Dear insansapinas,
This is an excerpt from the speech of President Aquino during the 32nd National Conference of Employers of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines held at the Marriott on May 5, 2011.(via Resty).
“Please don’t look at this as a threat. Just imagine: In a few years, our population will undoubtedly continue to grow. Can you imagine if that growth in population were coupled with an enhanced purchasing power? Can you imagine if more Filipinos had jobs that could afford them more than just their basic needs?” said Aquino.
“An economy like that would be a boon to your businesses, which would in turn lead to expansion and the hiring of more labor. The balancing act that we are currently undertaking was envisioned to create that kind of cycle,” he said.
Frankly, my impression is that the president is too scared to offend the businessmenslashemployers by increasing the labor wage. But I won't delve on that. I will agree to his statement about the impact of population to the economy. And when you talk about the economy, you could not help but discuss production and marketing too.
Economics, Marketing and the RH Bill
What Pnoy said in his speech about economics--population as a factor in the growing economy with its PP (purchasing power) is a glaring fact.
Whoever wrote that speech for Aquino must not have realized that it is contradicting what he stood for and what the RH bill advocates are pushing--that is population is the problem and therefore should be resolved (reduced). These people can not even suggest what is the" ideal growth" rate for the Philippines to solve poverty. If you have problem with statistics or numbers, come up with what you thik is ideal. The advocates' contention is that overpopulation is its cause . In their appeal for emotion they use Salve who is poor because the family has a lot of mouth to feed. The attention of the strategist of this sob story should be called in the case of Oprah Winfrey who was born into poverty by a single mother, they were not poor because there were so many children in the family. Raped and pregnant at age 14, she became the richest African-American and the most influential Black woman in the World.
Can these people tell us the ideal growth rate that would not affect the number of people in the working age in the future? Shall the country suffer the same fate of Japan where the retiring aged people may not have enough retirement benefits since there are not so many replacing the huge Japanese labor force when the country's population growth rate decades ago was 10 per cent. Even with that population growth rates, its economy is one the fastest growing in Asia.l Since 2005, there is a negative growth rate which could be traced not to contraceptives but to the increase in life expectancy and late marriage of the young people. There are 127 million Japanese . There are 91 million Filipinos. Why are we poor?
The pro RH Bill's argument is directed to the CBCP and the contraceptive pills. This is a myopic view of the issue. Their desperate attempt is to discredit the men of the cloth that attacks became more personal.
Economy
The economy of the Philippines grew by at least 7. 6 per cent in 2010 while the population reported an average growth rate of 1.93 . The RH Bill advocates never presented these statistics. Sabi nga sa Bicol, ngawngaw ng ngawngaw wala namang maipakitang statistics that the rate is on the uptrend. Even during the financial crisis, the Philippines posted a 3.8 average growth rate. How will the growth rate of population affect the 5ps of Marketing?
Product-Basic products are bought and consumed by the people because they are essential to everyday living. There is no need for a lot of promotion. Luxury items are products that ordinary people without so much purchasing power can live without.
Poor people spend all of their income to basic items. As they climb to the higher economic strata, the percentage of revenues spent on the basic items decline and some percentages are spent on other items. But what is luxury before is necessity today. To many people, cell phones are a necessity. Tsus.
People -The demographic profiles of the consumers determine the kind of product that would sell to the different segements as age, sex, occupation, etc. In China, the population alone can absorb its production of the different products. The population constitutes the market or the consumers. The reduction in population is also a reduction of the market size. In Japan, they buy products of export at a premium so that Japanese tourists are eager to buy them cheaper in other countries. Problem is, they fall into scam. Made in Japan daw pero Made in China pala. hehehe
Price- The price of the product depends on the production cost. In the production process, even the wastage and the underutilized capacities of the plant go into the production cost. Price is reduced when production capacity is maximized. It is spread over a bigger number of products manufactured. The underutilization could be lack for demand of the product (market shrinks) or the lack of manpower (workforce shirnks)to operate on full capacity. If its an essential product, the government gives sbusidies to ensure continuous production.