It’s one bad news after another?

It only bolstered claim by politicians that though the economy is growing, it does not benefit everyone. On Sunday (10/28/07), I posted my musings to a news article printed in the inquirer about the worsening unequal sharing of wealth in the Philippines. And today, the Business Mirror printed a front page story about the “shrinking middle class” in RP as cause for alarm. These news support earlier surveys of the growing hunger and poverty in the Philippines.

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Update 10/29/07: Middle Class In RP, Shrinking Too

It was 1997, while studying a certificate course on Labor Relations under Atty. Josephus Jimenez (one of the under secretaries of Department of Labor and Employment of the PGMA administration), when I first heard of the imbalance wealth distribution in the Philippines. If I remember it correctly, he said “10% of the Philippine population owned 90% of wealth while the remaining 90% of the population slug it out for the remaining 10% of wealth”. I bring this to light because of the recent study I read in the Inquirer that this unequal distribution of weath has worsened.

Historically, this has been the case. During feudalism, only a few land owners control the land and majority of the population toils it for them. While our modern economy is capitalist driven, the situation has not changed. Only a few families control the wealth and without them, the economy may collapse.

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