Antipoverty ra? How about PRO-middle Class diay?

[giddyboy]

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What can you say about this?
i started this thread coz all we can hear is always about anti-poverty programs in the govt, how to address it, how we can help, etc...

BUT how about PRO-MIDDLE CLASS programs?

as far as i know, the middle-class people are:
(1) mostly the ones providing jobs (as SME's) to our poor fellow pinoys.
(2) middle-income earners whose pay is not getting any bigger to sustain the increase in consumer prices.
(3) those that cannot afford already the expensive private schools therefore resorting to public schooling of their kids.
(4) those professionals i.e. doctors, engineers, lawyers whose mindsets are already bent on going abroad for greener pastures.
(5) family members that can afford yayas & helpers in their household.



'Collapsing Middle-Class"

Inquirer
Last updated 04:01am (Mla time) 12/16/2007

"DESPITE economic growth, the number of middle class Filipinos and their share of the national income pie have shrunk."...

..."Another sign is the growing number of students transferring from private schools to public schools because of spiraling tuition.

The rising cost of goods and services, partly as a result of high fuel prices, is further eroding the living standards of middle-class families."...

..."Antipoverty? How about pro-middle class?"

Debate on definition

Sometimes, the middle class is defined simply as the statistical middle class, meaning those whose income is in the middle of the income distribution, like the middle 50 percent. No matter if the statistical middle class cannot afford the so-called middle-class lifestyle--government statisticians cannot! But surely, the debate will continue as to what constitutes the middle class.

..."The number of middle-income families actually increased from 1997 to 2000, but decreased from 2000 to 2003."

..."But then, if the Pinoy middle class is truly shrinking, why are spas burgeoning? Or why does business at Starbucks seem to be sizzling? And our neighbors at Rustan's always a-rushing? Maybe we are spending just much more than we can afford?

Have a Merry Christmas!"

for the complete article:

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquirer...icle_id=107131

[gareb]

Business Mirror:

AN indication of the worsening poverty in the country, despite official data showing fewer Filipinos living below the poverty line, is this alarming information: the Filipino middle-income class has continued to dwindle through the years. And it seems that many of those in this category have avoided falling into the cracks to the low-income levels only by getting better-paying jobs abroad.


Philippine Daily Inquirer

The signs of a shrinking middle class are plain to see. Many professionals, from medical practitioners to executives, continue to migrate to developed countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia in search of greener pastures.

They are joined by a record number of Filipinos working abroad because of the poor pay and bleak employment picture in the country.

Another sign is the growing number of students transferring from private schools to public schools because of spiraling tuition.

The rising cost of goods and services, partly as a result of high fuel prices, is further eroding the living standards of middle-class families.

A study by Romulo Virola, Mildred Addawe and Ma. Ivy Querubin of the National Statistical Coordination Board found thatf there was at least a 2-percentage-point decline in the population share of the middle class between 2000 and 2003.

They also found a 4.6-percentage-point drop in the number of middle-class families with overseas-Filipino-worker members

The middle-income class may be defined as those families who, in 2007, have total annual income ranging from P251, P283 to P2,045,280. In terms of socioeconomic characteristics, the middle-income families are those who meet all of the following requirements: 1. whose housing unit is made of strong roof materials; 2. who own a house and lot; 3. who own a refrigerator; and 4. who own a radio.


Philippines Without Borders

“As of 2003, less than one in 100 families belongs to the high-income class; about 20 are middle-income and 80 are low-income. And in a span of six years from 1997 to 2003, close to four families for every 100 middle-income families have been lost to the low income category,� said the study.

The study highlights what the authors say is the “increasing vulnerability� of the middle class that could translate into increased poverty incidence in the future. We could interpret the results to mean that we do have a shaky and insecure middle class that is prone to slide down the social scale.


The Manila Times

Now how to explain the downtrend? Dr. Virola said the lack of policies aimed at nurturing the middle class may be responsible for their diminishing numbers. While the government is focused on lifting “the poorest of the poor,� Dr. Virola said, a strategy that pays attention to the middle class may be more effective in sustaining economic expansion.

We offer another possible explanation: a tax system that has weighed down more on the middle class than on the rich and the poor. While the rich have ways to avoid or reduce their tax liabilities and the poor’s income is hardly taxed, the predominantly salaried middle-class can’t escape the taxman.

This may explain why our “best and the brightest� are leaving to work in foreign shores. The departure of professionals and skilled workers is rising, with the overseas Filipino community representing at least 10 percent of the population. Almost every household has a member working overseas, making this huge constituency of seven to eight million a veritable Second Philippines.

Perhaps owing to their being captive to the tax system, middle-class incomes have stagnated. In the public sector, the pay is unrealistic, forcing many bureaucrats to moonlight. The size of the underemployed—albeit decreasing—still points to the need for additional incomes to lead decent lives.

[giddyboy]

Maybe we are spending just much more than we can afford...mao nang middle-class na stagnant.

besides, how can we separate middle-class, lower middle-class, and lower class income? murag for an ordinary person, it's more subjective...but for a statistician, it's not.

[gareb]

how can we separate middle-class, lower middle-class, and lower class income? murag for an ordinary person, it's more subjective...but for a statistician, it's not.

as for the operational definition that they used for the term 'middle class', it has been mentioned by PDI in my above post.

Maybe we are spending just much more than we can afford...mao nang middle-class na stagnant.

not necessarily. if you were able to read through the articles, that's not even one of the reasons why the middle class is shrinking.

[giddyboy]

as for the operational definition that they used for the term 'middle class', it has been mentioned by PDI in my above post.

I know. if u notice, we have the same PDI source article on our previous post.

"The middle-income class may be defined as those families who, in 2007, have total annual income ranging from P251, P283 to P2,045,280. In terms of socioeconomic characteristics, the middle-income families are those who meet all of the following requirements: 1. whose housing unit is made of strong roof materials; 2. who own a house and lot; 3. who own a refrigerator; and 4. who own a radio."

but some people kc have been talking about and categorizing themselves as "lower middle class", meaning those that are in-between middle-class & lower class...

so is this lower-middle class category also worth looking into?...

not necessarily. if you were able to read through the articles, that's not even one of the reasons why the middle class is shrinking.

i just restated it from the same PDI article that it could also be one possible cause. meaning, not only due to economic causes, it could also be mismanagement of the financial affairs of the middle-class that contributed to it's shrinking numbers. here it is:

..."But then, if the Pinoy middle class is truly shrinking, why are spas burgeoning? Or why does business at Starbucks seem to be sizzling? And our neighbors at Rustan's always a-rushing? Maybe we are spending just much more than we can afford?"

[gareb]

but some people kc have been talking about and categorizing themselves as "lower middle class", meaning those that are in-between middle-class & lower class...

in the early 20th century, "middle class" used to only connote to the white collar jobs, as opposed to the blue collar ones, advances in unionism and social welfare enabled the rise of the living standards of professional factory workers, granting them a "middle class status".

this is why "middle class", as a socio-economic slice of the population, is essentially a diverse group of people with diverse sources of income. you can have a small time sari-sari store owner to local grocery and department store ownwers, professional laborers to doctors and lawyers, barrio teachers to CEO's of middle-sized companies.

and since a population's income is spectral, for the sake of simplicity and convenience, we define "middle class" by means of income margins. this does not mean though that within the middle class itself there isn't any significant differences in income. a small sari-sari store owner who owns the house he is living in and has a refrigerator also belongs to the middle class category as much as an executive who owns a car and a condo unit.

i just restated it from the same PDI article that it could also be one possible cause. meaning, not only due to economic causes, it's could also be mismanagement of the financial affairs of the middle-class that contributed to it's shrinking numbers. here it is:

..."But then, if the Pinoy middle class is truly shrinking, why are spas burgeoning? Or why does business at Starbucks seem to be sizzling? And our neighbors at Rustan's always a-rushing? Maybe we are spending just much more than we can afford?"

here's the deal; the middle class is shrinking because its lower, larger portion is sliding downwards while the upper, smaller slice is being pulled up. this can be the only explanation why there seems to be some sort of "economic boom" (with new malls, department stores, and yes, spas opening) that the president is so very proud of while at the same time the number of poor people on the streets and slum areas seem to be increasing (contrary to her anti-poverty sloganeering).

and it seems that this widening of the income gap (essentially "rich gets richer, poor gets poorer" axiom) isn't just happening in the philippines. HongKong and Singapore, among many other countries are having the same problems as well. and the United Nations has taken notice.

[giddyboy]

the PDI report indicated an INCOME limit as well as ASSET limit on what constitutes a middle-class...well fine.

but we can not put blame on malacanang being proud on its announcements...they have somehow statistical bases on their statements.

what if a working parent is middle-class kintahay and bears 4 children. the 4 children grows up into teenagers but somehow 3 of them drops out of school (poor grades) and just stayed at home doing house chores...while the other one who graduated got a job earning minimum wage...this situation puts strain on the family's finances and drops them from being a middle-class to low-class...no more house & lot but only a small rented apartment, no more fridge, no more car, no more radio...

so this kind of scenario is blamed on a lot of factors: population growth, unemployment, low wage, parenthood, extended family structure...

[gareb]

but we can not put blame on malacanang being proud on its announcements...they have somehow statistical bases on their statements.

that's just worse; portraying only half of the story, invoking a celebratory euphoria over it, ignoring the bleaker part of the truth. sorry, but with their tradition of announcing only 'triumphs over poverty' or 'victories against drugs' and seeing the exact opposite, it's not a wonder people cannot believe them.

so this kind of scenario is blamed on a lot of factors: population growth, unemployment, low wage, parenthood, extended family structure...

you provide an excellent hypothetical example of a family that clearly is slipping down the socio-economic ladder, that's clear enough to be seen. a few points though;

population growth is fine (even beneficial) as long as the economy can keep up with it and the trail of demands that goes with it. with a rising population, you will have rising demands for employment, housing, social facilities (school, health, etc.) and utilities (power, water, garbage/sewerage, etc.), consumer products, and above all, the strain on the environment.

unemployment can be a result of actual lack of jobs, or not having the right skills and qualifications for the jobs that are available; the latter being the case with your example. a worthy question too is to look inside the education system to see what it was that allowed them to fail.

parenthood which is a more personal, direct and intimate, can of course affect the kind of future and social standing children can have. this now goes away from the realm of economics and into the socio-psychological arena of how parents motivate their children and in what socio-cultural contexts do they do this in. still, how the economically stable parents are, or how they are not, creates a huge impact on how parenthood is done.

extended family structure is again a socio-cultural phenomena that can be viewed along the lines of economics. how the finances and resources of this extended family is managed can also lead to us knowning why the family in your example is, economically speaking, going down.


a very important thing to be determined though is if this example goes well with the current trends of the shrinking middle class, or if this is only an exception.

if indeed this is the norm, then the problem lies not in economics but in the socio-cultural aspect of education, and the socio-psychological aspect of parenthood and motivating children.

if this isn't the norm, as sugested by the articles that we posted which pointed to inflation or rising of prices of basic needs, as the reason behind the shrinkage, then the probem lies in the economic policies with regards to oil, as well as the prices of basic consumer goods.

[jntio]

sakto gyd MIDDLE ky pirme mn mao ma ipit. =>

[giddyboy]

that's just worse; portraying only half of the story, invoking a celebratory euphoria over it, ignoring the bleaker part of the truth. sorry, but with their tradition of announcing only 'triumphs over poverty' or 'victories against drugs' and seeing the exact opposite, it's not a wonder people cannot believe them.

it doesn't seem so to me. i often heard official announcements that the gov't is implementing more poverty alleviation programs while saying also that the fight against poverty is far from over...so what's the half-cooked story on that? anyways, any portrayal is perceived in many diff. ways.

well, let's just say that some traditional announcements are "triumphs over poverty", meaning, invoking a celebratory euphoria...but which previous presidential terms are not guilty of that?...they're politicians. and for me, i don't trust any politicians for that matter...and besides, appealing to hope for the constituents is not entirely a misdeed.

you provide an excellent hypothetical example of a family that clearly is slipping down the socio-economic ladder, that's clear enough to be seen. a few points though;

population growth is fine (even beneficial) as long as the economy can keep up with it and the trail of demands that goes with it. with a rising population, you will have rising demands for employment, housing, social facilities (school, health, etc.) and utilities (power, water, garbage/sewerage, etc.), consumer products, and above all, the strain on the environment.

unemployment can be a result of actual lack of jobs, or not having the right skills and qualifications for the jobs that are available; the latter being the case with your example. a worthy question too is to look inside the education system to see what it was that allowed them to fail.

parenthood which is a more personal, direct and intimate, can of course affect the kind of future and social standing children can have. this now goes away from the realm of economics and into the socio-psychological arena of how parents motivate their children and in what socio-cultural contexts do they do this in. still, how the economically stable parents are, or how they are not, creates a huge impact on how parenthood is done.

extended family structure is again a socio-cultural phenomena that can be viewed along the lines of economics. how the finances and resources of this extended family is managed can also lead to us knowning why the family in your example is, economically speaking, going down.

a very important thing to be determined though is if this example goes well with the current trends of the shrinking middle class, or if this is only an exception.

if indeed this is the norm, then the problem lies not in economics but in the socio-cultural aspect of education, and the socio-psychological aspect of parenthood and motivating children.

if this isn't the norm, as sugested by the articles that we posted which pointed to inflation or rising of prices of basic needs, as the reason behind the shrinkage, then the probem lies in the economic policies with regards to oil, as well as the prices of basic consumer goods.

i agree to all that...thanks for expounding.