Career in Free Market Think Tanks

Yesterday, I was of four UP ETC alumni-speakers in the student organization's "Career Workshop". The purpose of the forum was to give the members who are undergrad students, additional ideas how alumni found jobs or change jobs after they graduated from  UP. I spoke about my current professional engagements.

ETC gave about eight guide questions  for the alumni talk or presentation. I answered them but first I gave some definition of terms with these two background info.

The free market think tanks are more prominent in the US, Canada, UK and other developed economies. A few exist in Asia but there are  some Asian countries where not a single market-oriented research institute  exists yet.

Then I answered the guide questions, like "What is your current career and occupation?" I included the logo of the organizations that I am currently engaged, both full- and part-time.

And the two books that I have written so far. A 3rd book should be published by SEANET within the year, and I must submit the manuscript to them very soon as I already exceeded the deadline.

The three other speakers yesterday, all are fellow ETC alumni, were (1) Ms. Clarissa Laysa, Head Technical Assistant to the Administrator of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), a PH government corporation, (2) Justin Muyco of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), Office of the President (OP), and (3) George, forgot his family name, and  he works at WB Philippine office. All are good speakers; Clarissa in particular speaks lively and wittily.

The other guide questions and my response to them:

3. How did you search this career?

* Maybe it’s the reverse: the career discovered me J

Consistent belief in individual freedom, personal and civil society Responsibility, free market competition and spontaneous non-state regulation.

* There are other free market-leaning institutes and groups in the PH, but either they are (a) informal, unregistered with SEC, or (b) formal but less consistent with free market, limited government advocacy.

* MGT remains a small, under-funded think tank. Consistent advocacy for less or minimal government intervention in various sectors, posted online, makes it relatively visible.

4. Challenges in current path, how to overcome them?

* Mainly funding, limited entrepreneurial capacity to mobilize more private donations.

* Approaching some local NGOs, industry groups, sympathetic individual for support, in cash and in kind.

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* Zero overhead cost, no office rentals, electricity, water, internet, telephone, etc. Courtesy of sibling assistance, MGT holding office at her big  medium size company.

* Moving towards regional perspectives in analyzing national issues and advocacies: Trade and investments, energy and agriculture, territory and security, taxation and borrowings, and so on.

* Organize public events, conduct classroom lectures, book writing on other issues in the coming months.

5. Lessons learned as  ETCer (and UPSE) alumni?

* Extra-curricular activities, good human relations, professional networking, are as important as academic performance.

* Article, “Why do many intellectuals oppose capitalism?” by Robert Nozick.

* About 20 years from now, only about 15% of Econ graduates will be doing directly Econ research and teaching (academe, NEDA, PIDS, WB, ADB, private bank economists,…). Most will go to private business, become lawyers, IT and other professions.

* Econ concepts and tools are applied unconsciously..

Ex. MR = MC. Profit is optimized when the Marginal Revenue is equal to the Marginal Cost.

Employers who have 10 employees – why not 8 or 9 or 11? Because with only 9 or less employees, MR > MC while with 11 or more employees, MR < MC.

6. Benefits or difficulties to expect if we enter the institution you’re in?

* Compensation, career development -- if you are entrepreneurial, good pay and travels. Unlike most academic papers that are purported to produce “objective” studies, free market think tanks have clear advocacies and are often contradictory to policies of governments (local and national) and the foreign aid/multilateral institutions. Governments want endless expansion like amoeba, they can produce endless justifications and alibi for such endless expansion.

 * Difficulties – some funding as it is not advisable to accept or solicit government money. Keep institute independence at all times.

Maybe 40+ members and officers of UP ETC came. This is a dynamic student organization. The current Chairman of the University Student Council (USC) of UP Diliman, RJay Mercado, is from ETC; about 1 or 2 USC Councilors is/are also from ETC. To succeed them next school year, the newly-elected USC Vice-Chairman, AJ Montesa, along with USC Councilor Baba Foronda, SE Student Council (SESC) rep to the USC, etc. are all from ETC.

During the open forum, among the questions asked of the speakers was "Who was/were your mentor/s" in deciding your career path, related questions. I answered that when I was still a student Marxist (3 decades ago), UPSE faculty members Dr. Gon Jurado and Dr. Dick Ferrer were among those that I followed. Dr. Jurado for instance wrote a paper estimating the "rate of exploitation" in the Philippine manufacturing sector and sub-sectors in the late 70s or early 80s. This "rate of exploitation" of labor is a Marxist concept showing the quotient of surplus value (s) over variable capital (v) and constant capital (c).

But when I turned around and abandoned Marxism and socialism, among my mentors were other UPSE Professors like Dr. Raul Fabella and Dr. Noel de Dios. I learned and relearned from Sir Raul the beauty of David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage and free trade, Hecksher-Ohlin theorem, etc. And once I asked Sir Noel if he is open to the idea of privatizing (not abolishing) all state universities including UP. And he said Yes, just give UP a one-time endowment of xx billion pesos plus full control of its land property rights, and it will allow UP to continue giving high quality education without raising school fees too high.

Thanks again ETC officers, particularly Wenny Canoy, the VP for Alumni Liaison, for that opportunity to share my ideas and experience with the  resident members of ETC.

See the 10-slides presentation in slideshare.
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See also: 
EFN Asia 44: Day 2 of Conference 2014, November 10, 2014
ALF 3: Photos with Friends, Kathmandu Conference, January 20, 2015
The 1st PRPX, May 2007 in Hawaii, Photos, May 04, 2015

More Photos, Forum on Electricity on the Go

Here are more photos from the ETC applicants Datigan batch which organized the forum on "Electricity on the Go: An Assessment of EPIRA" last Thursday, March 06, 2014, at the College of Engineering Theater, UP Diliman, Quezon City.

Atty. Debora Anastacia T. Layugan, Director of Market Operations Service, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Ms. Maria Teresa "Maitet" Diokno of the Center for Power Issues and Initiatives (CPII) and the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC).

During the open forum. I reiterated that many of the electricity angsts of the public were not created by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA). For instance, (1) Meralco monopoly is not created by EPIRA but by the Constitution (utilities reserved solely for Filipinos) and Congressional franchising. (2) Multiple taxation of power (royalties on natural gas, local taxes, excise tax, VAT, other taxes that all contribute to expensive electricity, were not created by EPIRA but by various tax laws, national and local. (3) Bureaucracies that make it difficult for new players and generating companies (gencos) to come in resulting in limited competition were not created by EPIRA but by various regulations, enacted by Congress or the various agencies (DOE, DENR, BIR, LGUs, etc.).

In short, calls to repeal EPIRA and go back to government centralization and monopolization of power generation and transmission are misplaced and wrong.

Awarding of Certificate of Appreciation. Signed by Christian Dave Gonzales (right), Batch Head of Datigan 13-B, Khim Carla Bautista and Alyanna Mae Volpane, Project Heads of Electricity on the Go.

The audience. Though held at the College of Engineering, they were mostly Economics majors.

Election Watch 3: Defining Celebrities, Politicians and the State

Last week, August 22, I was one of five panel speakers who talked on the subject, "Celebrities Turned Politicians" organized by the UP Economics Towards Consciousness (UP ETC) at the UPSE. I was the only non-academic speaker there. The four  other speakers were Dr. Maria Fe Mendoza of UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), Dr. Jean Franco of UP College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), Prof. Jane Vinculado of UP College of Mass Communications (CMC), and Mr. Noel del Castillo of Miriam College. The forum moderator was Kapuntong Edge of UP's radio station, DZUP 1602.

My co-speakers were very articulate in their respective fields. Unless I felt that there was something that I could add, or unless I was explicitly asked a question by the moderator, I did not speak much. I learned more listening to the four other speakers than speaking.

Well, I was invited precisely to provide a different perspective -- that of less government philosophy in topics like this. So when I was asked by Kapuntong Edge what I think about the theme, I said that we are discussing two concepts here: celebrities and politicians. I agree with Prof. Vinculado's definition that celebrities refer not only to showbiz actors, actresses, singers and dancers. They also include boxers like Manny Pacquiao, famous basketball stars and other athletes, radio and tv broadcasters, news anchors, tv public affairs program phosts, others who became instant celebrities for whatever reason/s.

The second definition is about politicians, people who aspire to be the administrators and legislators of the state and seeking the voters' mandate to get such powers and privileges. The state is force and coercion. It has the power to create various regulations, taxation, restrictions and prohibitions, to manage our lives, work and communities.

So many people, not only celebrities, but also lawyers and other professionals, clowns and idiots, aspire to become the administrators and legislators of the state, to have such power to enact new regulations or implement existing regulations and taxation.

Other topics that were discussed or mentioned were: (1) Public service as public trust, (2) the role of political parties, (3) the party-list system, (4) possible restrictions to those aspiring to become politicians, (5) voter education, many others.

On public service, I said that it is wrong to limit public service only to those who are in government because real public service is actually being done by those in the private sector. If one has to bring a family member to a hospital late at night very quickly and he/she has no car, taxi or jeepney or tricycle drivers can do that very important public service job and yet these people do not receive or rely on tax money to do such task. Notice also that even ordinary vendors of clothes, shoes, cell phone accessories and so on, do not take lunch break and close their shop. They serve their customers anytime so long as their shop is open. Whereas many government offices and personnel, national and local, take prolonged lunch break even if they are supposed to provide crucial service delivery to the public.

I mentioned the case of my friend who was accidentally bitten in the leg by one of their two dogs who fought, this was about three or four years ago. I brought him to Makati City Hall as treatment of animal bites were transferred there from the city-owned Ospital ng Makati. We arrived at city hall around 11:45 am, the doctor and his staff already left for a lunch break and we were asked to come back by 1pm. For such crucial service as treating patients who may have deadly virus in the body if the dog (or cat, rat, etc.) has rabies, they take an extended lunch break whereas those ordinary vendors who provide not-so-essential services do not take lunch breaks.

Our group photo above after the forum. From left: Three officers of ETC to my left, Mel Lorenzo Acad beside me; then Jean Franco, Jane Vinculado, Noel del Castillo, Maria Fe Mendoza, Kapuntong Edge. UP ETC gave us a modest but nice recognition plaque plus a bottle of mild wine.

My concluding notes there before the program ended:

1. Reiterating that the state is force and coercion, and so many people, celebrities or not, idiots and clowns, want to become politicians and become the administrators and legislators of the state. There is nothing special, nothing particularly wrong that many celebrities are becoming politicians.

2. What we need is to shrink government, to reduce the number of political positions, appointed or elected, reduce the taxation, regulations and prohibitions by the government, national or local, that government should focus on its important function in promulgating the rule of law, to protect the citizens' private property rights and their right to life free from aggression and harassment by bullies.

3. On so-called "intelligent voters" who are not enamored by the glitz of celebrities nor by the guns, goons and gold (3Gs). I don't think it quickly qualifies as "intelligent vote." I know of people who have masters degree, have PhD, but all they say is that government should provide this, government should subsidize that, government should regulate there, government should tax over there. To suggest that government is the be-all solution to many social issues and problems in society is not promoting intelligence. Rather, it is promoting dependency, mendicancy, even stupidity in thinking.

Above, the officers and members of UP ETC. Thanks guys for a good public forum. I am proud of my former organization when I was still an undergrad student at UPSE in the 80s.

All photos above from the ETC's facebook album.
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See also:
Election Watch 1: Anti Epal Photos, June 29, 2012
Election Watch 2: On Celebrities as Politicians, August 19, 2012

Election Watch 2: On Celebrities as Politicians

For many people, politics and government is a serious topic that only those academically and politically trained enough should enter politics. The showbiz guys, sports superstars, should keep out of politics and running for political offices because they are less trained or less prepared for the rigor of legislation and political-economic debates.

My former organization when I was still an undergrad student at the UP School of Economics in the mid-80s, will hold a round table discussion on this subject next week, on Wednesday afternoon. Early this week, they invited me as one of the speakers, I said Yes. It is free and open to the public, no need for pre-registration.

Depending on the flow of the discussion, especially if I will be among the last speakers, these will be my main messages.

1. We have made the government -- national and local -- BIG and interventionist enough. So many people want to become bleeding heart central planners to regulate and tell people how they should behave and run their own lives. For instance: you cannot drive your car on this day, you cannot smoke there, you cannot put up a shop unless..., you cannot drive your motorcycle unless..., you cannot pedal your trisikad for passengers unless... The list of regulations and prohibitions by government, local and national, is getting longer.

2. The showbiz guys, the comedians and action stars, the songbirds and drama queens, the sports superstars, are just like any ordinary mortals among us who have been enamored into politics, and into believing that they can indeed change the world by regulating if not controlling how people should manage their own lives.

3. The democratic or republican form of government allows anyone who passes the minimum qualifications like age limit, a Philippine national, has no pending criminal records, etc. to for public office. This makes the government and its coercive powers be open for capture by anyone, from serious to comedians, from democrats to despots, so long as they get the majority of those who cast their votes.

4.  Since the list of prohibitions by government is getting longer, we should endeavor to reduce this list, or at least stop this long list from becoming even longer.  So that whoever will sit in government, showbiz or not, lawyers or not, their capacity to over-regulate or over-prohibit our lives will be limited.

5. From my initial observations, my hypothesis is that the showbiz guys tend to be less interventionist and less prohibitionist, than the non-showbiz legislators and politicians. Partly because the showbiz guys are more timid in introducing more legislative proposals that will subject them to possibly intense committee and plenary debates and questions.. Whereas the lawyers, the NGO guys who went to government, tend to have oodles of new regulations and "reform" measures to introduce, and they are not timid or ashamed to create more regulations, more prohibitions.

I have to dig data to see if the above hypothesis holds water or not.

* See also Election Watch 1: Anti Epal Photos, June 29, 2012

Climate Tricks 3: Solid Waste Management to Save the Planet

One of the by-products of climate alarmism is the legislation and enactment of new laws to "save the planet". These include the Clean Air Act, Solid Waste Management Act, Forestry laws, etc. When given the chance, I try to expose these.

Yesterday, I was one of four speakers in the UP Economics Towards Consciousness (ETC) forum on "Greening the Economy and Solid Waste Management". The three other speakers were Atty. Cuna, Director of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB, DENR), Prof. Perry Ong, Director of the Institute of Biology, College of Science, UP; and Prof. Oggie Arcenas of the UP School of Economics (UPSE).

The three speakers have lots of things to say, being teachers or govenment officials, they spoke for 30 minutes. Being the last speaker, I spoke for only about 10 minutes, below is my presentation.

I showed here photos of the "Smokey Mountain" before and after the reclamation on a portion of Manila Bay.

And argued that in many Asian countries and elsewhere, "lack of land" is a problem, whether real or imagined. So creating land at narrow parts of the sea has been done in many places around the world.