By Amira Al Hussaini

The Gulf Cooperation Council, which makes up Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, has an estimated 13 million foreign workers, who make up about 40 per cent of its population. Out of Qatar's population of 1.69m people, 200,000 are believed to be locals.

Almost all workers return to their countries after their work contracts end. At Qatar Living, expatriates attempt to answer the inevitable question: What will they do when they return home?

Filipino Obed Castro Jr kicks off the discussion saying:

I am a Filipino who have stayed here in Qatar for almost 9 years happy to say that my stay here has been fruitful, I manage to have my own house and maybe save a little, now i am deciding to go back to my native country, but what will i do when i am back..same to all other nationalities “what will you do with your life after Qatar”

Drmana is quick to answer:

Place of living would change but life would go on normally as in Qatar…..

afrinnabees adds:

no yet thought abt it.as of now Back home is just vacation Spot……..

And Frexie reminds the readers:

for sure your gonna miss the busy life.. You know all things are uncertain.. but its never bad to prepare for something.. so i guess better plan up if your goin home for good…

ochiha says after five and half years in Qatar, she doesn't miss living in her country:

people say that it is amazing to return to your home country and relax, but honestly, I do not feel like that. sure I miss my family, but I really do not miss living in my home country.

is that weird or many people feel the same way
I have been here 5.5 Years already

ex.ex.expat retorts:

whether you miss it or not. If your standard of living and chance for employment is better here, why wouldn't you want to stay until you see the situation in your homeland improve?

And foolish suggests venturing into business:

Why don't you start a small business; be a boss once in your life lol. I'm venturing now on egg production and it's going good. Am planning to go home maybe next year, if my business will go better.

arymoceana supports the idea and reasons:

Sometimes going back scares us the most because we have missed a lot things in our country.We think that so many things changed already there and we may not adjust easily, when the truth is it's us being here in a different culture that has changed a lot.

Try to relax first, enjoy your hard earned money. But make sure you do have a plan to sustain yourself and your family. You know how it is in the Philippines, money flows like water, and you being an OFW everybody thinks you brought a sack full of QR.

Honestly, its more practical that while here, we do start a business in our countries then if its doing okay then that is the time to make a decision to come home. O well, that is just my opinion.

But Mr. Balut cautions those planning to return to their home countries:

1.) Check the economy back home!

2.) Check the crime rate back home!

3.) Check the weather back home!

4.) Check if you have enough money to survive!

5.) Check if once your out of money, your age is right enough to get a good job!

****If the TO DO's don't fit you, better cancel your flight! Go back to work!

If you are a long term resident in one of the GCC countries, what are your long-term plans? What will you do when you return home?

By Karlo Mikhail Mongaya

Photo from pictures.wayn.com

Metro Manila commuters of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) will be facing fare hikes as the Philippine government plans to abandon its mandate to subsidize public transportation because of rising operation and maintenance costs. The proposal has been at the receiving end of adverse public opinion.

The fare hike would mean waking up earlier for A Commuter's Life.

There are news now that there will be an increase in the MRT fare. That is bad news for those MRT passengers. On the other hand, it will be good news for bus operators. Moreover, that would also mean waking up or leaving house an hour earlier to give an allowance to traffic if the people could not afford the MRT fare anymore.

Tine mulls on the implications of the fare hike to regular wage earners.

Malaking bagay din kahit gawing 25pesos sya. Parang maliit pero malaki ang epekto nito sa budget nating lahat. Parang dodoble ang bayad sa MRT. At ang isang stored value card ko, apat na sakay na lang? Que horror!

Paano na ang mga minimum wage earner? Eh iyong mga mas mababa pa sa minimum wage ang natatanggap? Pag tinaasan nila, mag-bubus na lang ang mga tao at lalong magkakabuhol-buhol ang traffic. Mas lalong ma-lalate ang mga tao sa trabaho, sa eskwela…

It's already a big thing even if it's 25pesos. It looks small but this has a big effect on everyone's budget. It is as if the MRT fare is doubled. And a single store value card can pay for four rides only? Que horror!

What will happen to the minimum wage earner? How about those who earn less than the minimum wage? If they increase, people will just ride the bus and add to the winding traffic. People will become late more often for work, for school…

A Happy Munchkin!!! believes that the proposal is unreasonable and unfair.

where would the students get this additional expense? Of course, [from] their parents who basically gets more expenses including electricity, phone bills, water, food and even their own taxes. Second, million passengers ride LRT and MRT a day. If you were to ask me why I use LRT2 on my way to school? It is simply because riding a jeep instead of LRT is no longer applicable for me. I travel from Marikina to Pureza and I have a class at 7:30am, LRT would take me to school in 20mins whereas in the jeepney I would spend long hours of sitting and pollution intake (traffic is not yet included).

A student leader said that it is the government's responsibility to subsidize mass transit as a public service.

Ridon said that commuting expenses are included in the mounting cost of education in the country, aside from yearly tuition and other fee increases, expensive textbooks and board and lodging.

He also said that it is the government’s obligation to subsidize the LRT and the MRT, especially at a time when the country is facing continuing economic setbacks and costs of education that had more than doubled since the last decade.

A Radical's Nut points out that taxpayers are not only subsidizing actual transportations costs but also “guaranteed debt payments and profits of the transnational banks and big comprador firms that undertook the MRT project through Public-Private Partnership (PPP).”

Taxpayers are subsidizing the debts incurred by the private consortium that built the MRT – the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC). Aside from guaranteeing debt payments, the national government also guaranteed a 15 percent return on investment per annum for MRTC under their 25-year build-lease-transfer (BLT) agreement in 1997 with the DOTC.

Thus the so-called “subsidies” go the Export-Import Bank of Japan, Sumitomo Bank, and other Japanese and Czech banks, as well as some local banks like the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI). What made the deal more financially onerous is that the owners of these banks that provided a loan of US$462.5 million in 1998 and the private firms that constructed the MRT have the same owners.

Photo from Frances Elaine Belicario Trazo's facebook album

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of a youth organization said that the government's justification for the increase is short-sighted.

“Mass transportation has benefits that outweigh the primitive economics being cited by the DOTC. Not only does reduce the costs of commuting for many Filipinos, it also helps in lessening the number of other vehicles being used. This leads to a reduction in traffic jams, air pollution along major roads, and the total amount of fuel being used”.

The youth leader cited a study by the U.S-based Brookings Institution said public vehicles used half of the fuel required by cars, SUVs, and light trucks. The same study said that for every mile travelled, private vehicles produce 95% more carbon monoxide and 50% more carbon dioxide than private vehicles.

In another study, this time in Japan, it was calculated that rail systems consumed an equivalent of 6 kilo watts per hour (kwh) for every 100 kilometers (km), while buses consumed 19 kwh per 100 km, and cars consumed 68 kwh per 100 km.

By Janine Mendes-Franco

“The unemployment phenomenon, which is vehemently denied by high officials in the government, is nothing new”: Iváns File Cabinet uses the example of Cuba's only telecommunications company to illustrate its effects.

By Janine Mendes-Franco

“The unemployment phenomenon, which is vehemently denied by high officials in the government, is nothing new”: Iváns File Cabinet uses the example of Cuba's only telecommunications company to illustrate its effects.

By Veronica Khokhlova

All About Latvia writes about Saskaņas Centrs (”The Harmony Center”), Lativa's “most popular” political bloc.

By Portnoy Zheng

Pomelo(鉑鎂鑼) criticizes the vacuum promises(zht) made by Taipei mayor Hau Lung-pin who promises to build one Manhattan in Shezi region, yet another Manhattan in the basin of Danshui river before the coming election.

By Jerrenn Lam

The recently released United Nations World Investment Report 2010 brought to light the shape of the Malaysian economy to its citizens: Foreign direct investment (FDI) has dropped 81% from 2008 to 2009, from US$ 7.32 billion in 2008 to US$ 1.38 billion in 2009.

News portal Malaysiakini explained it in simpler terms:

The 2009 FDI is less than half of the annual average FDI inflow between 1995 to 2005, which encompasses the long recovery period following the 1997 economic crisis.

Tony Pua, a Member of Parliament in the Democratic Action Party (DAP), one of the opposition parties in Malaysia, wrote in his blog about what the statistics mean:

1. For the first time ever in history, Malaysia attracted less investment than the Philippines.

2. Compared to the previous year 2008, Malaysia suffered by far the biggest decline of FDI in Southeast Asia.

3. Malaysia was the only country in Southeast Asia to have register a net negative Foreign Direct Investment Flow.

4. For the first time ever, cumulative Outward FDI Stock exceeded cumulative FDI Inward Stock.

5. Barring a “blip” in 2001 when we attracted only US$0.55 billion in FDI, this is the first time we've attracted less than US$2 billion in FDI over the past 20 years.

Regina Lee from Malaysiakini quoted RAM Holdings group chief economist Yeah Kim Leng's comment on the issue:

…should the FDI that has flowed to the neighbouring countries rather than Malaysia, be of high value and be more technology driven, then we could very well lose out on the opportunity to be the regional meeting point. Especially when Asean is mulling region-wide economic cooperation. The lack of FDI could also mean that the country may not be able to upgrade its investments and could in the end, “hollow out”. It could result in de-industrialisation. In the short term, Malaysia could lose skilled and unskilled workers. In the medium to long term, we will need to focus on higher value and technology driven investments to put us back ahead of our neighbouring countries. Malaysia could end up being caught in the middle-income trap

However, Malaysian news agency Bernama reported that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has released a statement announcing that FDI “for the first quarter of 2010 nearly matched the full year of 2009″. Its minister, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, said in the report:

FDI inflows totalled RM5.06 billion for the January to March 2010 period, compared with RM5.66 billion for all of 2009.

Meanwhile, The Star newspaper quoted CIMB Group Holdings CEO Datuk Seri Nazir Razak as saying:

It doesn’t mean that lower net investment flow is necessarily bad … We need to look at the quality of the investments and look at the facts in terms of the timing of investments.

Kamal Malhotra, the United Nations' resident coordinator for Malaysia, summed it up:

Although concerns over declining investment and engaging private sector participation in the economy were dealt with in the New Economic Policy and 10th Malaysia Plan, the challenge for Malaysia will, however, be in converting the lofty vision and content of these documents into implementation reality in the next five to 10 years

By Milton Ramirez

Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has been known for promoting Open Source Software. To prove this, he has created a blog where he explains economic matters didactically, so that people can understand the economic analysis, charts and concepts. He has been posting since May 29, 2010 in the multimedia blog Economía en Bicicleta [es] (Economics on a Bike). Correa explains the reason behind his blog's [es] name: As a bike runs, “anyone can quickly have the necessary tools to not be fooled by the usual fakers,” referring to the media in Ecuador.

By Rezwan

They make your Tshirts. Image by Flickr User Niloy. CC BY

Ever wonder where were your T-shirts or pants made? If you are living in North America or in Western Europe, there is a high chance that you are wearing a cloth made in Bangladesh. And no wonder Bangladesh’s export earnings are mostly determined by the export of ready-made garments (RMG) which is about 75% of the total export earning of the country.

But in recent times the textile sector has seen some confrontation between the workers and their employers over wages related issues. Bangladesh's competitive advantage had been skilled workers and low wages but due to inflation the old minimum wages has become an absurd figure now. The garments factory owners associations have long been able to halt the talks of raising of minimum wages claiming that if wages are raised they will not be able to maintain competitiveness and lose market especially during the global recession. Their bargaining point was that because most of the workers do overtime they actually earn one and half to twice the amount of the minimum wages. But this has also increased the unhealthy practice of exploiting more labor hours from the workers.

Around 3 million labors work in approximately 5000 garments factories across the country and almost 80% of the workforce are women. Mahfuzur Rahman Manik provides a background on the minimum wages issue:

সর্বশেষ ২০০৬ সালে বর্তমান বেতন কাঠামো নির্ধারণ করা হয়। সর্বনিম্ন বেতন স্কেলের জন্য তখন মজুরি বোর্ডের সুপারিশ ২৩০০ টাকা থাকলেও মালিক পক্ষের চাপাচাপিতে নির্ধারণ করা হয় ১৬৬২ টাকা। বর্তমান মূল্য ও মুদ্রা; দুইয়ের স্ফীতির এই বাজারে একজন শ্রমিকের নিজের পক্ষেই শহরতলীর বস্তিতেও দিনযাপন করা অসম্ভব। তিন বছর পার হলেও সে বেতনের আর পরিবর্তন হয় নাই।

The last pay scale was fixed in 2006. The wages board recommended an wage of Tk. 2300 per month (US$ 33) but after the hard bargaining from the employers Tk. 1662 per month (US$23) was fixed as the minimum wage. Due the inflation of currency and prices it has become difficult for the workers to live with this pay even in the slums of the towns. After three long years no change was made to the minimum wages scale.

Less than a $ a day = not good enough! Image by Flickr user Social Alterations // Visual Lab. CC BY-NC-SA

Mohammad Golam Nabi advocates for the increase of wages:

বেতন বৃদ্ধির দাবীতে গার্মেন্টস ফ্যাক্টরিগুলোর উত্তাল হয়ে উঠার বিষয়টি বেশি করে শুরু হয়েছে ২০০৭ সালের শেষ ভাগে। [..]

আমাদের গার্মেন্টস শ্রমিকদের একদিনের বেতন ৫৫ টাকা থেকে শুরু। এই টাকায় খাবে, ঘর ভাড়া দেবে, সাবান কিনবে, গোসল করবে আমরা কি করে আশা করি। [..] প্রজনন স্বাস্থ্যের যত্নবিহীন এই নারীরা যে সন্তান জন্ম দেবে, সেই সন্তান এই দেশের আগামী প্রজন্ম মনে রাখুন।

The protests for raising wages started since the end of 2007. [..]

The wages of one day of any garments worker starts from Tk. 55. They will have to use this meager amount to pay their rents, meal, personal hygiene etc. [..] All these ladies will have to give birth to children without proper reproductive hygiene, these children will be the future generation - please beware.

Sharif Kafi writes that the reason for recent unrest in the garments industry is not because of wages issue but the exploitation of few of the employers:

এসব ঘটনা ঘটার মূল কারণ শ্রমিকদের অত্যন্ত কম বেতন দেয়া, গার্মেন্টস মালিক কর্তৃক বেতন বকেয়া রেখে পরে তা শোধ না করা, বকেয়া বেতন ও বকেয়া ওভার টাইম এবং বকেয়া ভাতাদি পরিশোধ না করে হঠাৎ করে ফ্যাক্টরি বন্ধ করে দেয়া এবং ঈদের আগে সময় মত বেতন-বোনাসের টাকা পরিশোধ না করা অথবা না করে ফ্যাক্টরী বন্ধ করে দেয়া। অথচ এক শ্রেনীর গামেন্টস মালিকরা এসব ঘটনাকে বিদেশী চক্রান্ত বলে সবার চোখে ধুলো দেয়ার চেষ্টা করছে।

The main reason for these unrest are underpaying the workers, defaulting on labor payments, shutting down the factory without paying their dues and not paying bonus during Eid festival. But a few garments factory owners are trying to fool people by blaming these incidents as politically motivated.

After long bargaining with the employers and the workers, the Government has finally decided to raise the minimum wages to Tk. 3000 per month ($44) which is approximately double of the current minimum wages. The wages structure will be formally announced tomorrow.

Arif Jebtik, blogger, writer and an entrepreneur provides a list of FAQs regarding the wages and garments industry from management's perspective. Some excerpts from his post at Sachalayatan:

* নতুন বেতন যদি নূন্যতম বেতন ৩০০০ টাকা করা হয়, তাহলে এই সেক্টরে কী সমস্যা দেখা দিতে পারে ? গার্মেন্ট শিল্প কি বন্ধ হয়ে যাবে ?

: নাহ, আদতে তেমন কোনো ক্ষতি হবে না। কারন তখন সব গার্মেন্টই বেতন বাড়াতে বাধ্য হবে, সুতরাং তারা মূল্যও বেশি দাবি করবে। বায়ারদের হাতে এই মুহুর্তে কোনো বিকল্প নেই, তাই তারা বেশি দামেই কাপড় কিনতে বাধ্য হবে। মনে রাখতে হবে আমরা যে কাপড় সেলাই করি, সেটি খুবই বেসিক এবং কম দামের, সুতরাং এই কাপড়ের চাহিদা দুনিয়াতে থাকবেই।

* নতুন বেতন বৃদ্ধিতে গার্মেন্টের লাভ কমে যাবে বলে অনেকেই ধারণা করছেন। গার্মেন্ট শিল্পগুলো কিভাবে চলবে তখন ?

: আসলে বেতন বৃদ্ধি আমাদের জন্য এক ধরনের আশীর্বাদ হিসেবে আসবে বলে আমার ধারণা। এখন গার্মেন্টগুলো বাধ্য হবে নতুন প্রযুক্তির প্রচলন করতে এবং বৈজ্ঞানিক পদ্ধতিতে উৎপাদন ব্যবস্থাপনা করতে। এটি এই শিল্পের জন্য ভালো হবে। প্রোডাকশন ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং চালু হবে, দক্ষ শ্রমিক ও মিড লেভেল ব্যবস্থাপনা তৈরীর জন্য প্রশিক্ষনের ব্যবস্থা করতে হবে।

* If the minimum wages is increased to Tk. 3000, what problems will this sector face? Will many factories be closed?

: No I don't see the chance of incurring huge loss. Because every factory in the sector will have to increase wages, so the competitive prices will be at the same level. The buyers don't really have many options, so they will have to accept the increase in price. You have to keep in mind that the cloths we manufacture are very basic in nature and of low cost, so worldwide they will continue to have demand.

* People say that the profit of the garments companies will decrease causing them to shut down. How will they survive with the increased costs?

: I think the increase in wages will come as a blessing. The factories will have to embrace new technologies and deploy scientific production methods. this will be beneficial for the industry. The sectors like production engineering will be revitalized, skilled workers and mid level management will require more training.

By Lee Yoo Eun

In South Korea, a political campaign that supposed to attract voters went backfire and now is rapidly draining supporters and making ordinary people turn against the politician. It all happened within less than 24 hours when a politician from South Korea’s ruling party described the life of minimum wager as endurable, even ‘not short of emperor’s life’. Cha, Myung Jin, a lawmaker from the Grand National Party wrote in July 26 a review of a political campaign ‘Hope UP’ that gave him the experience as a minimum wage earner in Korea. The participants of the campaign are expected to live a day within the spending limit of 6,300 won(USD 5.32), a hypothetical setting of the people who live off from minimum wage. Cha after finishing his rare experience, commented the meals he had was like the ‘emperor’s dish’ and assessed the day as ‘life not fall short of an emperor's’. The current minimum wage per month are 500 thousand won(USD 421) for a person, 860 thousand won (USD 726) for two person in a household and 1.1 million won (USD 937) for three family members. The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently reported that the minimum wage will be increased by 2-3 percent next year and the news did not get huge thrilled responses.

A photo of Cha during the campaign from in the campaign homepage

Cha wrote that he spent 4,680 won (USD 3.95) on three meals. In Seoul a meal in a regular local restaurant is over 5,000 won at least. Cha gave details like he bought a cup of rice, a canned tuna and yellow peach and a premade meatballs, each of them cost less than 1,000 won (US 84 cent), describing it as ‘emperor’s dish’. Cha added that he donated the leftover 1,000 won to a visually disabled person and enjoyed his ‘cultural experience’ by buying a newspaper which costs 600 won (US 51 cent).

The moment Cha’s comment got released to public, Korean internet space went sizzling with ‘Emperor's dish' phrase. Most internet users upbraided him as an obnoxious and inconsiderate politician and warned that he may have hurt the already broken people's hearts.

What can be easily seen on the blogsphere were sarcastic jokes retorting him that if the life of a minimum wage earner is so bearable and fantastic as he said, then live that life for the rest of his life. A blogger Patriatman, who even suggested Cha to take a mental check-up, stressed that Cha’s rare one-time experience is another men’s unbearable, miserable reality.

딱 하루 미트볼 참치 캔 이런 것 먹어보니 맛있었겠을지 모르겠지만 어쩔 수 없이 그런 것 만을 먹으면서 한 달, 또 한달, 일년을 살아가는 사람들에게는 정말 고역이 아닐 수 없다.
또 그 분들 중에는 건강이 좋지 못한 분들이 많을 수 밖에 없는데, 그러한 분들에게 건강을 해치는 식품인 인스턴트 음식이 과연 황제의 식사에 견줄만한 음식일까? 나도 편의점에서 알바를 할 때 며칠 동안은 삼각김밥에 컵라면이 그렇게 맛있을 수 없었다. 하지만 조금 더 시간이 지나다보니 쳐다만 봐도 손 사레가 처질 정도로 먹기 싫었다. 최저 생계비로 사는 사람들은 유기농아 안먹고 싶을까? 한우가 안 먹고 싶을까?

He may have find the pre-made meatballs and canned tuna delicious because he just ate those for a day. But for people who had to eat those things for a month, months and a year, it is hellish. And among those poor people, there are people with poor health situation. Can he still call that the emperor’s dish in front of those people who keep eating pre-made foods that ruin their health? When I was working as a part-timer in a convenience store, for first few days I found the triangle gimbap and a cup ramen really delicious. But as that continued for several more days, I came to hate them. It is not like the minimum wagers choose not to eat organic foods or (good quality) Korean beef.

As the response is taking a serious turn after several hours later, Cha came to apologize today on his inconsiderate comment and that was not even close to quell the public anger.

A blogger Hormesis pointed out that the Korean society is becoming deeply polarized economically, where poors can barely make ends meet while riches are living truly emperor’s lives.

무슨 할 말이 더 있겠는가. 차명진 의원은 앞으로 황제로 사시라는 말씀밖에 못 드리겠다. 하루 6300원으로도 황제처럼 살 수 있는데 얼마나 많은 잉여봉급이 국회의원 앞에 떨어지는 것인가. 하루 6300원으로 황제처럼 식사할 수 있는 나라에서 대학교 등록금이 연 천만원이 넘어가는 XX이 왜 발생하는지 모를 일이다. 최저생계비만으로 기부까지 하고 살 수 있는 나라에서 왜 자살율이 높은지는…어이가 없어서 헛웃음만 나온다.

What can I say to him? The only thing I can say is that I wish Cha to continue to live an emperor’s life. In a country where you can live like an emperor just with 6,300 won, why so redundantly fat paychecks are given to the politicians? In the country where you can dine like an emperor with only 6,300 won a day, why the university tuitions surpass 10 million won(USD 8.4 thousand) a year? In the country where you can even make donations from the minimum wage, why the suicide rate is so high?… This is a bad comedy.

Just a modicum of net users defended Cha from harsh criticisms, reminding angry public that at least Cha tried. Cha is the first politician from the conservative Grand National Party who actively involved in the campaign. Still, even to them Cha’s ‘emperor comment’ was totally unnecessary. A blogger KimCoco1 commented that some of Cha’s point are accurate, except the ‘emperor’ one.

차 의원님 말씀도 중간중간에 옳은 말씀을 하였습니다. 통신비 책정이 안 되어 있다던지…방세가 너무 작(게 책정되었)다던지 하는 좋은 말씀을 하시던데, 왜 유독 식비에 대한 부분은 그렇게 말씀을 하시는지 도저히 제 상식으로 이해가 되지 않습니다…아무리 물가에 대한 좋은 정보를 가지고 있다고 해도 하루 6,300원으로 살아가기는 어렵습니다. 우리 사회의 최저 생계비가 작게 책정된 것은 사실입니다. 또 그렇다고 세금만 많이 거두어 이런 분들에게 무조건적인 지원을 한다는 것도 한계가 있습니다.

Mr. Cha said right things here and there in the review. He pointed out that the communication fee had not been considered when setting the minimum wage and the housing cost was so under-calculated and so on. But still, I cannot understand why he said those things on the food expense…Even though you have a good knowledge on the price, still it is tough to live a day with 6,300 won. It is true that the minimum wage was fixed low. However, giving an unconditional (financial) supports to low income earners from our higher tax clearly has its’ limitations.

The word ‘Working Poor’, is a term referring individuals and families who stand near or below the poverty line despite their current employment status. According to the Korea Statistic Office’s report this year, it is believed almost 10 percent of Koreans are the working poor and around 30 percent of the employees belong to the inescapable working poor class. More than half of the working poor comprise of the new working poors who have been recently dragged below the poverty line. A blogger Streming09 blamed the unrealistic appreciation of the minimum wage.

최저 생계비에는 주거비와 가구 집기비, 식료품비, 의료비, 교육비, 교통 통신비, 교양 오락비, 심지어 경조사비, 종교 헌금, 세금이나 사회 보험료등이 모두 포함된다. 최저 생계비는 한창 커나갈 어린이의 점퍼 내구 연한을 6년으로 여성용 팬티는 3년에 9점, 브래지어는 2년에 2점, 남성 양말은 1년에 4켤레로 잡는 등 현실성이 떨어진 다는 지적도 많다. 국민의 80 % 이상이 쓰는 휴대전화 요금은 아예 포함되지도 않았다. 교육비는 5만 5302원 밖에 안된다. 주거비 역시 논란인데 복지부는 21만 2575원을 책정한 반면 빈곤 사회 연대 조사에서는 임대료와 관리비, 대출이자 등을 포함 59만 6634원으로 조사된 바 있다.

The minimum wage includes the housing cost, the home appliances, the food and medical expenses, the communication fee, the education and entertainment expensed, the (unexpected/expected) expenses from the marriage or the funeral, the religious offerings, the tax and the insurance. They (the government department) had set the minimum wage based on the hypothetical conditions where a rapidly growing kid uses a same jacket for six years, a woman uses nine panties in three years and two brassieres for two years and man wears four socks for a year. There are criticisms pointing out this is an unrealistic setting. The cell phone, which used by 80 percent of Korean population is not even included in the setting. The education fee is expected to be about 55,303 won (USD 47). The housing cost is also a controversial one; while the Ministry of Health and Welfare set the housing expense at 212,575 won (USD 180), the Anti-Poor Association’s report measures it to reach 596,634 won (USD 500) including the lease, the maintenance cost and the mortgage.

Still, Cha’s effort needs to be appreciated, as several banters on the web claim that this caring politician intentionally said such offending comments to draw public attention to the issue.

By Portnoy Zheng

Karen Yu announces on okogreen blog that the “2010 Food and People Film Festival”(zht)-co-hosted by fair-trade coffee shops and environmental NGOs-will be showing 4 documentaries on each friday through out September. The 4 documentaries are We Feed The World, Sustainable Table, Bullshit, and Black Gold.

By Lee Yoo Eun

South Korea is launching a new micro-finance loan initiative after a grim portrait of the economy was unexpectedly disclosed before Korean president Lee Myung-bak during a meeting with struggling low income earners. A few days later, the Finance Service Commission came up with a micro-finance system, called ‘Sunshine loans’, aimed at brightening the dark financial situation for low income households by offering micro-loans with decent 10-13 percent interest. The response to the news is positive so far, but with a trace of apprehension.

When you turn on prime time Korean television, it feels like you cannot get to one single regular program without watching a bunch of commercials with catchy songs that repetitively remind people of quick and easy loans. The unending cascades of loan commercials are competitively luring the crumbling and financially vulnerable class with the promise of safe money. People fall into a vicious cobweb once they make the first phone call. The harmless-looking number which people naively call to find out at what interest rates they can get loans, slash their credits down. When people visit banks to get loans, they find out the only available money are loans with extremely high interests. Disappointed and increasingly desperate, they turn to non-bank financial institutions whose interest rates are just as high and end up finally sending distress signals to the loan lenders or loan sharks.

This omnipresent but neglected truth came to light during one incident. As South Korean newspaper DongA Ilbo retells the story, it was a casual conversation between President Lee Myung-bak and a local shoe vendor. The 42-year old vendor, whose last name is Chung, said that a capital company owned by a big corporation gave her loans with 40-50 percent interest rates due to her low credit level (later it is discovered to be 35 percent).

Dong-soo Chin, the chairman of the Financial Services Commission was there when the conversation took place.

“이자 많이 받는 것 아닙니까, 금융위원장. 사채(私債) 하고 똑같잖아요.”(이 대통령) “(대출자의) 신용이 좀 안 좋아서 그런 것 같습니다.”(진 위원장) “신용이 좋으면 여기서 돈 빌리나요. (시장 상인들이) 구두 팔아서 40% 넘는 이자를 어떻게 갚을까. (사채업자들의) 일수(日收) 이자보다 더 비싸게 받아서 어떻게 하지요?”(이 대통령) “(캐피털사가 돈을 마련하는) 조달 금리가 높습니다. 채권 이자로 하니까요.”(진 위원장)” “(정 씨의 대출 서류를 계속 읽어보면서) 사회 정의상 안 맞아. 상상도 못했어요. 내가 현장을 몰랐다는 것과 똑같은 거예요.”(이 대통령)”

President Lee: “Don’t you think the interest rate is really high, Mr. Chin? It is almost same as the private loan.” Chairman Chin: “I believe it is because her credit is not good.” President: “If her credit were good, would she be borrowing money in here? How can a local vendor afford 40 percent interest by selling shoes? It is even higher than the daily payment one has to make to loan sharks.” Chairman Chin: “The capital company’s borrowing rate is high as it uses the bond rates.” President Lee: (while keeping his eyes on Chung’s loan papers) “This is not a social justice. I had no idea about this. I had no clue this was happening in real life.”

The uncomfortable conversation was followed by the President’s rebuke on the capital companies. The Sunshine Loans start from today. Financial institutions will lend a total of 10 trillion won (USD $8.3 billion) to those with an annual income of less than 20 million won and whose credit ratings is below the level 6.

One blogger, Greennb commented that as encouraging as the President’s response to the reality has been, market manipulation should be done very discreetly and with solid strategies. The blogger warns that when the finance ministry rushed into forcing them capital companies to lower their interest rates, it may end up making an even larger mess than now, since the risk created by giving loans to people with low credits is still there.

서민들이 은행에서 대출을 받기란 참으로 어렵습니다. 그렇다면 고금리를 물더라도 제2금융권 즉 제도권 내에서 대출을 받을 수 있도록 해야 하지 결코 금리를 낮추라는 강요에 의해 캐피탈 사가 서민금융을 외면하도록 해서는 안 된다는 것입니다. 캐피탈 사가 서민금융을 외면하기 시작하면 결국 이들은 사금융, 대부업체로 몰리게 될 것이고 이러한 대부업체들의 불법적인 채권추심관행에 노출되도록 방치될 수 있습니다. 사회 안전망의 구축을 유지할 예산이 부족하다보니 서민들은 금융기관에 어려운시기를 버티기 위해 기대지 않을 수 없게 됩니다. 그러나 금융기관들은 서민대출의 리스크를 감내하지 않을 수 없는 것입니다.

I know it is very hard for low income households to get loans from the banks. But still, even if it means they will be asked to pay higher interests, our goal is to keep them under the thresholds of the proper financial system or at least under non-bank financial institutions. The government should not be forcing the companies to lower the interest rates which will eventually lead the companies to reject giving loans to low income earners. Once the capital companies shoot down loans to ordinary citizens, the people will have to turn to private loans and local lenders and expose themselves to the private lenders’ illegal debt collection practices. Since the government budget is insufficient for building the social safety net, people grow dependent on financial institutions to weather hard times. But for these institutions, they cannot ignore the risk created by giving loans to low income families.

The Sunshine loan is not the only government loan designed to help ordinary people. The Miso credit loan (Miso in Korean means “smile”) which began last year is another micro-finance loan aimed at helping poor entrepreneurs.

The blogger Shs781115 said that Sunshine loans can cover the blind spots of the Smile loans and stressed how the policy actually operates is what matters the most.

이와 비슷한 것이 미소 금융인데..이것은 햇살론과 엄연히 다르다..미소 금융운 미소 금융재단에 의한 비영리 상품이며 저소득층의 창업 자금 대출에 초점을 맞춘 반면에..햇살론은 기존 금융기관에 의해 시행되는 상품이라는 점이고 대출의 성격도 긴급 생계자금을 위주로 한다.
그래서 미소금융의 지원을 받지 못하는 계층까지 확대된 결과 그 혜택을 받는 사람이 1700만명에 해당할거라는 통계도 있다…문제는 정책이 아니라. 운영의 유연성과 미학을 발휘하는 것이다.
이명박 정부는 과거 그 어떤 정부들보다 훨씬 많은 서민 대출 상품을 쏟아내고 있다. 이번 햇살론이 미소금융의 혜택을 받지 못하는 또 다른 계층을 위한 것이라는 점에서 기존 미소 금융의 한계를 반증하는 셈이 된다. 이번에 새롭게 시행되는 햇살론에 대해서도 유연적으로 적용하고, 그 취급기관을 확대하면서 정책의 방향과 실제 대출 수혜자간의 괴리가 없는 가를 면밀히 살펴봐야 할 것이다. 햇살이 진짜 서민을 위해 따듯하게 비칠지, 아니면 오히려 그 햇살이 서민을 더 따갑게 할지는 그 운영의 미학을 어떻게 보여주느냐…바로 그것에 달려 있는 것이다.

The Smile loans look very similar to the Sunshine loan, but these are apples and oranges. While the Smile loan is the non-profit loan offered by the financial foundations to provide small business with initial investment money for low income families, the Sunshine loan, on the contrary, is the loan given from typical financial institutions lending quick money for the low income household’s emergency situations. One statistic predicts that if the Sunshine loans were to cover all those who cannot get Smile loans, around 17 million people would get Sunshine loans… What matters is not the policy itself but how the government runs with it with flexibility and management skills. The Lee administration has poured out numerous loan packages for low income families, lot more than any other former governments. However, the fact that the sunshine loans are being created to cater for certain demographics uncovered by the former Smile loans, proves what limitations the Smile loan has. The government needs to apply the Sunshine loan with more flexibility, get more financial institutions involved, and check thoroughly that there is no gap between the target group for the loans and the actual beneficiaries. Whether Sunshine will warm its people up or burn them – depends on the government’s managerial skills.

Only 24 hours have passed since the new loan system was launched and there are numerous questions from Koreans on the internet asking the same thing: whether they are eligible for the loans. The questions are rapidly pushed away to next pages and replaced by the exact same questions, all desperately searching for a way to survive in this sweltering heat.

By Vilhelm Konnander

The Pipeline discusses the announcement of Russia's biggest privatization drive since the 1990s, departing from an article [RUS] in Vedomosti.

By Sara Moreira

The 25th of July 2010 is a voting day for local and regional government in São Tomé & Príncipe. Blog OPLOP posts a report about the political system and the current electoral situation in a country that celebrates its 35th anniversary this month [pt].

By Clara Onofre

Last May the National Bank of Angola (BNA) brought into circulation coins in denominations of 5 kwanzas, to join the 1, 2, 10 and 50 kwanza coins, which are circulating again.

1 Kwanza from blog Aerograma

The author of the blog After all I’m just a boy walking around [pt] explains the purpose of reintroducing of the coins:

Com este objectivo pretende-se defender o consumidor, contribuindo para maior rigor nos trocos e menores perdas por parte deste. Ainda hoje ao almoço, a conta acabava em 7,50 kwanzas o que não me fez receber os 2,50 kwanzas a que tinha direito (mesmo sendo um valor residual, somado muitas vezes, dá um valor grande). Num país com extrema pobreza parece-me uma medida adequada a proteger os mais pobres.

With this objective they intend to protect consumers, helping to make change more precise, and to reduce losses to consumers when receiving change. Just this lunchtime, my bill ended with 7.50 kwanzas, which left me without the 2.50 kwanzas that were owed to me (while this may be a residual amount, when it happens many times it can add up). In a country with extreme poverty it seems to me a good way to protect the poorest people.

The use of the coins has caused some suspicion among the population. According to the newspaper Jornal de Angola [Angola Newspaper, pt], “for many, they are a hurdle, because shopkeepers refuse to accept them”. However there are those who defend the circulation of the coins, arguing that they should be circulating in the formal and informal market, due to the “poor conservation of small bills” which are currently in circulation.

Afonso Loureiro of the blog Aerograma writes [pt] on this matter:

Faz sentido que se cunhem moedas para substituir as notas de denominações mais baixas, que se estragam muito depressa. Por trocar de mãos muitas vezes por dia, a vida média de uma nota de 50 kwanzas deve ser de apenas alguns meses, por exemplo.

It makes sense to issue new coins to replace the low-denomination bills, which wear out very quickly. Because they change hands many times each day, the average life-span of a 50 kwanza bill must be only a few months, for example.

Foreign Banknotes from Flickr user DanieVDM, CC Licensed (Remixed)

The question of coins in Angola has inspired artists, such as Manuel Guedes dos Santos Lima, who in his poem “Kwanza” makes a poetic joke about the Kwanza (the biggest river in Angola), and the national currency of the same name. The author of MultiBlog published his poem and says that “Angola’s real currency is the dollar”.

In fact, with the coins in circulation, the Angolan government is trying to curtail the use of the currency which really has reign over the country, the dollar. The American currency has found its way into the national market thanks to the political and military instability from which Angola has suffered; the country was for almost 30 years absorbed in war, a struggle between the two major national political parties, Unita and MPLA.

According to the newspaper O País [The Country, pt], price-setting policy is still under evaluation due to the coexistence of the two currencies in Angolan daily life, a practice which has its roots in the habits of the general population, and although advised against by the National Institute of Consumer Protection (INADEC, Instituto Nacional de Defesa do Consumidor), it is naturally difficult to change.

This post was translated by Kitty Garden.

By Portnoy Zheng

After 12 employees' jump of buildings and one more jump in Chimei Innolux Corporation-a subsidiary company of Foxconn-on July 20, Chairman Terry (Tai-Ming) Gou was criticized by Taiwanese scholars as “the shame of Taiwan”, so he threatens to halt all investment in Taiwan. Blogger and book writer Kue-hsien Liao argues that Taiwan does not really need to beg Terry Kuo to stay[zht] and it is time for Taiwanese to think if it is worthy to sacrifice lives and environment just for money.

By Mong Palatino

Blowin' in the Wind reviews a report comparing Singapore emigration and immigration with other countries. The report notes that Singapore has the highest immigration rate in Asia Pacific after Hong Kong.

By Mong Palatino

Lim Kit Siang uploads an article by Eli James who writes about the situation today in Cyberjaya, Malaysia’s version of ‘Silicon Valley’ in the 1990s.

By Karlo Mikhail Mongaya

Photo from the Flickr page of rickyli99

Metro Manila, the national capital region of the Philippines, is now experiencing a water shortage crisis with millions enduring water supply rationing. Desperate for a bath, disgruntled residents have taken to breaking a water pipe in Malabon City. Filipino bloggers try to make sense of the crisis.

Blackshama's blog finds the fact this rationing is done during the rainy season worrisome.

August is historically the wettest month. Unless weather patterns change, next month may be the driest August. September is the last month of the wet season and then the dry begins. The only thing to be done is to lessen water use.

This shortage also came in the wake of the recent onslaught of the Typhoon “Basyang” (international codename: Conson). Window To my Soul is “going nuts” over the lack of water.

Wait, we do have water, btw. However, water pressure is too weak that it doesn't go up. It does not reach my room. My washroom does not have water. The faucets in it have not released a single drop since the storm [Typhoon Basyang]. So that's roughly 6 days of being waterless. I have to fetch water all the way down from the basement.

I am Hybrid Cha shares her own water shortage experience.

This is really pain for me, for all of us and I absolutely am extending my patience the farthest I could because I do not have any choice (smile!). Plates, utensils, pans and glasses unwashed, left in the kitchen sink overnight; not having a good and indulgent bath (since water arrives (arrives???) at 6 AM and leaves (leaves??? visitor it is!) around 1 PM) for work; I wanted to take a short and comfy shower (when I feel like it) but since there is no water well what can I do but endure that sticky and messy feeling. There are things that I so want to do, things that are part of my routine that I could no longer do these past few days (since Thursday evening, July 15th to be exact!) because water just would not cooperate.

Let's Go Pinoy also shares a personal experience which he thinks is connected to the water crisis.

although our faucets continue to provide our much-needed water supply, yesterday the water that was coming out was a light brown color! I thought at first it was from the dirty pail and washed it both inside and out and then after several rinses, I realized that it was the water itself. It's still that way this morning but not as brown. Because of this I didn't want to take my bath yesterday. But the heat and my stickiness from sweating got the better of me and I used the water to bathe.

Pinoy Buzz III recommends measures that the government can take to solve the water shortage problem in the long-run.

1. All buildings should be retrofitted so that it will be able to recycle the water it uses for its sinks and toilet bowls.

2. All buildings should start storing rainwater.

3. All commercial establishments and private residences must have a waste water treatment facility. Smaller establishments can opt to have a communal waste water treatment facility, larger establishments may have their own.

4. Ban the development of new golf courses and inland water resorts.

5. Start the construction of desalination plants…

6. Start the construction of water recovery facilities along the Pasig River and in Laguna de Bay.

According to the Radical's Nut, the water shortage crisis goes beyond the El Niño phenomenon and would not have been as bad “if not for structural issues related to the privatization of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) almost 13 years ago.”

Among the many promises made by the private water concessionaires and hyped by the then Ramos administration was upgrading the decrepit water system infrastructure. Such upgrade intends to substantially reduce non-revenue water (NRW, or water lost due to leaks and pilferage) and help achieve universal and 24/7 water supply for an increasing number of households. In their original concession agreement with MWSS, the private water firms promised to provide universal access by 2001.

But until today, less than 60 percent of 790,000 households in Maynilad’s service area have 24-hour water service while only 74 percent receive water at 7-pound per square inch (PSI) or stronger pressure (read here). More than half (53 percent) of water allocated to Maynilad continues to get wasted because of leaks and pilferage (read here)…

There is no available data that break down NRW into leaks and pilferage. But the continued pervasiveness of illegal connections may be explained by skyrocketing water bills due to full-cost recovery under water privatization. Since MWSS was privatized, Maynilad’s basic charge has already soared by 449 percent and Manila Water, by 845 percent. Put that in a situation of worsening job scarcity, stagnant wages and income, and rapid increases in the overall cost of living and you will get the picture.

By Vilhelm Konnander

Morning in Moldova argues that Moldovans only look east to Russia and west to the European Union, in the process mentally shutting out the rest of the world.