There is always nothing wrong with generosity, especially when there is this expansive knowledge that people are not getting decent measures of what they need.
That generosity however, to be called such, must be only for that sole reason of charity or compassion and its breed of reasons other than getting something in return.
A few days ago, President Benigno Aquino recommended a bill that would start jacking up state workers pay to about 45%, for congressional approval.
The pay-out would be implemented in 4 rounds of annual increases, beginning January 2016.
The increase, which would benefit 1.3 million government workers would cost the government P226 billion, according to sources.
Almost at the same time, a Senate Bill was passed on third and final reading, a move to increase the country’s Social Security System pension by P2,000.
Packaged in an amendment to the Social Security Act of 1997, the Senate Bill passed on a 15-1 vote.
The dissenting cross-out comes from Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who said the move could lead to the SSS bankruptcy.
Of course, for people who do not look hard, this is good news: a salary increase that would alleviate the purchasing power of state workers and one that moves them a bit nearer their counterparts in the private companies.
For those getting social pensions, P2,000 more is 2000 reasons to be happy that the government has finally appreciated their work.
The next question: where would the government get the money it would bankroll in the pay-rise?
Tax, most certainly.
In Asia, the Philippines and India have the highest corporate income tax tare based on taxable profits at 30%. Add up to that the 12% value added tax.
For VAT, other than China and India, the Philippines continue to be among the heavily taxed consumers.
Experts have said that it there was an efficient tax collection system in the Philippines, the tax we collect can already keep the country out of this dire situation of economic depravity in less than a decade. But with the inept system that we have, the government loses over half of its collections to corruption, the rest by irrational spending by government.
With the state of economy the Philippines is having, the only reason for the government to be gallantly generous is the upcoming elections.
What will the salary increase approval do? It would make people look at the executive as that who sides with them and this tends to create a division in government: the executive and the legislative.
Legislators who would vote against the increase would be hated, while the executive would bank on a no-reasonable vote but for the shine of money, the ploy works.
This early, talks are already circulation in the barangays saying that the loss of Administration candidate can mean the total scrapping of the social benefits program, the stopping of the raise and the withdrawal of social security pension increase.
Or the plan pushes through and effectively puts the burden of upbringing a bankrupt economy back on its feet.
Either way, this rather untimed generosity will have people always losing.