Welfarism 22: CCT, 4Ps and Central Planning

More government central planning, more wastes and inefficiencies. This is once more exhibited in the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) program of the government.

My economist friend from UP, Jhiedon Florentino, rode a taxi and engaged the taxi driver to a fruitful conversation. Well, it’s more of probing the mind of one of the average persons in this country on what they think of certain government policies like the CCT. Jhie is down to earth enough to listen to the man’s frank ideas and witty remarks. Then he posted their conversation in his facebook wall last October 12-13, 2012. One more reason why fb is both an entertaining and educational platform in the planet today – at zero politics, zero taxes involved.

“Me” here refers to Jhiedon. The taxi driver is from Malinta, Valenzuela City, Metro Manila. Jhie posted this in a 4-parts installment in his fb wall. There are comments after each part. I put all the comments and exchanges after part 4. I also made short English translation to some points, for the non-Filipino readers of this blog. Thanks to Jhie for allowing me to post this in my blog. Six pages pages long, enjoy!

Part 1:

Manong Tx driver: ...d naman namin hinihingi maging 4Ps, pero binigyan kami...

Me: lahat sa sitio ninyo 4Ps manong?
Manong: Di ko nga maintindihan, yung mga taong dapat makaavail, hindi nakakakuha, yung mga nagbabasura...

Me: sa tingin ninyo manong, bakit....
Manong: sa katamaran na pumunta, di nila alam, at iyong iba mga wala namang mga IDs. Tapos aatend ka ng mga meeting, malayo...

Me: nakaatend na kayo manong ng mga meeting
Manong: oo, nung minsan nagkasakit si misis

Me: anong pinagusapan ninyo nung FDS manong
Manong: naku, FAMILY PLANNING ang pinaguusapan nung pumunta ako....

(Translation: Driver said they did not ask for the 4Ps but government gave them the money. He did not understand why the less poor got the money but the very poor like garbage scavengers got nothing, they are lazy to walk long and attend meetings, or they do not have any ID. He attended one meeting, the topic was about family planning) 

Welfarism 9: Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT)

Yesterday, there was a big forum on the conditional cash transfer (CCT) for the poor, sponsored by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), at the UP School of Economics, Quezon City.

It was a big forum in the sense that many of the top guns of such program -- like the DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, NEDA Secretary Cayetano Paderanga, top officials of the ADB and WB, and "CCT expert" -- were there.

The forum was supposed to "foster public debate" but I think about 80 percent of the invited speakers were pro-CCT. Besides, the budget for 2011 has been approved in the House of Representatives already, along with the P21 B for the CCT alone.

The WB and ADB made huge lending for the program. Whcih means more public debt, more interest payment in the future. Borrow and borrow, the usual thinking of government bureaucrats and officials, upon the prodding of the foreign aid bureaucrats themselves, of course.

Meanwhile, what happened to: education for the poor, healthcare for the poor, seeds and credit for the poor, housing for the poor, agrarian reform for the poor, nutrition for the poor, rallies for the poor, etc.? Now, CCT for the poor, and soon, DCCT (double CCT) for the poor, with double the loans from WB-ADB?

Isn't controlling, if not stopping debt addiction, also pro-poor? How about "stop debt addition for the poor"? Or this is imposible to happen?

If government and foreign aid debt pushers want new programs for the poor, then they should stop and discontinue some old programs for the poor that did not work. There are so many programs and subsidies for the poor that only benefitted the non-poor. The bleeding of public funds that go to endless debt payment (principal + interest) should be reduced if not stopped.

They always say, "save the poor" or "save the economy" or "save the planet". What they really mean is "save ourselves", them central planners and debt pushers. Most of them just live off on tax money, on money forcibly and coercively taken away from the pockets and savings of the productive sectors of society.
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See also:
Welfarism 5: Germany's Tax Hikes, June 28, 2006
Welfarism 6: Obama and US Entitlement, November 11, 2008
Welfarism 7: Squatters in the Univ. of the Philippines (UP), February 23, 2009
Welfarism 8: Send All Monthly Salary to UK Govt First, September 21, 2010