Thread For Our Next National Administration

[islander]

The head-scratching thing about it, though is that due to the absence of educated and responsible adults in their lives, these kids lap it all up, when all they have to do is ask around and read the reputable news sources. They are content to just read the Marcos-supplied propaganda, many coming from non-reputable sources.

A close parallel are the youthful ISIS recruits who are so disillusioned and distraught with their personal lives that they succumb to this romantic notion that joining ISIS is a noble adventure that would give meaning to their personal narratives. Female recruits are sold the fantasy of meeting their future husband-warriors in ISIS.

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[islander]

Why does this happen? My personal theory is that the fable that there was once a golden era and there is a chance it can be restored is a soothing one; it eases all the pain and angst these kids are undergoing, and that things are not in their control. There is a saviour, a white knight that will banish all their demons and magically restore their broken lives. And that messiah, albeit a false one, is a Marcos.

Not all of these Marcos loyalists are youngsters, though. On Raissa Robles’ website, I was able to converse briefly with an elderly loyalist. Intrigued as to her authencity, I requested her to provide bona fides. To my surprise, she did. Unfortunately, she never replied back, probably spooked as to how I was able to sniff out her real identity. I was most interested in having a real conversation with a person who lived through all those years and still come out in support of the Marcoses.

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[islander]

Except for benefiting personally from the corruption, perhaps a faulty, selective assessment?

There is just one practical way for Bongbong to make amends to the Filipino people. Apologize, and back it up by returning the rest of the ill-gotten wealth.

Otherwise, he is just as evil as his father and mother, and should be rejected resolutely.

http://joeam.com/

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[islander]

WARNING: THE MORAL HAZARDS OF THE BINAY FAMILY

by Edgar Lores
October 12, 2014



Recently I came across three concepts in economics that I think may be applicable to the eruptions of corruption surrounding the Binay family. 

These concepts are:

Tragedy of the Commons
Free Rider
Moral Hazard

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[islander]

Tragedy of the Commons

The tragedy of the commons is a situation wherein individuals, acting in their own self-interests, will deplete a shared common resource, which in the long-term is contrary to the interests of the whole group.

Examples of this ethical dilemma abound from sheepherders sharing a common but limited pastureland, through to the concerns for overpopulation, and now to the threat of global warming.

The dilemma for the individual sheepherder is that by adding a sheep to his flock, which is to his own interest, he intensifies the problem of overgrazing and thus hastens the depletion of the grassland and its ability to sustain the flocks of all sheepherders sharing the resource.

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[islander]

I would apply this concept to all political dynasties and in particular to that of the Binay family.  I would ask these questions of the Vice President:

    #Are you aware, sir, that by allowing your spouse and your progeny to compete for public office you are limiting the resource of political opportunity to non-dynastic candidates?

    #Furthermore, sir, by allowing dynastic families to lord it over the land, is not the resource of economic opportunity confined to a few families like yours, thus exacerbating the problem of inequality?

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[islander]

I am aware the analogy is a bit stretched but I would like to stress that while the elevation of the members of political dynasties into public offices is a matter of democratic public choice, one cannot be blind to the allegations against the Binays.  The members of the dynasty are claimed to be taking advantage of their positions in many forms, which have been revealed by Senate subcommittee on the Makati Parking Building.  These forms include rigged bidding, overpricing, the demand for kickbacks and substandard infrastructure.

The tragedy of the commons that is represented by the tragedy that is the Binay family may well be the tragedy of the nation.

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[islander]

Free Rider

A free rider is someone who enjoys a benefit from resources, goods, or services without paying the cost for the benefit.

Unlike the first and third concepts, this is a popular term and a commonplace idea.  I bring it up because of the prevalence of free riders on the gravy train in Makati.  And as a caution.

One is almost tempted to say that all politicians are free riders, especially in the just-now past age of the pork barrel. Politics is a business where the cost is a gift in horse-trading and a gift of the gab.  As the Filipino expression goes, “laway lang ang puhunan.” And the benefits seem to be enormous and unquantifiable, the sky being the limit, depending on how brazen you are.  And, indeed, how brazen they have been!

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[islander]

On the full-speed gravy train, there are several free riders and free rides:

    #Nancy got a free ride to the Senate by virtue of her father’s name, the Makati sister-city connections, and the willful ignorance of the Filipino voter.

    #Hillmarc’s Construction Company got a free ride by rigged bidding to obtaining several juicy contracts with the Makati City Government under 3 successive Binay regimes of the father, the son, and the unholy mother.

    #According to recent news, the three Binay mayorships got a free ride, receiving 13% kickbacks from Hillmarc’s.

    #Makati vice mayors, councilors, department heads, various city employees, and COA auditors got a free ride, pocketing 1% – 6% of kickbacks from infrastructure projects.

    #And, not the least, Mar Roxas in the survey polls is getting a free ride to higher public approval rates without any effort exerted on his part.

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[islander]

It would be one of the greatest ironies in politics if Mar is able to hitch a free ride to Malacanang Palace on the narrow shoulders of Jejomar.  And it would be the second or third greatest tragedies after Marcos and GMA if Binay got a ride, free or not, to the presidency.  I am certain some will contradict me and say Binay would be the mostest.  They will point out and say the first two were mere conjugal partnerships and not a caboodle.

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[islander]

Moral Hazard

Moral hazard is a situation in which someone who is protected from risk will behave differently than if they didn’t have protection.

The term is used in the insurance industry where a customer takes unusual risks or provides misleading information to obtain an advantage.  We encounter this in the case of a home owner who becomes less vigilant and leaves his doors open because he carries home contents insurance.  In the extreme case, we encounter this in a businessman who over declares the value of his business property, and then razes the property to the ground for its inflated value.  Insurance companies would distinguish the first example as a morale hazard – note the ‘e’ – whereas the second is a moral hazard arising out of character flaws of the criminal kind.

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[islander]

Conceivably, the term can be applied to Grace Poe, Ralph Recto, Rene Saguisag and other prominent Filipinos who continue to remain silent and do not speak out in any way, shape or form against the transgressions of the Binays.

In a way, I am applying the term in almost a reverse sense. The risk that Grace et al are taking may be hard to see because they are not providing misleading information nor are they seen to be taking any unusual risks.  The risk is almost impossible to detect, or even classify as a risk, because it is the peril of silence. In truth, Grace et al are calculating the hazard of whether to speak out – and by how much.  But if, as a result of the silence, if Binay is able to weather the storm of public opinion, if he runs and wins in 2016 and things go badly, it is the Filipino people – and not Grace et al – who will suffer.

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[islander]

This reverse sense of the term hews closer to the definition of moral hazard provided by Wikipedia:

In economic theory, a moral hazard is a situation in which a party is more likely to take risks because the costs that could result will NOT be borne by the party taking the risk. (Bolding mine.)

The distinction is made between two kinds of moral hazard as to whether the behavior occurs before an event, that is ex-ante, or after an event, that is ex-post.

The act of Binay selling his farm to a front, if true, would be an example of an ex-post moral hazard; he has successfully hidden his wealth and is now able to under declare his SALN to fool the people.

His act of under declaring a SALN, if true, would be an example of an ex-ante moral hazard in his run for the presidency.

Lastly, if Binay wins in 2016, the silence of Grace et al would be an example of a grievous ex-ante moral hazard.

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[islander]

A Moral Example

Against the backdrop of the above ethical dilemmas, permit me to ask: Has there ever been a poor politician?  I need to raise the question because the miasma of the Binay manifestations are toxic and too confronting, and one needs an antitoxin to refresh one’s faith in humanity.  The existence of such a politician should be curative and instructive.

Perhaps we can call Jose Mujica, the president of Uruguay, one.  He was a former Marxist who belonged to a notorious guerrilla group that was engaged in bank robberies and kidnappings.  He served 14 years in a military prison.  As president, he shuns living in a palace and prefers to live austerely in his farmhouse.  He drives an old Volkswagen Beetle.  And he donates 90% of his salary to charity.  As if that were not enough, he has pushed a liberal agenda on abortion, same-sex marriage and the legalization of cannabis.  And still if that were not enough, he has opened his arms to the first wave of Syrian refugees.

There may be a lesson in this for us: leftists, like Teddy Casino, Walden Bello and Risa Hontiveros, and ex-convicts (or detainees) who fought for righteous causes, like Senator Trillanes and unlike Erap and the Ampatuans, should win/stay in public office for the uncommon perspectives they bring.

http://joeam.com/

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