THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID
BANTAY GOBYERNO SERIES 040
By Ike Señeres 10/26/2010
THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID
So much has been written about the “base of the pyramid”; an economic theory that advocates the approach of providing priority assistance to the sector that is also known as the “poorest among the poor”. This is probably the same sector that Secretary Jose Eliseo Rocamora of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) refers to as the “extremely poor”. What exactly is the opposite of this term? Is it “moderately poor”?
In their penchant for fancy words, the government has declared the “urban poor” as a sector, but did not bother however to clarify whether there is also a “rural poor” sector or not. Perhaps still in search of fancy words, the government has come up with the term “informal settlers”, apparently suggesting that the rich people are the “formal settlers”, whatever that means.
What is the difference between “extremely poor” and “moderately poor”? Is there really a difference between the “urban poor” and the “rural poor”? Words could really be confusing sometimes, especially if the definitions are coming from those who apparently do not have the real feel of what the problem really is.
In my own search for the meaning of words, I found out that the people who are now known as the “urban poor”, and are now considered as “informal settlers” are actually migrant workers from the provinces, being formerly farm workers where they come from.
The statement of Secretary Rocamora that the incidence of “extreme poverty” is not likely to rise anymore is reassuring, but it would have sounded better if he took the trouble to differentiate between “extremely poor” and “moderately poor”, so that we will be able to monitor any changes in the data, if ever.
The pyramid of poverty tells us that there are more people at the base who are “extremely poor”, compared to the lesser number of people at the top who are “moderately poor”. As he told us that the incidence of “extreme poverty” will no longer rise, Sec. Rocamora did not tell us whether the incidence of “moderate poverty” will rise or fall. This is important for us to know, because any rise or fall in the “moderate poverty” data will also affect the “extreme poverty” data.
Data is just data in the sense that words are just words. How I wish however that the government would be more honest and accurate in reporting the data about the true economic condition of the people, especially when it comes to their wellbeing.
I would agree too that the government should pay more attention to those who are “extremely poor”, but that should not be used as an excuse to pay lesser attention to those who are “moderately poor” either. Poor is poor in any language, but simply changing the language to refer to the poor does not do anything for them, if they still remain poor. Poor as they are, it does not help them to get poor treatment from the government either.
Watch KA IKING LIVE! Saturdays 8 pm to 9 pm in Global News Network (GNN), Channel 21 in Destiny Cable. Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639293605140 for local cable listings. Visit www.senseneres.blogspot.com
By Ike Señeres 10/26/2010
THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID
So much has been written about the “base of the pyramid”; an economic theory that advocates the approach of providing priority assistance to the sector that is also known as the “poorest among the poor”. This is probably the same sector that Secretary Jose Eliseo Rocamora of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) refers to as the “extremely poor”. What exactly is the opposite of this term? Is it “moderately poor”?
In their penchant for fancy words, the government has declared the “urban poor” as a sector, but did not bother however to clarify whether there is also a “rural poor” sector or not. Perhaps still in search of fancy words, the government has come up with the term “informal settlers”, apparently suggesting that the rich people are the “formal settlers”, whatever that means.
What is the difference between “extremely poor” and “moderately poor”? Is there really a difference between the “urban poor” and the “rural poor”? Words could really be confusing sometimes, especially if the definitions are coming from those who apparently do not have the real feel of what the problem really is.
In my own search for the meaning of words, I found out that the people who are now known as the “urban poor”, and are now considered as “informal settlers” are actually migrant workers from the provinces, being formerly farm workers where they come from.
The statement of Secretary Rocamora that the incidence of “extreme poverty” is not likely to rise anymore is reassuring, but it would have sounded better if he took the trouble to differentiate between “extremely poor” and “moderately poor”, so that we will be able to monitor any changes in the data, if ever.
The pyramid of poverty tells us that there are more people at the base who are “extremely poor”, compared to the lesser number of people at the top who are “moderately poor”. As he told us that the incidence of “extreme poverty” will no longer rise, Sec. Rocamora did not tell us whether the incidence of “moderate poverty” will rise or fall. This is important for us to know, because any rise or fall in the “moderate poverty” data will also affect the “extreme poverty” data.
Data is just data in the sense that words are just words. How I wish however that the government would be more honest and accurate in reporting the data about the true economic condition of the people, especially when it comes to their wellbeing.
I would agree too that the government should pay more attention to those who are “extremely poor”, but that should not be used as an excuse to pay lesser attention to those who are “moderately poor” either. Poor is poor in any language, but simply changing the language to refer to the poor does not do anything for them, if they still remain poor. Poor as they are, it does not help them to get poor treatment from the government either.
Watch KA IKING LIVE! Saturdays 8 pm to 9 pm in Global News Network (GNN), Channel 21 in Destiny Cable. Email iseneres@yahoo.com or text +639293605140 for local cable listings. Visit www.senseneres.blogspot.com
posted by Ike Señeres at 8:08 AM
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