The fundamental nature of poverty that politicians' promises may never address

Every Filipino born is, on the average, destined to generate mediocre economic output – i.e. generate incremental economic value that is insufficient sustain him/herself. This is a simple but profound pillar of truth that describes the Pinoy Condition. It goes to the core of why every effort mounted by the Philippines to prosper simply fails. It is also a key underpinning principle of overpopulation, and it ties into my definition of poverty...

Poverty is an outcome of our locking ourselves into commitments beyond any inherent ability in us to honour them.

…which I elaborated upon on an article on FilipinoVoices.com from way back.

In essence, every new Filipino warm body produced is a commitment. And our track record of economic output per capita is a sorry record that I believe highlights our inherent inability to honour our commitments -- which means our impoverishment stems from the very time we enter a commitment to feed, raise, and educate every new Filipino baby born. Poverty is therefore etched into the very DNA of our society.

Therefore, every Filipino born, on the average, represents a potential subtraction from the aggregate economic value of the Philippine economy. This is the source of our poverty. And we have been for the last five decades trying to whitewash that reality with short-term sources of income -- overseas foreign workers, raw resources export, etc. The big financial windfalls that many of them may deliver confounds in how these never quite manage to seep into the little cracks that interlace the bedrock of our ability to sustain ourselves.