AEGIS: Malaysia better than the Philippines?

Painfully true . . .

I experienced it first hand.

Actual case 1:
A provincemate with a degree in IT. Now working in KL.
He said KL is much less stressful than Manila. The public tranpsort better, there are public sports facilities all over, bicycle lanes, etc.
Personal income Tax is much lower.

And the positive side is Filipinos are much sought after by multinationals there.

Actual case 2:
During a meeting with an expat working in an industrial development project in the Philippines. He used to work in Malaysia before being tapped for that Philippine project. When our conversation in passing touched the subject of food, he said Malaysian food much is better and he missed it. Wow.

How to help?

Photo credit:  http://buildingmarkets.org/

Cost-benefit analysis . . .

Setting limited doable priorities . . .

For the world, the recommendation is to focus on the following . . .

1. Reduce malnutrition. When children get better food, they develop their brains, stay in school longer and end up becoming far more productive members of society. Every dollar spent to alleviate malnutrition brings $59 of benefits.

2. Tackle malaria and tuberculosis. These two diseases debilitate huge populations in poor countries, but they are largely preventable and curable. In the most harshly affected countries, two people often do one person's work because one of them is sick. Benefit to cost ratio: 35 to 1.

3. Boost preprimary education, which costs little and has lifelong benefits by getting children started on learning. 30 to 1.

4. Provide universal access to sexual and reproductive health, which would save the lives of mothers and infants while enabling women to be more economically productive. It would also lower birthrates (when fewer children die, people have fewer children). Benefits could be as high as 150.

5. Expand free trade. This isn't considered sexy in the development industry, and it may seem remote from humanitarian issues, but free trade often delivers phenomenal improvements to the welfare of the poor in surprisingly quick time, as the example of China has demonstrated in recent years. One of the discoveries of the Copenhagen Consensus process is that incremental goals such as expanding free trade are often better than supposedly "transformational" goals. A successful Doha Round of the World Trade Organization could deliver annual benefits of $3 trillion for the developing world by 2020, rising to $100 trillion by the end of the century.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here.

Top 10 highest-paying jobs in PH bared as of 2013

Photo credit:  https://ph.news.yahoo.com/

This is helpful.  Read this . . .

Over the last five years, workers in the following occupations got the top wages in the country:
Art director: P69,286
Geologist: P64,889
Aircraft pilot/navigator/flight engineer: P57,789
Mining/metallurgical engineer: P55,638
Computer programmer: P43,573
Systems analyst/designer: P42,112
Production supervisor/general foreman: P36,133
Actuarian: P35,480
Call center representative/customer service associate: P35,424
Statistician: P35,010

Read the full story here.

Project Jobs Fit

Photo credit:  http://www.purdue.edu/

Indeed the Department of Labor and Employment in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Eduction and the Commission on Higher Education should make it a point to promote linkage between the supply and demand of the job market.

Please see related story below . . .

DOLE Released Breakthrough Study to Help Solve Local Unemployment 

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has released a breakthrough and pioneering study called “Project Jobs Fit” that identifies the skills needed by its industries for the next 10 years. This will be relevant to the country’s efforts to mitigate local unemployment.

In a press release, DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said that the government is now looking forward by initiating concrete measures to pursue the objectives of the study, and setting the appropriate foundation towards a job-friendly economy. The country's economy would be equipped with the capacity to mitigate brain drain and the mismatch of the available jobs in industry as well as the skills of the labor force.

Read the full story and original article by clicking here.

Poverty Alleviation

No to socialism, Yes to positive social values . . .

Photo credit:  http://events.gsapp.org/

5 Essential Principles of Poverty-Alleviation

Posted by Ismael Hernandez

When I entered into the life of inner city ministry I moved into an environment that soaked me in a vision of the world that informed our activities. The ministry was called African Caribbean American Catholic Center and it operated in the inner city areas of Southwest Florida. Belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Venice, it was a great place to serve.

There, a call to action was consistent and it was based on wonderful ideas such as “solidarity” and the “care of the poor.” For the most part, activity controlled our life of ministry. Conversation and even an occasional debate occurred but we never arrived at a challenge of our most basic assumptions about the poor and about our activities. I entered the ministry as youth director and I was constantly on the move. Our intentions were good and we thought that they were consistent with loving the poor, as we are commanded. It was as if the power of the will was at the helm and the call of reason was only instrumental.

To read the full article, click here.

Should the Minimum Wage Law Abolished?

Originally posted at http://scopemix.wordpress.com/

Photo credit:  http://www.aflcio.org/

Saw on TV yesterday a leader of one of the big labor unions in the country. He spoke regarding the issue of minimum wage hike. I remember he said “companies who cannot afford the minimum wage hike should shutdown. These entities are just exploiting our workers”.

Now such statements beg the following questions:

1. Is it better to be jobless compared to not being granted a pay increase of Php14.00 per day?

2. Are those working below minimum wage at small companies out of their own free will, without any coercion or threat exploited? Even if they are paid regularly and in accordance to their employer-employee agreement?

The intent of the minimum wage law is noble. But sometimes it is being used by certain individuals or groups to harass or extort some companies.

For big and established companies there is no problem in complying with this law. Besides, they are already successful that it would be indecent making big money while paying minuscule wages.

But how about the small businesses? The struggling entrepreneurs? The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is trying to promote entrepreneurship and small businesses. But this law is in conflict with that intent. There is “Kalakalan ng 20″ which allows exemption from the minimum wage but it is applicable only to cottage industries. The majority of small enterprises are not covered.

Going back to what that trade union official said, if a small company folds up because he cannot afford the minimum wage, did he mean that the customers will have to go to the big companies? Maybe no problem for big customers as they most likely prefer big suppliers in the first place. But how about the small customers? Can they afford the rates that big suppliers charge? Or will the big suppliers take notice or care of these small customers from whom they would earn lower profits while incurring higher servicing costs?

It is not surprising that we have a big underground economy because some legislations like the minimum wage law is not cognizant with the realities.

My idea is not to abolish the minimum wage law. Rather, it should be revised and allow exemptions as follows:

1. For start-up companies, they should not be covered by this law for the first five years of operation. This is a big help to struggling entrepreneurs and a strong signal from the government that they support small businesses that are giving people jobs. If they become successful and get bigger, they can employ more people and help boost the economy. If the government gives incentives to foreign investors so they will put up companies in the Philippines, why not to our own entrepreneurs?

2. For companies operating after 5 years, exemption is on a case to case basis only. This should not be a tool that can be used by some unscrupulous businessmen. But on the other hand, legit and honest businesses like that sari-sari store in the corner where I buy softdrinks, cannot afford the minimum wage even after operating 10 or more years and should be given a break.

I don’t pretend to know it all. I am not even sure if I am able to get the message across correctly. So I would appreciate if you can comment to clarify or point out anything on this blog that you think needs correction. I would like to know what your views on the topics I shared.