America Urges Philippines to Combat Inequality

Yeah, I know, I know.  Me too.  Then again, the Philippines is a good long way away from Main Street, U.S.A.

American officials are urging the Phillipines to see to fair distribution of the country's new found wealth.

Despite having Asia’s second highest growth in gross domestic product (GDP) last year, the Philippines still has a lot of catching up to make the growth felt and enjoyed by the rest of the country’s population.

“We all know that the Philippines has now outpaced all the countries in the region in terms of economic growth,” said Gloria Steele, mission director of the United States Agency for International Development in the Philippines.
Steele, however, said the bigger challenge is how the 42 percent of Filipinos who earn just US$2 a day can benefit from the economic growth.

But she also said the government must institute measures that will “reduce the cost of doing business in the Philippines.”
She also added that the Philippine government has “to address issues of lack of transparency and lack of integrity both in the government and private sector.”

So, let's see - Wage inequality, check; lack of transparency, check; lack of integrity, check.   Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?   And, please, do something about the cost of doing business.  Maybe you can just cut wages.