Hands off the rich

Has anybody noticed how public issues and arguments in the Philippines have slid down the slippery slope that started with calls to be “pro-poor” – to demands for “socialized pricing” and policies where the rich or the financially better are forced to pay more in hospitals and universities etc. to cover part of the poor people’s bills for hospitalization, medicines and education regardless of the fact that many of them are literally “baby factories.” From there the argument has turned sour through the years and now the government and business are regularly being charged of being anti-poor, until this month where we finally reached the all time low because so-called commentators and bleeding hearts are promoting hate and division by making it a sin to be “rich,” particularly Filipino businessmen or businesswomen who have made it to the Forbes List of “The Richest People in the Philippines.”

This whole week the bellyachers reached the depths of shallowness by loudly shouting on radio that it’s the rich people who should be taxed more because they have more money than they’ll ever need. Others suggested that the rich always have the advantage and get all the breaks and should be paying higher tax brackets. It may sound unchristian but I am sick and tired of listening to the lazy, the jealous and the shallow-minded blame their lot in life on people who have worked hard, spent years saving, sacrificing and denying themselves luxuries.

YES, the rich have an advantage. YES, the rich have lots of money. That’s because they earned it and saved it all. When they made profits, they did not celebrate at the newest hotel or fly off to Europe to reward themselves or buy the latest iPhone or Samsung or Ferrari etc. They reinvested the money on other projects they found interesting, challenging, even risky. YES, their money is nearly coming out of their ears. That’s the secret of becoming big business. The more capital you have – the more choices you have – the more money you can make! Make money, reinvest it and stop being a lazy ass critic and go find a better solution other than to blame the wrong people. 

Many of today’s Taipans or billionaires started out as guys with only the shirt on their back. Lucio Tan, I heard, had to suffer many insults and indignities just to have a roof over his head and food on his mouth. His greatest struggle was getting an education and that is why he has channeled so much money towards schools and educational programs. It was John Gokongwei, I believe who nearly lost his life, if not all his earthly possessions at sea just to sell stuff. Henry Sy peddled footwear in Carriedo, Manila reportedly on the sidewalk where he was often asked to move elsewhere. Is it any wonder he keeps building malls all over the country and now parts of Asia? Ramon Ang may not consider himself a Taipan but he has made it in a big way, but he spent a big part of his life being called and treated as nothing more than “a mechanic” who dabbled as a “used car salesman.” They were all looked down upon as “pobre” or just one of the helps or an employee.

All of them spent many years envying friends or relatives who could afford to get an education, eat in big restaurants, wore expensive jewelry and drove imported cars. Yes, they too envied others but that was merely part of being human. What set them apart was that they were not afraid to work, take risks even if it cost them their life savings. They put in long hours and many years of continuous labor sacrifices and defying the odds. They lived simple lives, dressed simply, did not stay in exclusive villages or drive around with bodyguards. Maybe now, but not back then. They danced with every imaginable deceptive human scoundrel you can imagine. In other countries where commentators and politicians are actually bright, these achievers and risk takers are given awards and honors for their contribution to society and the economy. They are not made into scapegoats or offered up to be sacrificial lambs to the tax man just because commentators are too lazy or unable to creatively analyze the problem and give solutions.

Yes, the rich people in the Philippines have so much cash on hand that they practically have a hard time finding investment opportunities. The Philippine government particularly the Department of Finance wants to raise taxes to finance or fund much needed government projects. So why not meet in the middle and dance a slow deliberate dance of sincere cooperation, transparency and consultation? The rich players of the Philippines have started to invest their available cash abroad because it is SO EASY and HASSLE FREE there!!! Philippine laws are not designed to be investment friendly, they are VINDICTIVE and designed because the legislators that wrote them started on the premise that people will steal, cheat and lie just like them, and because they are so good at it, they knew exactly how to catch a thief or stop a thief. What they failed to take into consideration was that the laws would make investing in the Philippines too complicated and unfriendly. Half of the laws out there are designed to stop their enemies from getting back into power or business or both. The Philippines has had three Constitutions, all written for someone’s advantage and another’s disadvantage.

So much emphasis was placed on transparency and preventing corruption, but no thought given to foreign property ownership even for those married to Filipinos, foreign corporate structure and full ownership, legal tax friendly packages in exchange for billions and billions of investment that don’t start earning until several years. The laws don’t even streamline departmental and inter-agency support for investors. The laws can’t even prevent Congressmen and Mayors or a mere barangay official from extorting corporation!!!  Don’t blame the rich. Blame yourselves for always blaming the wrong people!

And remember what Jesus himself said: “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him,” Matthew 13:12.

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