Future Think

What can our generation look forward to in the next 10, 20 years? By then we’d be in the year 2017 or 2027. By then I’d be in my 40s. I’d probably have hypertension and diabetes, if I haven’t been killed off first by stressful living here. Aside from my personal potential health issues, I’m trying to imagine what the Philippines would be in the year 2027.

In Sci-Fi verse, the year 2000 was supposed to be filled with flying cars, micro-sized food, super gadgets, etc etc. Well, we’re 7 years already into this decade since 2000, and so far has all these come to a reality?

Technology has been improving, but cars still run on fuel. Food is still the same. Oh wait, we do have food that come in small packages – junk food! But the more important facet of human living – health, geopolitics, religion, wealth. There is nothing that sets us apart from where humanity stood 2007 years ago.

Their resemblance to years past is the backdrop by which Philippine life is set against.
Access to quality health is dependent on where you are on the wealth scale. The Church, regardless of their noble intentions and purposes, still meddle with politics. Politics, now I don’t want to get into that anymore. I’ve written a piece about that yesterday. To talk about it one day after the other would make me puke.

I’d rather talk of the social inequities that still persist today, and what implications this would have in the coming years. Wealth is spread thinly among the lower class and majority held by the upper crust of society.

I quoted John Gokongwei yesterday and forgot to refute his comment. He said that “We are a nation that produces nothing and consumes everything”. Actually Mr. Gokonwei, we do produce something of great quantity – BABIES!

We are ranked, (Ripley’s) believe it or not, 12th IN THE WORLD in terms of population!

We’re in the same league as other baby-producing countries like India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan to name a few. We have 86 Million people in the country and we represent 1.3% of the world’s population. Ever wonder why you almost always meet a Filipino anywhere in the world? Well wonder no more!

It really irritates me when poor people decry the government’s lack of support and help to them. I mean, if they keep on producing babies after every 9 months, how on earth will the current government, or any other government for that matter, continue to support them? Critics say that the economic gains aren’t being felt by the poor.

My friends, it is simply because the per capita income is a mathematical formula with the population as the divisor. If your divisor is bigger than your dividend, i.e. your economy (GDP), not even a single centavo will reach the next generation of poor people.

And this is what worries me.

When does the poor start to tip the scale of society that they will begin to cause a big nuisance? As long as their population grows bigger than jobs growth, where will they source their food? If they get sick, who will tend to them? How will they pay for the overpriced medicines available in the market?

Humans have three basic needs – food, shelter and clothing. The poor don’t have a problem with the latter two since they seem to enjoy squatting along railroads and clothes are given to them by various charitable organizations. However, food, that is not something that is given away freely. These are usually given with political favors being asked. Remember elections?

In my personal belief, there are two major ways that people can hope to overcome their current state of affairs – access to education and access to credit. People need to be educated. Afterwards, if they can’t find a job, but have the entrepreneurial spirit in them, can borrow to put up their business to spur the domestic economy.

I live in Manila. If you live in the northern parts of the city, you will encounter Divisoria and Tondo. Have you tried to be more observant of the area there? The poor keep on multiplying themselves. And when there are poor people, it somehow follows that crime rate increases. Even our local police advise people who travel to these parts to “wear less jewelries”.

Why do people steal? Well to answer any of the three basic needs, but most usually for food or money to buy medicine. Other than those, it’s usually just for money. Since they don’t have it in big supply, why not get it free from hapless honest working people? This is why I am worried.

When human suffering starts to turn into desperation, this is the time the poor will revolt. We’ve seen Edsa 3. Who knows when tempers will flare again among the poor? Since they are not as educated as say, the middle class, they are so easily manipulated. I shudder at the thought that one day, they run amok and launch a massive civil war.

Call me paranoid, but don’t call me oblivious. This is, and will happen, given the right circumstances.

Population control is the best solution to assure our next generation of a better, brighter future. However, Church conservatives oppose family planning. They advise that abstinence is the better option. Well, either they just want to stick to their teachings or they don’t understand human nature. No politician wants to touch the issue because they might piss off the Almighty Church, a consistent source for votes.

The good thing is that I see that subtly, family planning is being brought to the lower income sector. So maybe we’ll be able to control the explosion in population.

Remember today’s poor street children, could be the new petty thieves by the year 2027. And we’re not talking about just one, but probably millions of them.