THE HECK WITH COMPLACENCY

(Perspective on the 2008 Global Financial Crisis)

When it broke out, the 2008 global financial crisis was big news. But my attitude was:  Who cares? Economists are saying that the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930‘s will not adversely affect the economy of our country. They were right. I didn’t bat an eyelash.

Fast-forward few years later, with a growing sense of concern and vigilance over societal and economic woes and I realized that complacency is not rational in critical times like this. The rippling effect of the crisis may have been minimized by the rather conservative economic policy of the country but still, the domino effect made itself felt among the business community. Unquestionably, undue stress was placed in the country’s equity market, with heightened risk aversion and uncertainty. Stocks were placed in the sidelines, waiting for an organic environment where they can thrive again. As a result, the capacity to raise capital was dampened.

The anticipatory measures the country’s premier bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, undertook is a justification of the point. First, their cutting down on interest rates lowered the rate of slowdown in lending and borrowing activities. It maintained consumer confidence and generated a positive feedback cycle between the wary financial sector and the strained economy. Second, their liquidity enhancing measures kept the economy moving forward through trimmed reserve requirements, liberalized rediscounting measures, etc. An example would be the increased maximum deposit insurance coverage, from P250,000 to P500, 000.

Whatever the effects of the global financial crisis on the economy was, it is heartening to know that our country was not complacent enough to rest on the rather positive outlooks of economists on our country’s economic standing vis-à-vis those of the directly affected. Had they assumed the same stance I had and shrugged their shoulders, there’s no telling what would have happened with our economy that time, considering that the administration the crisis came to be was riddled with accusations of graft and corruption. Negative speculations might have increased and we might have gone down the brink, too. Bank bail-outs? I’m afraid it could have been a possibility.

 

Well, those are now the imaginary what ifs of the past. What we have now is a plethora  of information that we can use to guide us in the next economic years. And though we are not wishing for it to happen, the possibility of another financial crisis lurks in the corners. We just have to be cautious and be vigilant. Complacent? Big No. As they say, let’s learn from our history. So be it.

ANTI-THESIS

(A Reaction Paper to the Movie, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps)

Wall Street is not just any movie. Yes, it has a romantic flair, albeit awkward, a bit of twists and turns, and a sprinkling of action scenes, if you call that action, but it does not end there. It also has the store of unlimited stock market, finance and all other money matter information embedded in major parts of the movie which can overwhelm ordinary viewers and undermine their understanding and perception of the movie.

Yet if we glue ourselves to the unfolding scenes and painstakingly follow the thread of information tossed to and fro by the characters, not to mention the clear-cut and obvious statements delivered, we would be able to grasp a word of wisdom or two that is not only applicable to the business world but in real life, too. Some are trivial, some  are contradicting and some, just plain self explanatory.

Case in point, Gordon Gekko’s (portrayed by Michael Douglas) “Greed is good.”  Who dare say such statement? Why, greed is one of the seven deadly sins. But whatever, we are left to ponder upon such norms-defying statement. And we question the plausibility of the statement. And we say, maybe. After all, who drove mankind out of caves and jungles, who pushed them to reach for the moon and the unknown space beyond explanation, who directed them to create mega-worthy cities? It’s not anything but their inability to control the urge to be satisfied, finding ways and means to quench their thirst for something new, despite the fact that this something new is just a reformatted or upgraded version of a basic need already fulfilled. In one word, it’s greed.

That takes us to a less trivial and more complacent statement, Jacob Moore’s (portrayed by Shia LaBeouf) “If it weren't for people who took risks, where would we be in this world?”  Definitely. Unquestionably. Certainly. If Ferdinand Magellan didn’t risk his name and life and simply nodded and dozed off to eternal sleep years afterwards, would we be enjoying the perks of cruising without the fear of falling on the end of the world? Same as if our engineers, chemists, scientists, astronauts, the list goes on, didn’t risk their emotional, physical, psychological, name it, you have it, welfare; we would not be enjoying the life we call our life now. Piece of cake.

The movie has more. From love to life interspersed among the rigors of the business environment, actors show and tell. We just have to be quick to decipher and  process it before the movie  toss another another dull scene. The movie is dull, trust me. The title says money never sleeps but we are no money. We are humans, and halfway through the movie, we would sleep. Though if we are looking for some piece of movie that we can glean a picture of how the stock market works or lift a life lesson or two, this is a good movie. Just bring lots of popcorn and well, toothpicks to keep your eyes wide open. Wide awake, Katy Perry says.