intellectual fictions, eh? Your MIND is a fiction*.
[*Standard caveat; this insult does not apply to all Filipinos; only those who got their job by favor and/or feel that favor is a better way to power an economy than ambition that leverages skill.**]
[** Please excuse my temporary relapse; it is like the need for alcohol or bananas; comes and goes.]
JoeAm: So is it higher than 70% -- the percentage of the currently-employed who are sons, nephews or nieces to the senior managers of Pilipinas companies they work for? Maybe it is only 5% and not that big a problem.
ReplyDeleteAnd independent of percentage nepotisim, go to the Cusp's postings in proPinoy-dot. One of the things he wrote (in "jobless growth") is that the Pilipino labor's productivity has increased -- "...average output per annum shot through the roof, rising from about Php120 thousand per worker in 1990 or Php10,000 per month to just over Php 570K per worker in 2008 or about Php48,000 per month."
So even if it is 45% or higher for hiring cousins and relatives, the net-result is not bad considering the productivity-increase, so why would a Makati corporation bother to hire a high-school graduate from Biliran?
In my opinion, the problem is that there are v-e-r-y few new jobs being created, and maybe an answer is for you-Joe.Am (and others with an extra hundred-thousand in the bank account) to start a business. If you hire a nephew of your wife, no one would really complain, do you realize that?
Finzz4,
ReplyDeleteYou make excellent sense, and indeed that is what I will do when our house is built. My checklist of small-business ventures that could be parceled out to the nephews is now about 10. The amount of capital they require is reasonably small, and they will slot the place where there are markets but no services.
How did you know my wife had so many cousins and nephews, by the way?
And my extra hundred thousand is in pesos.
Good luck on the small business ventures!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd be ready for headaches. If you LOANed money to ten people, do not be surprised if 4 of them after 6 months would be very sure they heard you say "DONATION".