The Philippine Online Chronicles

In the comic strip, Prof by Rene Aranda of The Philippine Star, Prof sees a dead man out on the fields and upon closer inspection, he was shock to discover that the man is a “middle-class” and he died because “high cost of living”. The strip may be humorous but it is also satirical and the two panels are reflection of the reality happening in our society today—the middle-class are declining in numbers.

To begin with, just who are the middle-class of the Philippines? Are they the ones that work as corporate employees or professionals that can provide five meals a day for their family? Are they the ones that can send their kids to college albeit sleepless nights? Or are they the ones that can afford to travel just once a year on budget airlines and stay in budget hotels? Yes, those descriptions fit them more or less.

That kind of lifestyle, while below the standards of the ‘rich’, is certainly much higher than that of the ‘poor’ or to put it politically correct, the low-income group. In order to qualify as middle-class, a household should earn an average of P36,934 a month or P443,208 a year. For them to go one step higher and be considered rich, all they have to do is just increase their monthly income by seven times.

It is easier written than done. Although their income had risen 64 percent since 2000, bigger than the 11 percent of the high-income class, their numbers have declined. In 2006, the share of the middle-class families stands at 19.1 percent from 19.9 percent three years ago. Where did the 0.8 percent go? They became ‘poor’.

The irony of this is the country just boasted a 7.3 percent in the first quarter of this year. In theory and on paper, that figure is staggering! Only China’s consecutive eight to 10 percent growth can make ours look paltry. But still, given that the whole world is just recovering form the crisis and some of the European Union nations are still in the doldrums, we are in a pretty good shape. At least that’s what it says.

Truth be told, the middle-class have been alienated and the rich have been alienated. Although I’d like to believe that the rich care less than the middle-class. The platforms of the politicians running for public offices are geared mostly, if not all, for the poor. Nobody could blame them if they wanted to win their hearts. There are just about 80 percent of them classified as such. Then Arroyo also had pro-poor programs and she called it, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Last year, she was giving cash grants for the poorest of the poor. Critics argued that move was useless as it was not sustaining and the poor will still remain poor. They were not wrong.

The figures of the low-income families are the opposite of the high-income and middle-income groups. From just 11 million households in 2001, their numbers are now 14 million. Whatever pro-poor programs the administration implemented, it certainly was ineffective. The numbers don’t lie. They should just execute pro middle-class instead.

Perhaps the next government, if President-elect Noynoy Aquino is really serious in combating poverty, should learn from India. Just look at their numbers: Since 1985, the ranks of the poor have fallen from 93 percent to 54 percent. More and more families are getting out of poverty and are becoming middle-class citizens. At the rate that it is going, it is expected that 230 milllion Indians will move out of poverty.

And what benefits does the middle-class bring to the economy? Two words: purchasing power. These are the ones that can now afford to buy the basic commodities regularly, shop for a little luxury (although luxury is still relative and theirs might still considered cheap by the high-income class) and dine out. Since consumption is already two thirds of the total production of the country, their continuous spending turns the economy wheel. China and India, the two fastest growing economies in the world, were well aware of that and that is why they are reaping the economic rewards for alleviating their people out of poverty into comfort. Their middle-class is alive and kicking. Ours is dying.

There are signs of the shrinking middle class in our country: Parents are transferring their children from private to public school; professionals going abroad and becoming overseas workers because the salary they receive here can only qualify them as a low-income earner; The Department of Tourism (DOT) eyeing neighboring countries instead of targeting the Filipinos for domestic travel and the list goes on and on.

The NSCB did report that the gap between the high-income households and the low-income ones are narrowing. Of course! The poor have been rising and the rich are declining. Is that really something to cheer about, seriously? Is that even worth mentioning at all? Ideally, both categories should decline and the middle-income households should expand. It is only then that we can say that the figures the government brags and boasts about are useful for us.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites