Finally, some substance – but just barely
thing I say when someone asks what should be done with the economy, and his other suggestions show an awareness of areas that need to be improved. In a TV interview that only provides a moment or two to talk about any one topic, one would not expect to hear a lot of depth; a quick summary of the problems and a possible solution is suf under those circumstances.
The ‘solution’ suggested, however, is where Marcos’ job creation which is currently gathering dust before the Senate committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, would create an “inter-agency council” comprising 15 government agencies led by the DOLE, which would “serve as the overall advisory and coordinating mechanism” for job creation initiatives.
The only jobs it would create are jobs in the expanded bureaucracy resulting from adding yet another redundant and, in all other respects, completely pointless layer of government meddling in development processes.
For one thing, government already has a supra- agency in the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). Under current head Arsenio Balisacan, NEDA has done a reasonably good job within the context its mandate creates; adding another level would be a completely unnecessary waste of time and resources. And no matter how much esteem NEDA may be entitled to, the objective fact is needle on the unemployment gauge hasn’t moved that much.
Marcos’ solution also suggests he has yet to identify the biggest obstacle to business development - ministration have created: Excessive intervention in areas where processes should be streamlined and complete inaction in areas where intervention is needed. If he had, he would likely have not proposed something that would only make the problem worse.
What is most disappointing is the lack of grasp of the basic logic underlying the problem of job creation—if it’s any consolation to Sen. Marcos, none of his rivals either. If you want to encourage job creation, you have to provide some incentive to job creators to do just that. Incentives can take many forms; implementing income tax reforms to lower collection processes would be a good place to start. Providing a working infrastructure to move customers, goods, and workers
Again, presenting a solution which would add one or more steps to an already unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming process is counterproductive, a non-innovation that has already been tried, is already available as part of the government’s policy management structure, and is a demonstrably ineffective model for producing To Sen. Marcos’ credit, at least he had an idea, which puts him a step ahead of most of his rivals; but just having an idea does not make it a good one.