Forget the West - Go East!

The recent G-20 Summit in Mexico made the economic shift to Asia very apparent, with the so-called emerging-market countries coming to the rescue of ailing developed nations in Europe. A large chunk of the contributions to the bailout fund by the International Monetary Fund will be coming from China (which has pledged $43 billion), with $10 billion each from Russia, India and Brazil, followed by Turkey with $5 billion and a few more (including the Philippines) promising to lend $1 billion each.

In contrast, the United States came up with zero numbers owing to “political and other complications” (meaning the US presidential election in November). No doubt America’s non-contribution intensified the frustration of some leaders who engaged in what can only be described as blame shifting and finger pointing.

Asked by a Canadian journalist why North Americans should risk their money to help Europe, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso replied in a rather snooty manner that they were not there to receive lessons on how to handle the economy – and that the crisis originated in North America due to the “unorthodox practices” by some sectors of the financial market. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was a bit more explicit, saying the crisis had its origins in other countries including the US. (Translation: Don’t blame us.)

It was rather ironic to see Western capitalist countries getting rebuked by nations such as China and Indonesia who indicated their displeasure at the failure of the European nations in addressing the financial crisis even after two years, expressing concern about the threat of a global contagion. Countries who are giving bigger amounts to the IMF kitty also want a bigger say, expressing their expectations that governance reforms would be implemented as scheduled (no hanky-panky with the funds).

Like the Philippines whose $1 billion loan to the IMF has come under fire from several sectors, India is also hard pressed to explain its $10 billion pledge. Critics assailed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s decision, saying the country can’t afford to pledge such an enormous amount considering that India’s economy is also facing a slowdown. This was the same criticism from president Noynoy Aquino’s critics, who said the Philippines is in dire need of funding for basic services and other infrastructure like classrooms and government hospitals, among many others, needed by poor Filipinos.

India’s Singh defended the decision, saying it is their duty to contribute as a responsible member of the international community. Besides, he didn’t see anything wrong in the contribution since the amount will still be part of India’s reserves and will only be used if needed, he added. This was almost the same argument used by Malacañang, saying the move signaled that the Philippines has a stable economy, pointing out that since it is a loan, the interest will earn more money for the country.

Analysts say that indeed, the tables seem to have turned – and that the lyrics of a song that goes “Go West, life is peaceful there…” might as well be changed to “Go East.”

Asian millionaires now on top of the heap

Still on the East and West, the latest World Wealth Report by international consultancy Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management showed that millionaires in Asia now outnumber their counterparts in North America. This is the first time that the Asia Pacific region showed more high net worth individuals, overshadowing North America and Europe which came in at third place.

This was the same conclusion by the Boston Consulting Group that saw a decline in the number of US millionaires, in contrast to India that had a 21 percent increase, followed by China that registered a 16 percent increase while Singapore rose 14 percent. Boston Consulting experts also predicted that private wealth in China and India will increase by 15 and 19 percent, respectively by 2016 – with the Asia Pacific region’s collective wealth expected to reach $40 trillion by then.

Incidentally, Singapore has also overtaken Hong Kong as home to the wealthiest in Asia, according to Capgemini. While details were not available on the number of wealthy people in both Hong Kong and Singapore, there is an estimated 17 millionaire households for every 100 in Singapore, followed by Kuwait, Qatar and Switzerland which came fourth at 9.5 percent or 11 millionaire households per 100,000.

Pakistan’s potbellied policemen

Apparently, the phenomenon of potbellied policemen is not confined to the PNP. Just recently, Pakistan initiated a crackdown on overweight policemen in Islamabad, issuing memos directing them to trim their waistlines to the regulation “38 inches” after 25 percent (about 5,000) failed a fitness test. Aside from their potbellies, Pakistani police have also come under fire for laziness and corruption, with local television channels showing unflattering footages of obese police sleeping on post or chattering on their cell phones.

A couple of days ago, the PNP started a two-month diet program after discovering that over 3,000 are overweight, with some of them suffering from diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and other unhealthy conditions. Aside from the fact that many of these policemen now have difficulty fitting into their issue/regulation uniforms, they cannot also perform duties and functions that require physical activity (such as running after thieves, pickpockets and other criminals).

Clearly, the saying “Shape up or ship out!” could very much apply in this situation.

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