I have problems with impressions made from economic data presented out of context. The reality may not be as hopeful as the numbers may seem to suggest.
Worse, the education system has all but collapsed and those working age citizens, according to international tests, can hardly read, write or count to save their lives. Rather than contribute to economic growth, they are a burden dependent on government hand-outs or on the patronage of corrupt politicians.
Then there are the BPOs or the business process outsourcing industry. It employs more than 1.7 million people. It is one of only two legs of our economy, the other being OFWs. The Economist quotes the industry association spokesman predicting “revenue growth of nearly nine percent in 2024 to $40 billion, as banks and health insurers move more back-office operations offshore.”
Our government technocrats and their political-bosses love to say we will soon become an upper-middle income country based on the World Bank’s definition. But as UP economist JC Punongbayan pointed out, “we were projected to achieve this status as early as 2018. Six years later, we’re still dreaming of it. Indonesia made the transition just this year and Vietnam is on track to cross over faster than us.
The Economist may have been fooled about our country quietly getting rich. What they really saw was our economic elite getting richer and richer while leaving the vast majority behind. That’s a widening gap that spells worsening social inequality. It is a social time bomb.
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