RP getting sicker?

Travel and Leisure’s 2006 list of the world’s best cities is out and according to their readership survey, the best this year is Florence, Italy, followed by Sydney, Australia. Meanwhile, the top 10 cities in Canada and the Continental United States are New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Charleston, SC., Santa Fe, N.M. Vancouver, Quebec City, Victoria, Montreal and Seattle.

The criteria for best cities includes attractions, culture, cuisine, good value, people and shopping. Additional points would include mountains, the sea, ethnic diversity, ambience, festivals, fine food, beverage, wine, walkable downtown core, unique and original stores.

It was surprising that the number one hotel on the continent was Aerie on Vancouver Island. Not many know the existence of the said hotel. Sadly, Toronto did not make the list though Reader’s Digest Global Courtesy test ranked Toronto no. 3 as the most polite city.

The Asian Pacific Post’s latest editorial "Sick Man of Southeast Asia Is Only Going To Get Sicker" jolted many Filipinos including myself away from the dream scenario that many Filipino politicians and the current administrators of President GMA have been feeding the media about the country’s surging economy.

We are out here so should we believe the people of GMA that the Philippines is really on its way to speedy recovery, that corruption is now under control and that we should be proud that over 8 million Filipinos abroad remitted over $10 billion last year, that the outflow of Filipinos working abroad is good for the country?

Should we be happy that the world now see us as a nation of servants? As editorialized by the Asian Pacific Post, the truth hurts.

"While supporters of Philippine migration and remittance policy say the "controlled system" has raised the income of millions of Filipino workers and their families, there seems too little counting for the grave social costs associated with this economic strategy. It has done little to fix the fundamental problems in the Philippines or create jobs at home. The Philippines, long known as the sick man of Southeast Asia, has to realize that the nation’s most powerful and valuable assets are its people. But if it keeps pushing its people overseas to find a decent wage, the country is only going to get sicker."

Do you blame us for not being proud, for not loving the Philippines and for hating the politicians and their relatives as they pimp their countrymen for overseas work?

According to a leading Canadian medical director of the Center for Functional Medicine in Vancouver, brain disorder could outstrip heart disease as the leading cause of death and disability among Canadians in the next 20 years.

It is common knowledge that increasing numbers of North American children, some as young as five or six years old, have been placed on powerful drugs, antidepressants, or amphetamine-family stimulants. Older adults are succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. It is apparent that the future of our society will be greatly influenced by how we respond to the crisis.

We are reminded to avoid junk food and they must be replaced with nutrient-dense meals and appropriate supplements because the brain needs intensive nutritional support. We are advised to use well-researched natural health products as an excellent, drug-free way to stay mentally sharp and energetic throughout the day.

According to a new study, Canada would have to take in 2.6 million immigrants a year by 2020 and seven million by 2050 to raise its population to 165.4 million, if it wants to keep its ratio of retirees-to-workers at its current 20 percent. But many believe that increased immigration is not the solution.

Alternatives would include creating policies to increase the number of people in the workforce, raising the retirement age, encouraging people to save and boosting productivity. The old age dependency ratio will increase dramatically in 2050. A solution that may help is by raising the retirement age to 70 over the next 20 years to keep the dependency ratio at 20 percent until around 2025, at which point it would rise gradually to stabilize at around 35 percent by 2050.