Unfair inflation on Filipinos

[Clermont]

Yeah mine was about the lower class Filipino, all that I stated above haven’t risen, yes the middle class and upwards have sky rocketed, how I know, the wife still eats lower class food and she would be squawking if it did.

[hk blues]

5 hours ago, GeoffH said:

I find myself wondering if Great Britain's inflation rate (higher than USA, Australia, Canada for example) is partly a result of the pressures caused by Brexit (on top of the issues the others economies are facing.

 

Almost certainly yes.  

[OnMyWay]

9 hours ago, Mike J said:

How did we get high inflation?
The inflation we are experiencing today originates from various factors, such as:

Government spending
COVID-19
Supply chain issues
Higher wages
Strong consumer demand
Slow policy responses
Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I agree with all of those factors but I am very surprised the Forbes contributor left out one big factor:  The war on fossil fuels.

Fossil fuel energy costs roll into prices of just about everything because FF energy is used for electricity. raw materials, manufacturing and transport on almost all products and services.  The war on fossil fuels hits poor countries the most.  They don't the ability to adapt nearly as quickly as richer countries.

Yesterday, I paid p58 per L for diesel, which is down from last year but a far cry from <30 that it was a few years ago.  The cost of Philippine food products and all products is heavily impacted by this.

In PH, the price of electricity is driven by coal prices.  Every business and consumer is impacted.  As stated before, expats like us might not feel a 30% increase in electricity, but it is very hard on lower income Filipinos and all of the small business owners trying make a living.

 

[OnMyWay]

18 hours ago, JJReyes said:

Except for certain members of this forum, beer is not essential for life.  For the poor, the price of certain basic commodities like rice, sugar, cooking oil, etc. is more important.

JJR, I think if you looked at the lowest levels of PH society, you would be surprised how much the price of alcohol and cigarettes impacts them.

[Guy F.]

How did we get high inflation? A major reason has thus far been ignored in this thread. It's "greedflation".

"...companies have been able to use the crisis to drive up prices and boost profit margins. The IMF and the ECB wouldn’t put it in these terms, of course, but both support the idea that companies are gouging their customers when they can. The non-technical term for what is going on is greedflation."

Quoted from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/19/wage-price-inflation-greedflation-pay-cost-of-living

A good example is provided by international oil companies. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/oil-companies-post-massive-profits-as-consumers-feel-squeeze-from-high-gas-prices

[JJReyes]

10 hours ago, Eddie1 said:

That's a really cheap comment, totally unnecessary.

You are absolutely right.  As a cancer survivor who was asked to stop drinking as a participant in a long-term study, I shouldn't make fun of those who enjoy alcoholic beverages.

[JJReyes]

3 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

JJR, I think if you looked at the lowest levels of PH society, you would be surprised how much the price of alcohol and cigarettes impacts them.

Since I no longer drink and don't smoke, I am a bit bias.  Alcohol and cigarettes are not commodities.  When planning a personal or family budget, these are two items that are easy to eliminate.  

[OnMyWay]

31 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

When planning a personal or family budget, these are two items that are easy to eliminate.  

Again, you are not putting yourself in the shoes of a poor, addicted Filipino who does not know how to budget.  As an example, for some reason, every carpenter and gardener that I have had work for me in the past 10 years, smokes and drinks.  They never have any money and commonly ask for cash advances.  Budget? I don't think so. 

[JJReyes]

46 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Again, you are not putting yourself in the shoes of a poor, addicted Filipino who does not know how to budget.  As an example, for some reason, every carpenter and gardener that I have had work for me in the past 10 years, smokes and drinks.  They never have any money and commonly ask for cash advances.  Budget? I don't think so. 

It's a hand to mouth existence.  Smoking and drinking help to alleviate the pain of suffering whether you are rich or poor.  

[Dave Hounddriver]

2 hours ago, JJReyes said:

Smoking and drinking

If the increase in booze and cigarettes is not enough, how about this:

https://www.dailyguardian.com.ph/shabu-price-doubles-in-iloilo-city/

Shabu price doubles, a March 17, 2023 article.  That is inflation that will hit the poor, addicted Filipinos.  The article is long but I will include it here:

Spoiler

The law of supply and demand suggests that if the demand exceeds supply, prices will rise.

This might also be true in the case of the illegal drug trade in Iloilo City.

Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Benitez, Jr., Iloilo City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU) and concurrent ICPO City Intelligence Unit (CIU) chief, said the street price of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) has doubled due to tighter supply.

Benitez cited that they conducted a test buy last March 9 as part of their application for a search warrant.

“The sachet of shabu that we bought for P500 is now at P1,000,” he said.

Before, a gram of shabu is valued at P5,000 to P6,000. But it now skyrocketed to at least P10,000 per gram.

For uniformity, though, anti-drug units use the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB)’s P6,800 per gram as the standard drug price (SDP) of shabu.

Benitez said that the series of arrests conducted by ICPO and other police units in Iloilo City has hurt the shabu supply in the city.

“Others have opted to lie low because of the aggressive campaign launched against illegal drugs,” he added.

Some have temporarily relocated outside of Iloilo City while police are still hot on their trails.

Aside from large confiscations, one of the biggest factors was the difficulty of sneaking in the supply intended for Iloilo City.

But despite these difficulties, Benitez said there are still a good number of individuals who are very much willing to trade shabu.

Sadly, most of them were previously arrested and later released from jail after availing of the plea bargaining agreement.

“After getting out of jail, they have no means of livelihood. Ang tendency nila, mabalik gid. Also, while serving jail time, they have met connections and saw more opportunities to earn bigger amounts without sweating it out,” he said.

Thus, they easily get tempted to go back to their old ways, Benitez added.

Meanwhile, ICPO records indicated that 54 anti-illegal drug operations were conducted from January 27 (the day Colonel Joeresty Coronica assumed as ICPO chief) to March 15.

The CDEU conducted the most number of operations at 10 while Iloilo City Police Station (ICPS) 5 and ICPS 3 (Jaro) have conducted nine each.

ICPS 5 has jurisdiction over Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao, which was earlier tagged as one of the most problematic areas in Iloilo City when it comes to illegal drugs.

ICPS 1 (City Proper) conducted seven operations, ICPS 2 (La Paz) with 6, while ICPS 4 (Molo) and ICPS 6 (Arevalo) have five prorations each.

The Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU) 6, the PNP’s anti-drug unit in Western Visayas, conducted 3 operations in Iloilo City.

The 54 operations led to the arrest of 74 persons.

Meanwhile, a total of 670.9663 grams of shabu with a DDB value of P 4,562,570.84 were confiscated.

CDEU logged the biggest haul at 370 grams worth P2.516 million while RPDEU-6 seized 164 grams amounting to P1.116 million.