Too much, too soon

What’s dismaying about our society is that everybody seems to have already begun fighting the political battles of 2010. The Opposition is waging a civil war within its ranks. They better get a grip of themselves. They are obviously showing their stench to the public and I am pretty sure the other parties including the administration camp love it. The Opposition must try to come out clean from their ‘game’ and gain back the respect and public trust or else the citizenry may abandon their flagship. As John Arbuthnot put it: “All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies.”

In any event, why all the premature sound and fury and conspiracy over a Presidential campaign which is more than two years away – and, for that matter, might take a surprising turn? When our leaders begin playing politics, the wheel of progress can only come to a shuddering stop. For, when the political circus comes to town, and that merry-go-round starts spinning, the nuts and bolts of legislation and good government fly out the window.

It was the poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran who said: “He brings disaster upon his nation who never sows a seed, or lays a brick, or weaves a garment, but makes politics his occupation.”

 Why start the battle now? Our country is suffering economic setbacks and all you can do is fight over questionable acts? Why not debate over how our people can eat three meals a day, drink clean water, live in decent homes, be safe on the streets, be treated in hygienic public hospitals and get a good paying job. Why not debate over how the country can get going and how government systems including the judiciary can promote efficiency to fight corruption. The election is still more than two years away! Let’s concentrate on finding the right antidote to our ailing economy, creating infrastructures and solving the pressing problems affecting the lives of millions, so that whoever is in Malacañang after 2010 can move forward more easily.

I cannot understand why Senator Ping Lacson keeps on rattling about other politicians especially those wanting to run for Presidency like Manny Villar but does not point out other problems in government that directly affect the Pinoys like garbage, pollution, public health and security. Why must it always be about personalities, Sir? Try to be more consistent if you want some change. Let not a selected few be the subject of your ire – attack other dysfunctions in our society so that the road you are traveling on is headed toward progress.

Pretty Boy Cayetano who looks so innocent with an angelic expression on the wide screen seems to be headed toward TRAPOS Anonymous. Two years ago, I thought he was one of the young and vibrant ‘new’ breed of politicians who will catapult us into that elusive road to progress. He just had our hopes crashed by his recent tirades. Our politicians have to be very careful of what they say in public and how they act. Even our young nowadays cannot seem to break the vicious evolvement in politics — in the end the little ‘butikis’ (lizards) who try to eat up those nasty mosquitoes end up becoming ‘buwayas’ rin pala (crocodiles).

Actually, many of our young today aspire to be politicians because they think that it is the best way to earn a good living — in other words, get rich. This is the legacy left to the young by our present leaders — such a shame. It’s time to change. All our politicians better shape up – you should be good role models.

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Last week’s financial storm came as a surprise but not to the experts — they saw it coming. The investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy while Merill Lynch lost its independence and AIG had to be rescued by the American government to save the US from a big economic fall.

Herald Tribune’s Nicholas Kristof warned the public how CEOs of large public companies get away with big salaries averaging 344 times the average pay of workers whereas three decades ago, CEOs only earned around 30 to 40 times the income of ordinary workers.

He further pointed out how Lehman Brothers chief Richard Fuld (from 1993 to 2007) earned $45 million last year alone:

 That amounts to roughly $17,000 an hour to obliterate a firm… John McCain seems to think that the problem is that CEOs are greedy. Well, of course they are. We’re all greedy. The real failure is one of corporate governance, which provides only the flimsiest oversight to curb the greed of executives like Flud. A central flaw of governance is that boards of directors frequently are ornamental and provide negligible oversight. As Warren Buffet has said, “in judging whether corporate America is serious about reforming itself, CEO pay remains the acid test. It’s a test that corporate America is failing.”

These Brobdingnagian paychecks are partly the result of taxpayers subsidies. A study released a few weeks ago by the Institute Policy Studies in Washington found five major elements in the tax code that encourage overpaying executives. These cost taxpayers more than $20 billion a year.

That’s enough money to de-worm every child in the world, cut maternal mortality around the globe by two-thirds and also provide iodized salt to prevent ten of millions of children from suffering mild retardation or worse.

I am sure many Filipinos have been affected by this economic depression but what’s sad is that even without such fall — our country suffers not so much from CEOs coming from the corporate world but more so, from our politicians who make a living out of our hard earned taxes and who choose to keep our government in a ‘poor’— inefficient state in order to exploit its resources. By keeping it in such a chaotic state more corruption can prevail. That’s it!