When all else fails, there’s always delusion

Late night talk show host Conan O’Brien was supposed to have given that advice in a commencement address, five years ago, at his alma mater, Harvard. It seems, politicians here and abroad have taken his coping advice to heart. How else can one explain news reports over the past week that can only lead to the conclusion that many leaders of nations today have become delusional?

We are familiar with orders for "all out war on jueteng", because we have heard it once too often. Any national leader who thinks he or she can stop jueteng by merely issuing press releases, can only be charitably described as delusional. Is she willing to sacrifice grassroots support from LGU officials? And yes, is she willing to risk losing the support of the police at a time of political instability?

Jueteng is too ingrained in the country’s grassroots culture and economy. Is there a program that would realistically replace the contribution of the numbers game to livelihood at the grassroots? Even now, a congressman in her home province of Pampanga is making front page noise about how thousands of her cabelens will be unable to send their children, mga anak ng jueteng, to school if jueteng is stopped. I have no strong feelings for or against jueteng. But if we are to stop it, let us have an honest program to deal with it from all angles.

Our leaders, however, do not have a monopoly on delusion. Internationally, American politicians are putting pressure on China to revalue the yuan, as if it is the panacea to America’s trade deficit and job loss. Never mind that many economists believe that carelessly revaluing the yuan may cause more problems both in China and in the world, including the United States.

And of course, if the American politicians really want China to revalue the yuan, the worse strategy to employ is to seem to be exerting undue pressure. National pride would just make the Chinese leadership more intransigent on the issue. It is a sovereignty issue for China.

For a less responsible Chinese leadership, there is an easy way to accede to American demands: China merely stops buying US Treasury bills that prop the yuan’s peg to the dollar. An announcement saying that in line with America’s demand, they will stop buying American Treasury bills… or worse, start selling off their hoard of US Treasuries, or make even a hint of a change in policy, would see the dollar’s value fall vis-à-vis the yuan. But that would also cause chaos in the international money market, if not managed well.

At least the Chinese leadership is not in a suicidal mode, realizing that such a response, while an ideal tit-for-tat to American pressure, also creates problems for everybody. American politicians forget, the Chinese yuan policy subsidizes a great deal of America’s profligate spending. In order to maintain the peg, China is forced to buy loads of dollars, which are then dumped into US Treasury bonds, financing America’s hefty deficits.

As The Economist puts it, "a sudden decline in Chinese demand for Treasuries would raise America’s borrowing costs… Some economists fear that this would push interest rates up sharply enough to cause a sharp contraction in the debt markets (including the mortgages that are fuelling America’s housing boom) and the economy…" One wonders if those American congressmen thought of the consequences of their demand on their own economy.

Politicians are all the same. In the face of mounting problems and very real failures in government, they follow Conan O’Brien’s advice: When all else fails, they resort to delusion.

Lemon cars

There seems to be an epidemic of lemon cars all over the world, judging from constant reports of recalls and the growing number of consumer complaints about lemon cars. We all know about the heavily publicized travail of ABS-CBN anchor Gene Orejana with his Mitsubishi Pajero.

Just before I left for Germany, I got an e-mail from Dr. Reynaldo Mariano, a doctor who took care of my late father. I referred his e-mail to Gene Orejana and to Sen. Mar Roxas, hoping that by the time I got back, Honda would have taken care of it. Here is my latest e-mail from Dr. Mariano, which my e-mail server received last May 11 at 4:38 am.

Good morning. If you can find some space in your column please write about my story. I am very disappointed with Honda. I can’t sleep anymore for all the pains and problems they gave me. My hands are tied. I can’t do anything. I’m having chest pain .THANK YOU so much for all the support. After this, I just want peace in my heart. I’ll just get my car and walk away. Salamat po.

What is the story of the soft spoken Dr. Mariano? Here is his earlier e-mail.

I bought a brand new Honda Jazz last November as a gift for my wife. I insisted on it, even if she wanted another brand. After 2 months, the problems came. My wife could start the car only after several attempts. We brought it to the Honda service center at Fairview. After 1 week, it won’t start again. This happened several times… at a shopping mall, at the office of my wife where it delayed my wife for 3 hrs. One time, I was even forced to just take a taxi because I had to respond to a medical emergency of one of my patients.

We called the Honda service center and even their technician couldn’t start the car. They took the car and told us after a few days there was only a loose connection. I felt bad because this was not the first time. I cannot believe Honda anymore, and I no longer trust the car. I requested for a change of unit but they refused. I feel so bad because I paid for that car with hard earned money. I thought buying a brand new car won’t give me trouble for five years.

The other lemon car buyer who wrote me was Mila Alora, a former press undersecretary during the time of Tita Cory at Malacañang. She bought a GM Chevorlet Optra. Here is the gist of her long e-mail.

First of all, Mila complained about the non-disclosure of a rebate of P40,000 to cash buyers "which was  given only after complaint was lodged."  Then she encountered a string of problems with the car which made her request for a change of unit.

When the car was not even two months old, the battery went kaput. And it took GM Auto World five days to replace it. Then it was the turn of the car radio and CD to stop working. Shortly thereafter, it was the fuel gauge that was not working. Then, it was the steering wheel that was not working properly, because the car’s steering wheel fluid was leaking.  

The next problem Mila had was with the engine. It had a hard time starting and when it finally started, the car shook heavily as if it was going to explode. The GM shop said it only needed a change of spark plugs. But it happened again some weeks later… the body started shaking and a foul odor was emitted in the interior of the car, as is something was burning.

In all these instances, Ms. Alora found the response of the GM service center wanting. So, she wrote to an old friend of mine from my PNOC days, Atty. Vic Dimagiba who is now director of DTI’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Hopefully, Vic can give Mila and Dr. Mariano some relief from these car companies selling lemon cars.

Good service

Now, let us have some positive feedback, for a change. This one’s from Dodo Galindo, who formerly headed Petron’s Technical Services Group.

May I mention that there is another government office where you can get fast service. When I personally paid my realty tax this year at the Quezon City Hall, I was very much surprised how they have really changed the system since the previous administration. The taxpayer is seated in a big air-conditioned room and treated with coffee or soft drinks. There are expediters to ensure that only batches of 10 line up while the rest are seated. It took me only 30 minutes to pay and get my receipts. Maybe, other cities should take a cue from Quezon City and treat their taxpayers like customers. Regards.

Not to worry

Here’s Dr. Ernie E.

He looked deep into the eyes of the woman he loves and said, "My heart is broken. I saw you with another man yesterday."

"Oh don’t be silly!" she replied, "That was just my husband.  You know there’s no one but you."

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]