Some nostrums, and other formulas
US President Donald Trump’s first 100 days haven’t been the ballyhooed outstanding success. Strike 1: He can’t put up the Wall South of the Border, because Mexico won’t pay for it.
Strike 2: He failed to move the Republican-dominated Congress to replace Obamacare with a Donald Trump prescription.
Before Strike 3 knocks him out, a man of impossible dreams wrote to the mercurial US President an unsolicited advice: “Dear President Trump: “Attached is a copy of my letter on January 2, 2013 to former US President Barack Obama, urging him to tap trillions of US dollars earned abroad by American transnational corporations by a simple expedient of introducing a favorable tax rate of 10% instead of 60%. America has nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
Obama didn’t buy it; but maybe someone with more business savvy like you will:
• This proposal has wide-ranging benefits, giving the Federal Government new, untapped exponential resources to spend (infrastructure, essential social services, better and more comprehensive health care for the populace);
• Savings brought about by this favorable tax rate will invigorate American corporations, making them stronger and more competitive internationally, and pump up the national economy;
• The monies will offset the huge interests that the US pays to China and to foreign creditors; and USA need not raise taxes on its citizens.”
“Unfortunately, the novel idea fell on Mickey Mouse ears. I understand that you have the same concept of a favorable tax rate of 10% instead of 60%. I hope that you will be the Super Hero to turn around the USA to economic prosperity. Your political will to let in the untapped monies, make the nation great again!
“Very respectfully, Oscar I. Violago.”
*** Court upholds sacking of ex-PCGG chief for excessive phone use.
Former PCGG chairman Camilo Sabio and his officer incurred 1331,040 in mobile phone expenses. Too many phone pals.
Duterte leads online poll for Time’s most influential
President Rodrigo Duterte leads early in the online poll for Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2017. Duterte ranked first with four percent of the online votes, beating Pope Francis whom he cursed in the campaign trail for creating…
More Pinoys than Catholics abroad?
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen ranked 8th in Fortune’s 2017 World’s Greatest Leaders.
This was for her efforts to pursue economic reforms, bolster tourism from Southeast Asia and steer the nation’s diplomacy. Fortune also underscored Tsai’s commitment to pursuing economic reforms, highlighting her enactment of a new labor law – (and this is what endears her to civil servants) – that shortens the workweek from 6 to 5 days.
Fly me to the moon. House Bill 3637 and Senate Bill 1211 known as the Philippine Space Act of 2016, aims to legislate Philippine Space Development and Utilization Policy and create a Philippine Space Agency.
We can’t fix our Metro Manila four-hour commute to and from office, but we can take a short cut to outer space.
China to build two bridges across Pasig River — President Duterte.
One connects to Binondo. Where does the other go to?
Yes, we have no bananas. To the President’s credit, China lifted the ban on Philippine bananas. Before the ban, we exported in 2015 448,000 metric tons of bananas to China, valued at $157.5 million.
Aside from lifting the ban on bananas, China is also looking at increasing its imports from PH, particularly high-value commercial crops such as mangoes, coconut, and dragon fruit.
Interest in Earth Hour waning in Philippines. The maximum load in the country’s power grid was reduced by only 165 megawatts on March 25, or only 4 percent lower than the 172-MW decrease observed in 2016, according to data from National Grid Corp.
Gary Lising suggests that for next year’s Earth Hour Day, all restos in Makati and elsewhere shut off lights and replace with candles for romantic 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The restos can also turn off airconditioning (like when we had power brown-outs… and waiters earned bigger tips by fanning the customers). FEEDBACK: