Families feel economic pinch

It is a quiet though heavy rumblings of families struggling to make ends meet. It is mind numbing for most how the economic crisis, which has its genesis in the Asian Contagion, has finally descended upon families right here in paradise.

The family pocketbook has contracted, substantially. Even with both parents working on regular jobs, meeting family obligations remain almost always an uphill battle. This situation is even more acutely critical for families with single breadwinners.

We’ve kept our ears to the ground listening intently to the quiet frustrations of families who have sought personal loans from brothers and sisters to keep vendors and bank collectors away from their front doors. While local families are traditionally very generous to family members in dire straits, this generosity has been reduced to uttering a painful “No”. It isn’t an optional decision by any stretch of the imagination for they too have families to feed, cloth and shelter.

The situation isn’t going to get any better for the rest of this year and well into the first year of the next millennium. We feel very uncomfortable of tidings that more of bigger businesses have begun downsizing substantially while more small businesses have simply decided to close shop and move elsewhere. It is a very troubling economic condition no matter how one twists it.

When bigger businesses reduce their operations, it places the fate of employees in the hands of uncertainty. It eventually translates into reduction in force rendering productive employees joblessness. This alone derails the family budget in horrific ways that disable paying for the first family home on a timely basis, among other negative impacts on the family pocketbook. There are other obligations that must be met as we head into the fall school season.

The other downside to reduction or closure of businesses here is the obvious loss of revenue generation to keep the bloated government bureaucracy intact. As much as we fear significant reduction in work hours or having to face the inevitable of reduction in public sector work force, one of two or both alternatives could very well be the next step as more businesses downsize or close shop as we close out this millennium.

Friends, this is one time in our developmental history when we must fully guard every penny that exits the family purse. Let us hope too that we could ably choose among midterm election candidates people with visions and commitment on wealth and jobs creation. For now, an appeal to Divine Providence is our only best bet. Si Yuus Maase`!