Milestones to make one optimistic

Three recent developments make me optimistic about the future, as a Filipino and as a citizen of this world.

1. The World Bank has declared the Philippines an upper-middle income economy, with a per capita income of $4,850, above the $4,636 threshold.

For 15 years since 2010, the Philippines had languished in being a low middle-income economy, meaning Filipinos were middle income but they were actually on the border of being poor. Now, there is no doubt, Filipinos are middle class, upper-middle class. Each makes P295,850 annually or P24,654 monthly. Being poor is earning just $3.65 a day or $1,332 a year. Filipinos earn 3.64 times that.

It is no small achievement by the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., notes economist Joey Salceda. PBBM assumed office on June 30, 2022, after the worst economic decline in a century, a 9.5 percent GDP rate drop in 2020. In five years, GDP growth averaged 5.8 percent under BBM, fueled by broad-based growth.

Even while lower-middle income, the World Bank said: “The Philippines has emerged as one of the most dynamic economies in the East Asia Pacific region since 2010. Over the past two decades, its Gross National Income (GNI) per capita has more than tripled, reaching $4,470 in 2024. This economic momentum has created 11.7 million new jobs, with job growth outpacing the increase in the labor force, resulting in historically low unemployment and underemployment rates. Consequently, the Philippines has seen a significant poverty reduction, underscoring the positive effects of job-driven growth.”

2. Alexandra “Alex” Eala, 21, has become the greatest and most successful Filipino tennis player and a global phenomenon. Her fans and audiences outnumber those of world champions wherever she plays. She ranks 32 in WTA singles rankings. Learning tennis at age four, she is the epitome of Filipino discipline, responsibility, humility and grit in one’s leap to greatness.

Alex is the first Filipino to break into the WTA top 50, reaching a career-high No. 29. She is the first Filipino to win a singles match in a Grand Slam main draw at the US Open and the first to reach the third round of a major at the Australian Open. She reached the semifinals of the prestigious WTA 1000 Miami Open, securing victories over Top 10 players and Grand Slam champions along the way. She is into the third round at Wimbledon.

3. America is 250 years old this July 4, 2026. The richest, most powerful and greatest nation on earth, the United States of America celebrates its semi-quincentennial still true to the first 35 words of the 1776 Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Historian Walter Isaacson sees America’s greatness not in its physical size or military power, but in the above 35-word “shared creed” from the Declaration of Independence. He calls it the “greatest sentence ever written” and the defining foundation of the American Dream.

“America has saved the world from tyrants three times over,” notes The Economist. “The United States has by and large held out republic virtues as the salvation of people everywhere.”

French writer Alexis de Tocqueville captured the essence of America and its ideals when he made a visit in 1831: “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields and boundless forests – and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system and in her institutions of higher learning – and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution – and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”

Tocqueville saw three things why America is great:

• The power of repairing faults. Because citizens have a voice, they can fix mistakes. This keeps the nation strong over time.

• Civic spirit and groups. Americans love to form clubs, charities and local governments. Imagine a team project where everyone pitches in to build a playground. Tocqueville called these groups “associations.” He saw them as a way to prevent tyranny because power stays in the hands of everyday people.

• Religion and morals. Tocqueville saw that religious beliefs taught people to care for one another, which helped them govern themselves peacefully.

America is the world’s greatest economy with GDP of $32.4 trillion, 55 percent bigger than China. Per capita income, PPP, is $85,810.

USA is generous, having given away $2 trillion in official development assistance since 1960, according to The Economist.

As an unmatched military power, it created the post-war world order, enabling the world economy to grow 19-fold since 1945 and average incomes to grow five-fold. It has the largest fleet of aircraft carriers, 11, good for 50 years, and the largest defense budget, $1.5 trillion in 2027.

About 57 percent of the world’s foreign reserves are in US dollars. America is top in education, with 35 of the 100 world’s top universities.

In technology, America has 50 percent of global compute power for AI (39.7 million H100 equivalents of Nvidia H100 chips), with UAE, 23.1 million, and Saudi Arabia, 7.2 million, in second and third places. China is only No. 7, 400,000. Each H100 delivers 1,000 terraflops (1 petaflop) of compute. America’s compute power would consume 55 gigawatts of electricity – equal to the power demand of France, Germany, UK and Spain put together, says Forbes magazine.

In sum, USA is No. 1 in ideals of freedom and rights, defense, education, technology and cultural influence. Congratulations, America!

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