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.

,

* 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.
--------------

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

The 2nd PRPX, June 2008 in Hong Kong

These are my notes after the 2nd Pacific Rim Policy Exchange (PRPX), held in June 4-5,2008, at JW Marriott Hotel, Hong  Kong. It was sponsored by four free market-oriented think tanks: Americans for Tax Reforms (ATR, www.atr.org, US), Property Rights Alliance (PRA, www.propertyrightsalliance.org, US), International Policy Network (IPN, UK), and Lion Rock Institute (LRI, www.lionrockinstitute.org HK).

Liberty and Property Rights in the Pacific Rim

June 2008

Liberty is a concept, an ideal, that is often associated with the collective. Individual liberty is often subsumed under general concepts like collective liberty and national sovereignty. This is wrong because if liberty and freedom is to have serious meaning, they must redound to individual liberty. The collective is composed of individuals. If individuals are considered as plain adjuncts and appendages of the collective, then only the leaders of the collective have liberty and power to selectively choose what rights and liberty the individuals can have, and what rights and liberty they cannot have.

The main reason why individual liberty is often restrained in favor of “collective liberty”, is supposedly to ensure equality in society. Growth without equity, in this belief, is undesirable and thus, the state must always step in to take away the “excess” income and savings of the hard-working individuals and “excess” profit and surpluses of efficient corporations. Then use the collections to pay for the salaries and benefits of the administrators of the collective (the bureaucracy and politicians in government) and the excess be distributed to the poor, state enterprises, and some inefficient but favored private enterprises, in the form of subsidies.

The subjects of liberty and property rights were at the center of the recent PRPX in Hong Kong. It was the second event after the 1st PRPX held in Honolulu, Hawaii, last May 2007. 

The HK event was composed of 6 panels or subjects, three per day. These were 

(1) Real property rights: traditional rights, formal protection and economic growth; 

(2) Taming the beast: accountability, deregulation and transparency; 

(3) Free market health care reform: keeping healthy with a healthy market; 

(4) Intellectual property rights (IPR): protecting the engine of innovation; 

(5) Adaptation or accommodation: energy production and its consequences; and 

(6) Globalization: trade, regulation and international markets. 

The speakers came from China, India, S. Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, US, UK and Peru. Other participants came from other Asian countries.

Among the panels that attracted me most were those on real property rights, IPR and taming the beast (the state). It’s very enlightening, or perhaps depressing, to know that many governments around the world are responsible for very complicated, time-consuming and costly procedures in registering a property. The result is that many owners of real properties like land, do not have peace of mind in saying that they indeed have full control of their lands, whether to keep it for whatever use, or sell and exchange it for money or other real properties. This lack of peace of mind force them to sell their land at a much lower price, or discourage them from putting in new and bigger investment to develop their real properties.

Protecting IPR – someone’s song composition, research data and methodology, technological invention, medical innovation, and so on – is also very important. If another singer can just steal a lesser-known musician’s songs and record them and claim them as his own composition, the latter would feel robbed. If other companies, including state enterprises, can just steal the formula of an effective and best-selling pharmaceutical product because they were allowed to do so by the state in the name of “national emergencies”, the company that invented that medical product (and spent many years and several hundred million dollars in R&D) would also feel robbed. And there are many governments, upon the prodding of some activist groups, itching to do this kind of intervention and legalized stealing.

Above photo, Barun Mitra from India and Maria del Carmen Delgado from Peru speaking on real property rights. Below, Alec Van Gelder of IPN speaking about IPR.

To me, such unnecessary bureaucracies in registering real or physical properties, and disrespect of the IPR of an innovator company, is one example of “government failure”. I firmly believe that protection of the citizens’ right to life, right to dignity and right to private property, are the state’s main function. Running and operating banks, power plants, pension funds, hospitals, universities, or engaging in rice trading and broadband deals, are secondary or unnecessary state functions because these are better left to the private sector in a deregulated and competitive business environment. There is pressure on private enterprises to perform well and satisfy customers in a competitive and level playing field, while there is complacency, resulting in mediocrity, when a service is under the hands of government. This is because private enterprises depend on revenues from customers who voluntarily come to get their services, while government enterprises depend on subsidies from taxes and fees that are forcibly collected from the people.

And how could one tame the beast? A Hong Kong speaker suggested “declaw it, one claw at a time, and blind it, if you can”. I agree with this proposal, although achieving it is very difficult because the number of claws, those various regulations, seem to be increasing, not decreasing. And very often, those regulations are not transparent; one would not know them all, including the fees, hidden requirements, and the number of days, weeks or months to wait, until he/she gets there, in front of the concerned regulatory office. Forcing the government, both national and local government units, to become more transparent should be a good challenge for citizens since the total cost of (a) taxes and fees + (b) cost of compliance can be high which siphons the people’s energy and resources away from actual productive undertaking.

Aside from the six panels or subjects, the conference also featured 2 luncheon speakers and 2 dinner speakers on those 2 days, and all of them were articulate speakers. But the most influential of them all was Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Media communications in HK. He was also the main character in a documentary called “The call of the Entrepreneur” produced by Acton Institute. The man had a typical rags-to-riches story due to non-typical character of super-hard work and strict business ethics. He was emotional in the documentary when he related how hard his and his family’s life was, both in mainland China until he was a teen-age migrant worker in HK, and how his philosophy in life changed after he read Friedrich Hayek’s “The Road to Serfdom”.

Is democracy a political condition? Many people would nod in answering this question. But Jimmy Lai says NO, because for him, democracy is a moral issue. The freedom that people enjoy in a democracy is a deep moral right, something that they will not experience in a dictatorship where the citizens are worth nothing except as adjunct and slaves of the state and state leaders, the dictators. And most importantly, Jimmy Lai says what matters most is individual responsibility, how individuals should conduct their lives. Yes, individuals have the option whether they can be ambitious and hard-working, or be lazy and dependent on family or state subsidies. So his message to the state, “leave us alone.”

Incidentally, the recently published book by ATR President Grover Norquist, has the same title, “Leave us Alone [Getting the government’s hands off our money, our guns, our lives]”. Grover distributed his fascinating book to all conference participants FREE! And not only that I got my copy signed by Grover himself, I also got extra copies for some friends and officers of our think tank.

Participants do not just listen to the speakers. They also meet old and new friends and exchange ideas on various issues, as well as how to further improve their work in promoting individual liberty, protecting private property rights, and advancing freedom in general. I particularly enjoy this networking aspect of big international conferences and meetings.

------------

See also:
Liberty and Choice, Atlanta and HK Conferences, June 09, 2008
3rd PRPX, October 2009, Singapore, October 17, 2009 
4th Pacific Rim Policy Exchange, Sydney, Sept 28-30, August 10, 2010 
4th PRPX, Sydney, September 29, 2010  
The 1st PRPX, May 2007 in Hawaii, Photos, May 04, 2015

Why are Interest Rates so Low?

That is the question that Ben Bernanke, former US Fed Chairman, tackled in his blog at Brookings. Here are the papers:

Why are interest rates so low? March 30, 2015

Why are interest rates so low, Part 2: Secular stagnation, March 31, 2015

Why are interest rates so low, Part 3: The Global savings glut, April 1, 2015

Why are interest rates so low, Part 4: Term premiums, April 13, 2015.

To summarize his points, the following are among his concluding statements and charts or table presented.

Part 1: The state of the economy, not the Fed, is the ultimate determinant of the sustainable level of real returns. This helps explain why real interest rates are low throughout the industrialized world, not just in the United States.

Part 2: Does the U.S. economy face secular stagnation? I am skeptical, and the sources of my skepticism go beyond the fact that the U.S. economy looks to be well on the way to full employment today. First… at real interest rates persistently as low as minus 2 percent it’s hard to imagine that there would be a permanent dearth of profitable investment projects.

Part 3: the global savings glut hypothesis remains a useful perspective for understanding recent developments, particularly the low level of global interest rates. Overall, I see the savings glut interpretation of current events as providing a bit more reason for optimism than the stagnationist perspective.

Part 4: Overall, the behavior of term premiums helps explain the generally low level of longer-term interest rates in recent years... in turn reflects a number of factors, including: minimal investor concern about inflation; relatively low uncertainty about the likely future course of interest rates... a strong global demand for safe, liquid assets (for use as international reserves, for example, and to satisfy regulatory requirements); and quantitative easing programs by central banks.

Mr. Bernanke is right  on at least two points: (1) that it is the real economy, not the Fed or central banks, that drive real returns to capital, and (2) credit glut, represented by high current account surplus by many industrialized and emerging economies, not stagnation, is a better explanation for low world interest rates.

Prevailing interest rates are simply the equilibrium points of (global, regional, national) credit supply and demand. Many if not all governments around the world have been too irresponsible and wasteful, living beyond their means, financing their over-spending with endless borrowings.

With such high demand for credit to finance endless wastes and irresponsibility, interest rates should rise. But this did not happen because the increase in credit supply is much larger than the increase in credit demand. Modern capitalism has become more efficient, it can bail out ALL irresponsible governments combined. Even if the US (federal government alone) will borrow $1 trillion a year to finance its over-spending, global interest rates still refuse to rise.

Central planners in the monetary sector can produce various explanations like tinkering with overall money and quasi-money supply, engineer the reserve requirements, etc. as drivers of global and national interest rates. While these are valid explanations,  there is one major factor that they may fail to mention -- that productivity in the private sector keeps rising due to more innovation and competition. So that even if individuals and corporations are over-taxed and over-bureaucratized, there are still huge social surplus. So a flat or declining productivity and usefulness of many in the public sector can still be endured by the private sector, savings and credit can remain high, and so interest rates can remain low.

Many if not all governments of developed economies need to reform and reduce their expensive welfare system instead of printing more money, which only delays belt tightening in the future.

Low world oil prices also significantly contributed to low global inflation. The cost of airlines, shipping lines, bus lines, trucks, taxi and ordinary motorists have significantly declined. Again it is a result of capitalist competition -- shale oil vs. petroleum, OPEC vs non-OPEC producers. Competition among motor companies  result in new models of cars, buses, trucks, airplanes that are more fuel efficient, they can run or fly the same distance at lower oil consumption.

Central governments and central banks tend to specialize in creating inflationary pressures in the economy. What could be cheaper goods and services become expensive because of the various taxes, fees, fines, mandatory contributions, that are passed on by the sellers and manufacturers to the consumers. Then the inflationary pressures of endless borrowings and printing of currency.

The private sector in a competitive environment on the other hand, specialize in deflationary pressure. What used to be a $200 mobile phone last year becomes $150 this year because of harsh mobile phone competition. Productivity keeps rising, companies and workers produce more for the same if not lesser, resources and inputs.

Overall, the latter bails out the former, and the former continues their wicked and wasteful ways while bragging that they are "fighting poverty and inflation."

This situation can continue for as long as productivity growth in the private sector is higher than wastefulness growth in the public sector. If the latter catches up with the  former, then that is the inflection point and interest rates will start rising.

The 1st PRPX, May 2007 in Hawaii, Photos

I just discovered these photos in my old emails, during the 1st Pacific Rim Policy Exchange (PRPX) held in Sheraton Waikiki, Hawaii,  May 2007. It was mainly sponsored by the Americans for Tax Reforms (ATR), and co-sponsored by the Property Rights Alliance (PRA, USA), Grassroot Institute Hawaii (GIH), International Policy Network (IPN, UK), Lion Rock Institute (LRI, HK) and  another Tokyo-based Institute. The original photos and folders I lost when my USB was damaged.

I was one of the panel speakers there, I  talked about privatization. See my presentation there. Below with Martin Krause of Argentina (left) and Julian Morris of IPN, London, Julian is now the VP of Reason Foundation,  USA.

With Julian, Alec van Gelder also of IPN, and Barun Mitra of Liberty Institute, Delhi, India.

With Tracie Sharp Sloat of State Policy Network (SPN, US) and her kid and  hubby.

With John Rutledge of Rudledge Capital, based in  Hawaii. John was among the keynote speakers of the conference. See his two articles here, on Protectionism and Class war (April 02, 2008) and On Entrepreneurship (March 19, 2009).

Facing the camera was Jose Tapia of Institut Liberdade in Lima, Peru.

 With Ms. Malia Zimmerman, a Hawaii-based broadcast journalist who was one of the speakers in the conference.

With Jose Peniera (center), another keynote speaker in the  conference. with his wife and Barun. Mr. Peniera was a former Minister for Pension in Chile, very articulate and  passionate speaker. I think he can  speak for an hour without boring his audience.

Other photos during dinner with keynote speakers. Above photo, from left: Mr. You of Japanese for Tax Reforms (JTR), me, Julian, Jose Peniera, Barun, and... oh, I  forget the lady's name. Lower photo, Ken Schooland of Hawaii Pacific University on the left. 

See also:
Tax Cut 5: Tax Imperialism, Privatization (PRPX 2007 Hawaii), June 12, 2007 
3rd PRPX, October 2009, Singapore, October 17, 2009 
4th Pacific Rim Policy Exchange, Sydney, Sept 28-30, August 10, 2010 
4th PRPX, Sydney, September 29, 2010 
Privatization 11: Presentation in Hawaii in 2007, June 08, 2013

Abolish Income Tax 10: Presentation in March 2007

This is the paper I presented in forum on “In Search of a National Consensus”, sponsored by the Barangay San Lorenzo Business Association (BSLBA) Makati, at My Cinema, Greenbelt 3, Makati City, March 30, 2007. The six  other speakers that day were (1) Bjorn Tarras-Wahlberg, Sec. Gen. of the World Taxpayers Association (WTA), (2) Dr. Dennis Gonzales of Ateneo de Manila University, (3) Dr. Rolando Dy of the  University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), (4) Dr. Rene Azurin of the University of the Philippines (UP), (5) Mr. Billy Esposo, columnist at the Philippine Star, and (6) Mr. Bernie Lopez, columnist at Business World..

The head of BSLBA that time was Mr. Veredigno "vernie" Atienza, who  was also the President of the Philippine Taxpayers Union (PTU), and he appointed me that time as PTU Secretary-General, while I was also the President of Minimal Government Movement (MGM).

--------------

Why income taxes can be abolished,Consumption taxes as main government revenue source

Bienvenido “Nonoy” Oplas, Jr.

A. Philosophy/Principle

1. Economic activities by productive individuals and enterprises always (a) create jobs, and (b) expand production of food, housing, clothing, transportation, other human needs. Hence, they already serve welfare functions to society, and they should not be penalized with income taxes and bureaucratic licenses and permits.

2. There are plenty of consumption-based taxes already in place. In particular: (a) value added tax or VAT, (b) sales tax, (c) excise tax, (d) import tax, (e) vehicle registration tax, (f) real property tax, (g) percentage tax, (h) amusement tax, (i) travel tax, among others.

3. In addition, various bureaucracy-generated taxes, like (a) documentary stamp tax, (b) franchise tax, (c) bank earnings witholding tax, (d) insurance premium tax, (e) business permit tax, (f) fire code tax, and so on.

4. Very bureaucratic, discretionary, costly and corruption-prone to fully enforce income tax collections since people do not want to divulge their true income; cheaper to hire good accountants and lawyers and bribe revenue collectors than pay the full income tax liability. What the current income tax laws only affect are the fixed-income earners like teachers, office employees, soldiers, and so on.

5. Welfare loss to society = income taxes paid + cost of compliance (hiring accountants, lawyers, other business consultants) + cost of bribery (to avoid paying taxes or bring down their tax liabilities).

6. In addition, many people who live off on taxes, like those working in multilateral institutions (UN, WB, IMF, ADB), in other governments’ foreign aid bodies and embassies, are exempted from mandatory witholding income taxes. The more reason that those working in the private sector, those who derive their income not from taxes of other people but on business sales, should be spared from paying income tax. 

B. The Numbers

1. Collections from income tax (P Billion, except %)

* Not included here are (i) “non-tax revenues” like various fees and charges, Bureau of Treasury (BTr) income, privatization proceeds, and (ii) local government taxes and fees.

(Source: Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF), 2007)

2. GDP computation

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the sum of household consumptions (C), government consumption (G), private and government investment (I) and net exports (X-M). Alternatively, GDP is also computed as the sum of gross value added (GVA) of agriculture, industry and services sectors. Or:

GDP = C + I + G + (X-M), or
GDP = GVA Agri + GVA Industry + GVA Services.

Nominal GDP figures were:

2003, P4.316 B;  2004, P4.859 B;  2005, P5.419 B; 2006, P6.025.

3. Assumptions when income taxes, at least personal income tax, is zero:

(a) informal or underground economy will fall from 43% ** (WB estimates) to around 20% of  GDP (or 80% formal economy); and

(b) GDP growth will be higher as household consumption (C) will increase. And C comprises nearly 75% of GDP; and

(c) VAT to be augmented by a national sales tax, composite consumption tax of 12%; and

(d) all other consumption-based taxes are retained; exemptions to VAT retained.

(** Note: Main culprit for the high incidence of informal sector is the high and multiple taxes and fees, the many permits and licenses to secure with various government agencies, both national and local government units)

4. Projected revenue collections under zero income tax, expanded consumption taxes, on a P8 trillion GDP:

(a) Taxable national income = (nominal GDP) x (formal economy)
= (P8 trillion) x (0.80) = P6.4 trillion

(b) Projected collections from VAT & sales tax alone

= (taxable income) x (12% VAT & sales tax)
= (P6.4 trillion) x (0.12) = P768 billion.

This is equivalent to projected collections of (i) income tax + (ii) general sales & VAT. Projected revenue from (i + ii) in 2007 is P628 billion. As discussed earlier, there are other tax revenues which will not be affected by this initiative, like proceeds from excise tax, franchise tax, property tax.

C. Conclusion

1. One major impact of zero income tax, especially on personal income, is large-scale job creation. A household with combined witholding tax of say, P6,000/month will experience an equivalent “wage increase” of the same amount. That amount will be used to hire a “yaya” (nanny) or housemaid, or increase food consumption if the family size is big, creating new jobs in the food production sectors.

2. In addition, many employees who dream of becoming employers and job creators someday will make it easier to realize their dreams. They do not have to borrow much money as they can save their de facto “pay rise” in the form of zero income tax, for bigger equity in their entrepreneurial project someday.

3. Society’s human resources will be reallocated to more productive use. There will be lesser tax collection bureaucrats, lesser demand for tax consulting services (accounting, legal, PR, etc.) as the taxation system is more simple. If those bureaucrats and income tax consulting guys are into productive enterprises instead, then society’s production of more goods and services will expand, further creating more job opportunities.

4. People often hide their source of income, or how much they’re earning. But they flaunt their consumption – big house, big or fast cars, expensive clothes and cellphones, throwing parties, frequent travels and vacation, and so on. Taxing people on their consumption is much easier to administer because they give clear hints of what are their consumption preferences.

5. Low-income people who paid no or low income tax and low consumption tax before will not be worse off in a new situation where consumption taxes are higher. With plenty of job opportunities around, moving to high-paying jobs should be easier if one has sufficient ambition and industriousness.

6. Ultimately, consumption tax and other taxes must come down; some will have to be abolished too (as income taxes remain zero) – in a regime of small government, and bigger personal responsibilities and bigger role for voluntary organizations and civil society.

D. Timetable

1. The main goal of this taxpayers’ movement is a law that will abolish income tax, and shift revenue collection to consumption-based taxes.

2. To lessen drastic revenue adjustments, that law need not provide outright drop in income tax rate from the current 32% to zero in one year. A phase-in period of gradual reduction from 32% to zero in a period of 5 to 10 years as sales tax increase is being worked out will be instituted.

3. Meanwhile, the immediate task is to expand the number of individuals and organizations who will support this single goal. Existing organizations can affiliate with PTU. Or individuals who do not belong to any organization can form their own local taxpayers association or union (say, Pasig Taxpayers Association) and affiliate with PTU.

4. If we are strong enough, we can push a bill this year, and expect a law within 2 to 3 years (2008 or 2009).

---------------

See also:
Abolish Income Tax 6: Income tax and VAT trade-off, February 08, 2010
Abolish Income Tax 7: Rene Azurin, Peter Wallace, John Mangun, August 19, 2011 
Abolish Income Tax 8. From low flat tax to zero income tax, September 30, 2011 
Abolish Income Tax 9: Tax Revolt Against Government Corruption, September 29, 2013

Tax Cut 19: Letter to Sen. Sonny Angara Re. SB 2149, June 06, 2014
Tax Cut 20: On the Excise Tax on Gasoline, Various Regulatory Fees, October 08, 2014 

Tax Cut 21: Taxation Without Income Discrimination, November 02, 2014 

Tax Cut 22: ASEAN Taxation and Philippine Fiscal Incentives, March 25, 2015

Demography 23: The UN, Depopulation and Climate

This is one more proof that the UN is the springboard of Malthusian eco-socialism and global central planning. This lady is the Exec. Secretary of the UN FCCC, the club of governments to "save the planet." Story from Jews News, April 27, 2915.

For the UN, more people = more energy demand = more CO2 emission = more "man-made" climate change. Therefore, to "fight CC", the planet should have less CO2 emission, less power plants (mostly from fossil fuels), less people. Ang galing ano.

One more reason why the UN should shrink. Its top bureaucracy are becoming explicit eco-socialists.

When the UN IPCC was established in the 80s or earlier, it was meant as an activist body with an implicit goal of expanding governments and the UN -- via more environmental and energy regulations. But unlike before, the UN climate officials were less explicit in their advocacy for eco socialism. Now they are more explicit.

Here in the ASEAN, India, etc., people are optimistic about our "young and big population", more producers and consumers, more entrepreneurs and workers. At the other side of the globe, in one building in NYC, international bureaucrats there are plotting how to shrink Asian and other population. They are thinking of de-industrialization and energy poverty, lower standards of living and lower life expectancy, then global population will decline.

These three stories are from WUWT. 

1. Overpopulation: The Fallacy...

"Global warming and climate change are simply the emotional threats used to confront overpopulation. The problem is the world is not overpopulated.

The insanity of it all is that none of what they think matters because there is no overpopulation, no shortage of resources or any connection between CO2 and climate change. It is a story of science without evidence or at best-concocted evidence from Malthus through the COR to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)."

(2) Riddley: IPCC and OECD...

"TCOR and later UNEP’s Agenda 21 adopted and expanded the Malthusian idea of overpopulation to all resources making it the central tenet of all their politics and policies. The IPCC was set up to assign the blame of global warming and latterly climate change on human produced CO2 from an industrialized expanding population. They both developed from false assumptions, used manipulated data and science, which they combined into computer models whose projections were, not surprisingly, wrong. The result is the fallacy of global warming due to human CO2 is a subset built on the fallacy of overpopulation."

(3) Opinion: CO2 is the demon because...

"These IPCC and OECD reports are telling us clear as a bell that we cannot ruin the climate with carbon dioxide unless we get a lot more numerous and richer. And they are also telling us that if we get an awful lot richer, we are likely to have invented the technologies to adapt, and to reduce our emissions, so we are then less likely to ruin the planet. Go figure."

The successor to  Malthus negativism is Dr. Paul Ehrlich. Two short articles from Steven Goddard, Real Science.

I think the Earth's resources are infinite -- minerals, fossil fuels like oil and gas, coal, geothermal, etc. The Earth's core keeps regenerating itself, pushing up hot gases and molten rocks upwards, mineralizing otherwise "ordinary" rocks and soil, forever. New islands are created, the whole PH archipelago is a product of volcanic and EQ movements, our lands rose from under the sea. Centuries from now, we'll have the Bentham Rise/Plateau, possibly same size as Luzon. Rising consistently from under the sea. But by then, it can be another country.
-----------

See also:
Demography 19: Top 30 Countries in Population by 2050, August 05, 2013 
Demography 20: Presentation at ILS, DOLE, on Population and Growth, November 19, 2013 
Demography 21: China Overtaking the US' GDP Size in 2014?, May 02, 2014 
Demography 22: Japan's Depopulation and Migration Policy, May 11, 2014 
Climate Tricks 38: Arrest Climate Change Deniers, April 11, 2015

Nepal 6: Nepal Government Wants to Monopolize All Donations

One ugly characteristic of many governments is their tendency to centralize many things, consistent with their central planning thinking. Like centralizing even private money and donations meant for victims of  natural calamities. Recent example is the Nepal  government.

I am reposting these fb status updates from a friend, Arpita Nepal, Director at Samriddhi Prosperity Foundation in Kathmandu.
------------

April 30, 2015

Dear well wishers, our 'esteemed government' wants to channel all possible resources only through them! So if you are planning to send any contribution to Nepal, yesterday the Ministerial Cabinet decided that all funds collected will be directed via the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund. Please read the Press release of the Office of the Prime Minister, Government of Nepal. If you have already started fund-raising initiatives on your own, please note that you are now require to get approval of the District Administration Office of the respective district and from the Nepalese embassy or Consulate Office if you are abroad!!

(To show accountability) They will produce a daily report according to the press release. However, according to ground information from our volunteers, the only relief that they have received so far is from voluntary individuals and civil society orgnizations. Not from Government. People have been reached more by Army and Police in rescue efforts. We don't know what is the plan of action of the Government relief fund.

May 1, 2015

For those of you making a donation or collecting funds for Earthquake victims of Nepal, please be aware that there are two directives in place now which direct all money collected to the Prime Minister's Relief fund (to be channeled through the Government). The latest one apparently is by Nepal Rastra Bank. Here's a news link to the directive. Looking for authenticity. Will post the actual directive once I'm able to get it as well.

(An illustration belowposted by another friend, Samriddhi Executive Director, Robin Sitoula; also the husband of Arpita. Below it, three fb status by other individuals shared by Arpita) 

(1) From Anil Keshary Shah Nepali

The government of Nepal has decided that all funds donated and collected for earthquake relief has to be deposited in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund! The government has said that it has taken this step in order to ensure that individuals and institutions do not misuse the funds collected in the name of relief, and to streamline coordination to ensure the optimum utilization of funds! 

As a citizen of Nepal I would like to remind my government that by doing this they are now fully and solely responsible for every family that is without a roof over their head, every injured person who is not getting treatment, every family that does not have water or food, and every disease and epidemic that spreads from today! The citizens of Nepal and friends of the Nepali people across the world wanted to do their best to help in whatever manner they could. Thousands of youth were engaging themselves in taking assistance to their affected brothers and sisters, whether they be in the heart of the valley or the most remote of villages; However now with all funds being mandatorily diverted to the government they have no means of continuing their efforts! People across the world who were sending funds and materials to individuals or institutions that they had faith would get the needed relief to the affected people are also stepping back as they are unaware of what will happen to their contributions when it's put into such a big pool! 

But our government is our government and as citizens we must abide by our governments decision, but I humbly request our government to also remember we are the people who vote to put them in government and wish that they are able to fulfill this immense responsibility that they have taken, from the hands of their citizens who wanted to help, so that we will be able to use these idle hands to vote for them the next time round! For now every Nepali who has lost their home, their business, their loved ones, are sick, hungry and thirsty is solely and wholly the responsibility of the government! And I don't think your public will wait for very long watching our brothers and sisters suffer, every day is one day to many, and please don't tell us that the task is huge and will take time because you were the ones who told us you didn't need our help and would be better able to do it if we stepped aside and stopped trying to help! We are your citizens so we will abide by our governments decision, now please prove you are our government and deliver on the responsibility you've taken on!!! If you agree please SHARE to build a public consciousness on this critical issue!

(2) From Prasit Kandel‎ 

All the people who are providing rescue, medical service, shelter, food, water, sanitation plz if u are doing from ur inner heart then dont let you down due to one door system of government. Standard time for rescue is atleast 15 days. We can save many lifes. Dont follow the rules follow the situation. Rescue never follow political rules it should follow situation. If i am wrong i am sorry my government but i will not follow ur rules for atleast 15 days. You can arrest me for that.

And true volunteers my heroes be aware of people, association, organization who believe in publicity not in serving.

And i would like to thanks all the people, association, organization who are giving there best to serve the people.

(3) From Nishant Shrestha

Ok the BIG PROBLEM OF CUSTOMS IS SOLVED ::::: Now people can send the relief material and there will be no customs charged ! Here is how it needs to be done :

To send :

1. The one sending the relief material has to send it to a social organization it can be NGO , INGO or a registered community club.

2. Please have the name and address written or printed clearly.

To receive :

1. The receiving organization needs to be a social organization as states above.

2. The receiving organization needs to bring a letter in their stamped letter head stating the purpose of the relief material and where they will distribute it. They will also need to submit cargo list or packing list.

3. They need to declare the total worth of the relief item and sign a contract stating how and where it will be distributed.

4. After the distribution , the social organization needs to make a report of distribution and get it approved by the local governing body at the distributed area , can be police, army or any government authority. Nepal customs will then followup on the issue later with the local bodies and in case the local body will not be able to provide authentic letter , total custom of that consignment will be charged to the local social organization.

In case of any problem , we are at the airport , please get all documents ready and call..... my number is 00977 9801122000 and 009779851021000

ENJOY !

(New updates from Arpita)

Tent meant for distribution in Sindhupalchowk, Lalitpur and Upper Dhading just got seized by the Government en route from Birgunj - Their response - 'It is our job not yours!' - If the relief materials reaches the victims as soon as possible, we'd be very happy - doesn't matter who takes it there. But many supplies still lying at the airport tell a different story! Anyway, another day of trying to match efforts, and some successes. We'll still keep trying to help despite all adversities!

....

Finally, here's the Government's plan of action. If you want to distribute any kind of relief yourself or through your organization, this statement directs you to coordinate and take permission from the Central District and Local District Officers. Everyone involved in relief distribution, please take note.

-----------

See also:
Nepal, Maoist Government and Samriddhi, Part 2, April 07, 2014 
Nepal 3: Banda/Strike and Forced Closure of Shops, Schools, Transportation, February 07, 2015
Nepal 4: Earthquake and Civil Society Initiatives, April 27, 2015 
Nepal 5: Building Quality, Construction Permits and Earthquake, April 28, 2015

Agri Econ 19: Charcoal Supply and Demand

An economist friend, Joey, made this cool observation about charcoal supply and demand.

... the bulk of users are the rural poor and not-so-poor in the urban centers. Most of the studies on charcoal and deforestation analyze the supply (production side) and hence, most solutions are on the supply side and they are costly and bound to fail. 

Two solutions on the demand side: (1) The price of LPG goes down that the price difference equates to the labor (intensive) effort in charcoal cooking, and (2) the poor and not-so-poor get more jobs and income that the opportunity cost of labor in charcoal cooking makes it pricey than using LPG. The not-so-easy solution (3) when people eat more vegetables (less fuel needed), and if the whole population demand it, will drive prices up that poor people will gladly substitute relatively cheaper meat products and cook with charcoal. 

I will stick with solutions 1 and 2. (1) depends on the international D and S of oil, (2) is the most workable in the medium and long term.

I think there is nothing wrong if demand for charcoal is high. It means many things.

High Demand: (1) the rural poor find the price of LPG as high, so charcoal and firewood become substitute fuel for cooking; (2) the not so poor are eating more grilled food -- inihaw na tilapia/bangus/pusit, pork chop, bar bq, etc.

Low Supply: (3) government (DENR, LGUs, PNP, etc.) are getting more strict in the cutting and transport of wood from public forest land, (4) charcoal makers are busy with other jobs like farming, rice harvesting and threshing, gathering bulo, rattan, other non-forest products; (5) rainy season, difficult to produce charcoal, gather and transport them with muddy off roads.

If #3 is maintained but #1 and 2 persists, then more bribery or plain "pakiusap" will happen so that #3 will be relaxed. #4 and 5 regularly happen and seasonal, short-term events.

We in private farms introduce #6 factor or solution, produce more charcoal/firewood from private forests, usually from branches and tree tops in regular pruning of trees, or excess parts from felled trees for lumber.

Bottom line is that high demand for charcoal is perfectly normal. What government should do is to encourage more private forestry, sell some of its huge "public forest/pasture land" because it has both no willingness and resources to really protect and manage all of them. Private forestry farms have the stake to make the land productive, protect the growing and mature trees for harvest or for conservation. They can lose money, directly or indirectly (lost income opportunities) if they will not protect and manage their land properly.

------------

See also:
Agri Econ 15: Why do Thailand and Vietnam Produce More Rice than the PH?, January 27, 2015 
Agri Econ 16: Seeds for Mankind, February 27, 2015
Agri Econ 17: Why NFA Marketing Function Should be Removed,  February 28, 2015 
Agri Econ 18: Israel's Modern, High Tech Farming, March 17, 2015
Charcoal Economics, Part 2, November 28, 2014