Uncertainty is the “in” word nowadays.

Various massive company lay-offs and corporate downsizing schemes; a number of abrupt bank holidays and closure of financial institutions; the ill economic news left and right – these are just the surface of a deepening global economic recession (we dare say depression) that is not an inch of good news at all.

No matter how much the present GMA regime and the reactionary forces from here and abroad sugarcoat the series of events leading to the global depression, the prevalence of poverty and economic turmoil among the ordinary citizenry is the real score.

And this purported lack of adherence to the principles of truth by those who banner the dying cause of capitalism (in general) is a blatant insult to the injury of the world’s populace – and truth is what we all should pursue if we intend to solve our present misery under the rotten present social system.

How the global economy, triggered by the strategic downfall of U.S. imperialism, ended up bleeding profusely to the point of dying – and why we Filipinos should be caring to take notice of these events?

Tied in servitude to U.S.’s imperialist interests, let’s analyze the annals of history to better understand how the current American demise brings forth doom to our livid nation.
Needless to say, the reality is that the Philippines – being a neo-colony – isn’t too invincible not to be affected, Mrs. Arroyo.

U.S. Imperialism – An Interlude
Inspired by the bourgeoisie revolution erupting in various parts of Europe and fueled by the technological innovations of the industrial revolution (ushered and maximized by capitalists themselves in order to hasten their profit), it didn’t take long before the emerging American capitalist nation (fresh from winning its independence from colonialist Britain) made itself known to the world politically and economically.

But because the capitalists’ mind is programmed for “more profit”, monopolist American tycoons and small market investors sought to double their profit in the most feasible way without having to hassle themselves with putting up resource-consuming industries or formal businesses – hence the stock market was born.

Add this to U.S.’s rapidly expanding industries and booming banking system and it was no sooner that America bloomed to the point of deterioration even as early as the 1870’s.

As feared by experts, U.S.’s and other imperialist nation’s speculative economy (e.g. Wall Street or the stock market – the gambling juncture for big-time capitalists and ordinary investors) busted half a century later and paved the way for the Great Depression (1920s).

In those times, millions of workers lost their jobs and millions of families suffered hunger pangs and literal nothingness (very much like the impoverished condition in our country now) in a daily basis while basic commodities flooded the market to rot. Indeed, the Great Depression was the darkest fiscal turmoil the world has ever seen in decades.

This imperialist crisis of overproduction and shrinking market pointed to one solution: WAR, the most lucrative business up to date in the capitalism era.

Fast-track to post-World War II.
America was the least ravaged country among the warring imperialist nations – in fact, it even profited and fed-off from the destruction that rampaged across the Atlantic and beyond (save for Pearl Harbor and U.S.’s armed forces who were sent as war machinery).

After the war, the vastly devastated European and Asian countries had incurred not only war damages in the process of the fighting but also a ballooning indebtedness – to no other than the U.S.

This debt bondage to U.S. and its apparent military strength served as the basis for the nation’s rise to economic prominence and its transformation into an imperialist superpower.
America at present.

Being a dominant superpower after World War II, America is currently in the middle of a wide scale economic uncertainty. In truth, it’s this fear of what lies beyond an institutions’ financial comfort zone that is spelling doom to the general economy of the world.

After almost a decade of failed policies under the war-freak, terrorism-obsessed Bush administration, the American people sought for a relief from the ongoing financial crisis that shook the nation’s economy (which first manifested in the form of the housing mortgage flop early last year).

November 2008, the presidential elections – Bush goes OUT and Obama comes IN.

The Obama hype, apart from being a history-setting racial win, was largely due to the fact that U.S. was deep in recession and it needed somebody to come pick it up from despondency.

Now that all the confetti has fallen, the question is: has the world, especially the American people, found a savior in president Obama? Or is the world forgoing another chapter in its history books where the faces change but nevertheless poverty prevails?

NO and YES.

In what has been dubbed as an impending depression far worse than the Great Depression, the scale of this foreseen period is unprecedented – the expected global shockwave is off the Richter and the forecasted 200,000,000 jobs shed off during the year (according to International Labor Organization – ILO) is just the tip of the iceberg.

Now, where’s Barack’s “distribution of wealth” platform when he himself signs a bail-out plan that covers big financial institutions and not the ordinary citizen?

Funny but it’s also the move of various imperialist governments that are affected by the “crunch”

Clearly, the capitalist-riddled bureaucracy has no heart for the toiling masses – as is the case in the Philippines.

Going Back to Our Shores.
Recently named among BizNews Asia magazine’s “Power 100,” Gloria Arroyo surely succeeded building an iron-walled regime based on sleaze, puppetry and fraud.

Looking back, in the eye of the global economic storm, she assured the public of stability and even boasted of the dubious 0.3 GDP growth that the nation recently enjoyed – now, she calmly assures the public on one side still but strongly urges the present and upcoming labor force to search for greener pastures abroad.

This logical move by GMA to rid the country of more of its labor resource is due to the fact that our economy floats merely from the increasing OFW remittances (and the news of continuous lay-offs of thousands of OFWs overseas knocks on Malacañang’s doors like an inevitable catastrophe). Locally, unemployment is expected to soar higher than never before this year – leaving a bulk of ‘09 graduates to be on an indefinite standby.

To top this scenario is the fact that:

• 7 out of 10 Filipinos suffer involuntary hunger (eat less than 3 times a day).
• DOLE conservatively predicts that there will be 300,000 Filipinos who will lose their jobs until June this year (not counting the overseas lay-offs).
• Only 25% companies in the country abide by the minimum wage law (Cebu – Php 267.00) while the daily cost of living for a family of 4 has already climbed to Php 750+.
• Our total debt has reached 7.6 trillion pesos – divided equally among the populace equates to an individual debt of 89,000 each one.
• An astounding number of 45 million Filipinos don’t own a land or a decent home to live in.
  To the rising incidence of poverty in our country, what is Arroyo’s call on the nation? Charter change – a clear ridicule of Juan dela Cruz’s plight.

Yet, when did the reactionary elite of our country ever have the heart to see the misery of the ordinary Juan? Isn’t it that they took a seat in power for further profiteering and not to heed the people’s cry for true equality and economic equity?

Feng shui experts may have recommended that in this Year of the Ox, it pays to persevere and toil doubly hard to achieve our short and long term goals – yet let that not serve as a reason to be passive to all the anomalies that pester our nation to utter wretchedness.

In capitalism’s collapse comes the immediate need to study for other alternative social system that could well push the world to further advancement without having to result to widening the gap between those who have and those who have nothing.

The best time to usher in a new kind of society? NOW.