POOR? just what is Poor especially here in the PI

[Jack Peterson]

ODD Topic Header? Not really, I have just come back from the City and called into the Local Supermarket (Hypermart Dumaguete) on the way back.

 We read and hear about No work, No money (Budget) YET the Roads are thronging with all types of vehicles, where do they go these people who are always seeming to be Out. The Supermarket was Packed, every till Open (Yes every Till) and queues galore, Now it is Monday and Fiesta time in many Places but here we are Shopping like it was Xmas Eve, Maybe I have got it wrong but I thought this was a Poor Country (or so I am led to believe) Can it be that Dumaguete and Area are not so Poor after all, Both the Cities  Mc Do's were chock ablock, Too much for me to Stand around on Crutches So I went to the Pharmacy and  Chock a Block. I now have to rethink a few things here about , Do I rethink my charitable side Hmmmm  Do I stop Listening to idle chatter about How Broke many say they are. Do we as a Forum, need to look at the Wider Picture to get a sense of just what is what here. Bars in the Area Full of mainly Locals, One guy told me that he was not working today as he had to go to the BIR about unpaid Tax, Moan moan moan. Hey look Mr Man if you owe them you must have earned enough to Pay tax on it. Shoulder shrug of course was the answer. We sometimes (Many Times) tell here about the need to Borrow from us Yet! I am seeing that there are Many are just not Poor at all  I don't know what others think but I am looking at the locals around this Barangay with my eyes a little more Open 

Jack

Morning All  Struggling but getting there day by day 

[scott h]

9 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

Do I stop Listening to idle chatter about How Broke many say they are.

YES!

10 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

Do I rethink my charitable side

YES!

[Snowy79]

I think it's the same the world over. There's people that live on credit and flash the money but are in debt up to the eyeballs and there's the poor on the outside but hoard every penny then die with a healthy bank balance. Somewhere inbetween there's the true poor who rely on their crops to survive. 

I'm a firm believer in the teach a man to fish type charity. Give people the ability to produce their own food and educate them. If you give them money it'll either go to pay for flash goods or get stored away.

I've lost count of how many locals I know that will spend a days wages on a Jollibee instead of a few days groceries. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Jack Peterson said:

 I don't know what others think but I am looking at the locals around this Barangay with my eyes a little more Open 

You forgot to mention all the brand spanking new motorcycles and cars on the roads.  Lots of people here have money.  Where the get it from is debatable, as in there are many sources besides jobs.

Examples:  Any pretty filipina with a pretty face can go online and seduce US$1,000 a month or more from foreign guys.  Lots of people have OFW relatives sending money.  Lots of jobs have "under the table money" that goes with them.  In spite of the hard line approach to drugs there is still a lot of drug money out there, its just more discretely done now.

There are still poor people here, but only because they are not smart, or pretty, or well connected.

[stevewool]

2 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

ODD Topic Header? Not really, I have just come back from the City and called into the Local Supermarket (Hypermart Dumaguete) on the way back.

 We read and hear about No work, No money (Budget) YET the Roads are thronging with all types of vehicles, where do they go these people who are always seeming to be Out. The Supermarket was Packed, every till Open (Yes every Till) and queues galore, Now it is Monday and Fiesta time in many Places but here we are Shopping like it was Xmas Eve, Maybe I have got it wrong but I thought this was a Poor Country (or so I am led to believe) Can it be that Dumaguete and Area are not so Poor after all, Both the Cities  Mc Do's were chock ablock, Too much for me to Stand around on Crutches So I went to the Pharmacy and  Chock a Block. I now have to rethink a few things here about , Do I rethink my charitable side Hmmmm  Do I stop Listening to idle chatter about How Broke many say they are. Do we as a Forum, need to look at the Wider Picture to get a sense of just what is what here. Bars in the Area Full of mainly Locals, One guy told me that he was not working today as he had to go to the BIR about unpaid Tax, Moan moan moan. Hey look Mr Man if you owe them you must have earned enough to Pay tax on it. Shoulder shrug of course was the answer. We sometimes (Many Times) tell here about the need to Borrow from us Yet! I am seeing that there are Many are just not Poor at all  I don't know what others think but I am looking at the locals around this Barangay with my eyes a little more Open 

Jack

Morning All  Struggling but getting there day by day 

I can only go and my family and there extended family and i understand where you are coming from Jack.

The family always have people come to there house to do there hair and nails, the kids have all the latest gadgets they always seem to eat they have so called maids or people that look after there idle kids and all this cost money.

So they would rather ask for my money because they need there money to show others they are rich too.

I will not forget or forgive members of the family when there father wanted help and only 1 gave a little , but once we took over they suddenly brought a new car and holidays .

It does hurt to say no sometimes but it hurts my future plans more about my cost for a happy life.

[stevewool]

23 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

 

Examples:  Any pretty filipina with a pretty face can go online and seduce US$1,000 a month or more from foreign guys.   

Yes when i first started my journey a pretty face and that wonderful smile hooked me good and proper.

What did it cost me , well a cd of Elvis and around 20.000 peso, plus sweets and postage too.

I do now i got away very light from this plus i did get a flash of skin

[Benington]

https://www.adb.org/countries/philippines/poverty

According to to the not-so-poor statisticians at the ADB what is poor is over a fifth of the population of the Philippines, who are estimated to live under the currently used international poverty line of just under $2 a day. Recently increased from the $1.25 a day level, set in 2005.

Certainly would be a higher fraction in the Visayas, as incomes decrease here the further you are away from Manila.

I was surprised how badly the Philippines does in comparison.with its ASEAN neighbours. Communist run countries like Vietnam usually do well on international poverty comparisons. But worse than  Cambodia, which is also a market economy?

Can't find out if remittances are included. The Philippines is one of the top receivers of remittances in the world, but as about half of all OFWs come from Luzon, with most of those from the NCR and around ,I don't think it would have much effect.

[Dave Hounddriver]

7 minutes ago, Benington said:

about half of all OFWs come from Luzon

Here is the 2015 population from Luzon province:

Population	53,336,134

That's about half the population of Philippines, so its natural that half the OFWs would come from there.

[Jack Peterson]

1 hour ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

You forgot to mention all the brand spanking new motorcycles and cars on the roads.  Lots of people here have money.  Where the get it from is debatable, as in there are many sources besides jobs.

Yes I take your Point but it is not these I refer to in particular, the people that we see daily and many are known to "A" and her family have not as far as we know any OFW money coming in and it seems unlikely that any major Dealers are among them yet they have no work or physical means of Support but can still live very Comfortably yet claim to be POOR, Maybe they have discovered a Social Security System among themselves without any Government Help But wait , with over 10 Trike owner/Drivers here in the Purok, I get the impression that only one (as I mentioned this Morning) has had a Tax demand Although, the Owner openly Admits that he Rents out his Trike to 3 Drivers a day So that is where he gets his Money from Tax Free (If only) Had we had the Chance to receive our Wages Tax fee  I think we would  have all been a lot Richer EH?

[Jack Peterson]

 I was pointed to this Article And it would appear that Negros has been Rich Poor back to Rich

This was interesting and may explain a Little

****Today, ANP’s 85 members includes a multipurpose cooperative offering opportunities not only to farmers’ wives, but also to out-of-school youth, and the unemployed.  Members can be offered enterprise loans (P150,000 tops) and training, marketing and consultancy services to micro- and small-scale enterprises.

Oh, the providence of poverty.  The silver lining in the midst of the storm.  

Yes, there was a time when Negros Island became poor.  The nice thing about it is that it brought out the deeper riches of Negros Island.  No, not sugar.  Hope, determination, vision, perseverance, camaraderie, and most of all, equality.***

 Full Article that I found interesting, JGF hope it was OK to Post as it is about the Topic;

 

http://titasdebacolod.blogspot.com/2015/07/when-negros-island-became-poor-blessing.html