How bad is the economy in the Philipines

[gmm567]

There's no food stamps? So can most people get a job there?

How many people do you think are hungry? How many can't get enough to work to eat?

Or do their extended families serve as a good social guarantee, and social saftey net?
Here in the US the government provides the social safety net, through aid to dependent children, food stamps, subsidized housing etc.

[Raja]

There used to be a joke about the Soviet Union. "We pretend to work, they pretend to pay us" . Most Filipinos do work, but their work is in the pretend classification or its just raising enough food to feed half of their kids.

At is worst the Philippines is as bad as it gets in the world. So bad that even though they advertise themselves as family before all woman are called national heroes if they leave their family to help raise someone elses children and remit a few pesos back home. When Japan tried to close their end of the sex trafficing business the official Philippine government position was to try to keep the door open so "entertainers" could be OFWs and hopefully send hard money back home.

[ladislav]

There's no food stamps? So can most people get a job there?

yeah, sure. the salary won't be good but people can eat. Remember- the Philippines is not Latin America. It is still an Asian country which means the economy is dynamic. The Chinese are running it. If you look for a job you can always find one.

How many people do you think are hungry?

Some 5-6%? But friends help out and relatives do, too.

How many can't get enough to work to eat?

Few. Most people can.

Or do their extended families serve as a good social guarantee, and social saftey net?

Usually, and there is always food there for most people. You have to be really down and out for people not to help you. And there are always jobs for servants- food and shelter based, no money, that people can do. Always jobs for domestics but they pay little. They get food and shelter though.

Most problems there are not food and shelter-type but medical bills. These can be devastating.

Here in the US the government provides the social safety net, through aid to dependent children, food stamps, subsidized housing etc.

The government there cannot help people who produce inordinate numbers of children and do not pay tax. Where will they get the money? So, there , people help each other. But their government has quite a few programs and I know people there who are living in projects and pay very little rent. But many prefer to live in slums because there is no rent, plenty of friends and booze. I have been to the slums there and people have cellphones, color TVS and karaokes. The Philippines is not India, let me tell you.

[Winston]

I've always wondered where the taxes that the Philippines government collects and all the visa extension fees from foreigners goes.

Why don't they try to help their own people?

You know, I don't mind if someone is greedy and generous, or if they are stingy but not greedy, but when someone is greedy and stingy at the same time, that ticks me off the most.

[gmm567]

Excellent info Ladislav. Thanks for your input.

It's not as if the entire country is hungry, but medical expenses are a huge problem.

Like here too, but only with a different cost structure.