Over a Cup of Coffee with a PolitiCAT

Dear mouse,

(Armchair Analyst Kuno)

Half full, half empty cup of coffee

CAT: The same situation can be viewed in either a negative or positive way. The optimist's cup is half full but the pessimist's is half empty.

In the Philippines Star news recently, Jaime Zobel Ayala, president and CEO of conglomerates that are responsible for several projects not only in the Philippines but also in other parts of the globe, sees the workers' migration from the optimist half full point of view.

The cat purrs. (Agrees for you, humans). If the Philippines is no longer competitive in terms of attracting investors due to China's lower labor cost, then it should use its competitive edge which is the migrant work force. Like the beautician's simple rule of making an ugly duckling beautiful, enhance the assets that stand out.

Others may see this as a brain drain but one brain lost is a gain of two or more in terms of number of children sent to schools made possible by the OCW's remittances.

Government critics and armchair analysts see this as inability of the country to provide employment opportunities for the people. True. But this is just poking at one branch of the tree. The root is buried down under. It cannot be poked. It has to be uprooted.

If you think, the cat is trying to be intellectual, NO. My cup of coffee is really half full. Time for refill. Errrmm , Mr. Wanderlust, I can make use of refill right now. (price the same huh ?)

Wanderlust : One of the good traits of the majority of our people is their ability to come up with something to beat the odds. Now you are looking at people's perspective in an economic standpoint. While this is not very ideal, it is a way out.

Opportunities for greener pasture for most of our people are well received but not all who go abroad are as lucky. There are abuses and exploitations that our government should be able to protect its people from. We have yet to learn about sweatshops that China and other countries maintain to get their Commerce and Trade swinging. It has become prevalent for our people to contract and enslave themselves under such poor work condition in a foreign land just to hold a job to support his family and loved ones. True there is a need to uproot and I must go with your observation on how to take the hurdles of our lives.

Let me recite a poem that came to me that run this way:

Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl;

One was an optimistic soul

But the other took a gloomy view.

"I shall drown," he cried and so will you."

So with a last despairing cry,

He closed his eyes and said, "Good-bye!"

But the other frog, with merry grin,

Said,"I can't get out but I won't give in!

I swim around while my strength is spent,

For having tried, I die content."

Bravely he swam until it would seem

His struggles began to churn the cream.

On the top of the butter at last he stopped

And out of the bowl he happily hopped.

What is the moral? It's easily found, If you can't get out, keep swimming around.

So let's just keep swimming around... and around... :)

CAT: Errrmm, Mr. Wanderlust before this poor cat drown in a cup of coffee, you have strudel that goes with the coffee ? free ? heehehe

Proverb of the morning-

The cup is either half empty or half full.

Isn't it obvious ?

The Ca t