Intangible treasure I - II

Intangible wealth

(inq7)


Typical Filipinos who violate traffic rules here in phil, cheat in
paying their taxes, employ legal short cuts, and patronize politicians
to be able to land a job or to secure a government contract. But once
they are in America, or in other developed countries, they obey all
laws, dutifully fall in line and enjoy the blessings of life by just
doing their work diligently. To forge ahead, they do not need to
peddle influence or polish their bosses.

World Bank Report. For the longest time, had been wondering, why does
the Filipino worker mightily succeed when he is in the United States,
but not when he is back home? Another heart warming fact: according to
our consul general in New York, Cecilia Rebong, the Filipino
professionals in the United States earn comparatively more than their
counterpart native Americans. Why? The answer may lie in a World Bank
(WB) report on the "Wealth of Nations."

The study shows that if the total wealth or "capital" of the United
States were distributed evenly, each person there would have access to
$512,612 in capital, compared to only $19,351 in the Philippines. That
is why INDUSTRIOUS and law-abiding earns more there than here.

To be sure, the WB explains that there are really three kinds of wealth:
(1) natural capital--"the sum of nonrenewable resources (including
oil, natural gas, coal and mineral resources), cropland, pastureland,
forested areas and protected areas";
(2) produced capital--"the sum of machinery, equipment, and structures
(including infrastructure)"; and,
(3) intangible capital that encompasses raw labor, human capital (the
sum of knowledge, skills and know-how of the population), social
capital (the level of trust among people in a society and their
ability to work together toward common goals) and the quality of
institutions essential to good governance, like an independent
judiciary, clear property rights, effective revenue collection,
nonpolitical military, credible elections and stable rule of law.

Worldwide,
natural capital accounts for only 5 percent of total wealth, produced
capital for 18 percent,
and intangible capital for 77 percent.
On the average, every one in the world has a total wealth of $90,000,
an amount available to those in Brazil ($87,000), Libya ($89,000) and
Croatia ($91,000).
This world average is much more than the Philippines' $19,351, broken
down into $1,549 natural, $2,673 produced and $15,129 intangible.

While natural resources help, they are not the most important wealth.
Singapore has zero natural capital but is credited with $79,011
produced capital plus $173,595 intangible capital for a total of
$252,607. Japan has only $1,513 natural (same as ours) but has
$150,258 produced plus $341,470 intangible for a total of $493,241.

Conclusion: The WB study shows that more than three-fourths of the
total wealth of the world is intangible. Further, the most significant
elements of intangible wealth are EDUCATION and the rule of law.
These two facts imply that while the natural resources and
infrastructure priorities of President Macapagal-Arroyo deserve some
attention, the much more important focus should be on our intangible
capital, LIKE THE PRIMACY OF EDUCATION, the promotion of the rule of
law, and the strengthening of our democratic institutions. These are
the truly lasting legacies.
.................
merry Christ mass
Emmanuel God-with-us






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intangible wealth part II

pork (tangible wealth)


inquirer.net


End the pork barrel practice now and free hundreds of billions of
pesos in taxpayers' money for use in top-priority national projects in

education,
health and medical care, and

poverty alleviation.

The pork barrel system has been a tremendous waste of public funds and
has not resulted in any visible improvement in public services or
infrastructure. It has only enriched many senators and congressmen.
Each senator is allocated P120 million in pork barrel funds and each
congressman, P60 million.

"pork barrel" is a derogatory term that describes government spending
that is intended to enrich constituents of a politician in return for
their political support, either in the form of a campaign contribution
or votes.

American writer William Safire said the term "pork barrel" derived
from a practice of pre-American Civil War days in which masters gave
their slaves salted pork in barrels. In 1919, an American journalist
wrote: "Oftentimes, the eagerness of the slaves would result in a rush
upon the pork barrel, in which each would strive to grab as much as
possible for himself. Members of Congress, in their rush to get their
local appropriation items � behaved so much like Negro slaves rushing
to the pork barrel."

Today we have a similar mental picture of Filipino legislators
rushing to the pork barrel like pigs to the feeding trough.
The congressmen, particularly, seem to have no satiety. They would
like to increase the outlay for 2008 so that they could get more
kickbacks from projects funded by pork barrel funds. And because
contractors have to pay a lot of kickbacks, they are forced to use
inferior materials in constructing, say, roads or buildings, and these
deteriorate just months after they are completed.

Because "pork barrel" was a derogatory term, legislators tried to call
it different names. During the term of President Fidel V. Ramos it was
called the Countrywide Development Fund. Now it is known as the
Priority Development Assistance Fund. But whether it is called CDF or
PDAF, the fact is that the pork barrel is a great waste of public
money. There was a time when the most popular pork barrel projects
were basketball courts and waiting sheds. Did these contribute to the
social and economic development of the country?

Projects funded with the pork barrel do not go through the usual
process of evaluation and are often overpriced.
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in its book, "Pork
and Other Perks," cited a 1996 report of the Commission on Audit that
said that in some cases "the extent of overpricing reached more than
200 percent of the market prices and government-set costs."

go one step farther and put a stop to the pork barrel practice.



inquirer.net


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