THIS IS A sequel to our previous column on inflation, a situation when prices of goods rise endlessly, thus decreasing the value of money. The minimum-wage bread winners find themselves spending more while sinking deeper in debt. Worst for the unemployed who subsist on crumbs from friendly relatives and neighbors.
What could be more ironic than more money pumped into circulation to chase the same quantity and quality of goods?
The very poor could fall into depression and commit suicide – if not the crime of theft and robbery.
But why be cynical when we could heed the advice of wiser men? Take it from the late English Prime Minister William Churchill, who, buoyed the British troops to victory in World War II with these words: “These are not hard times; these are more challenging times.”
There is fun in surmounting challenges which could be self-inflicted, as in the case of a bachelor thrown into the marriage bed unprepared. His used-to-be sufficient income has to be doubled or tripled just to make both ends meet; no longer to keep with the Joneses.
I found myself similarly situated when I married at age 22 and found it hard to feed my family without ending secret vices.
It was a new beginning, I thought, consoling myself with a famous quotation from Richard Bach: “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
Zooming past forward to the present, I at 68 continue to adjust to the changing times. For example, when the cable-TV network sent me a notice of price increase on my subscription, I suddenly unsubscribed, and contented myself with subscription-free regular TV. But I could not give up my internet connection; it is already a necessity in my lifetime profession – journalism.
What the typical Filipino businessman seems to ignore is that whenever he jacks up prices of goods, he decreases the number of his customers. To site a proof, while poor Juan dela Cruz still eats batchoy in his familiar eatery, he comes less frequently.
To reiterate, inflation occurs whenever it takes more money to buy the same product. I remember that my favorite pair of leather shoes used to cost P300 (circa 1980s); now it’s P4,000.
With each school opening, schools jack up tuition on the pretext of upgrading equipment and services. This practice drains the resources of poor parents, resulting to more students quitting school.
Let us recall the apocryphal tale about the provinciano who came to the city and took a taxi cab for the first time. The moment he was comfortably seated, the meter clicked P40. Shocked, with instinct as his guide, he stood up awkwardly and heaved a sigh when the next flick of the meter displayed only P3.50.
But of course, one could find a bright side to this seemingly gloomy struggle for survival. In my case, I learned to eat the “lowly” vegetables that I used to detest, if only to avoid expensive meat that has “rewarded” me with atherosclerosis of the aorta. That makes me a winner because, whether I like it or not, it is the right step to healthier life and graceful aging.
But as taxpayers, we have the right to criticize the government for failure to come to the rescue. Take note of its hands-off-attitude vis-à-vis the oil cartel on the pretext that it is “deregulated.” Its unwillingness to prosecute the oil cartel for price manipulation fans public suspicion that certain government officials are on the take.
Nevertheless, God bless the Philippines. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
