Starting the year right

In last week’s column, I mentioned the value of momentum, of carrying it through based on a plan. I also mentioned that planning is as much about the future as it is about the present.

We can apply this at many levels, at the personal level, in our organizations, even in our hierarchy of government.

The national government has announced that the momentum of economic growth will continue in 2007 and projects it to grow even higher every year to until 2010.

The economy is progressing admirably despite the typhoons that hit the country in 2006 and slowed agricultural production. There is some turbulence forthcoming in the political arena particularly during the May elections.

However, the elections can do a lot of good because it will stabilize the political situation thus clearing the way for increased economic growth. In this sense, the turbulence is something that our economy needs. It is democracy’s anti-dote to instability.

What is bothersome though is the delay in the passage of the 2007 budget of the national government. Government expenditure is a major component of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). When this is below target, the slack has to be taken up by private sector investments, by household consumers, and through exports.

Perhaps, election spending can help perk up the economy a bit but these can’t match budgetary expenditures for roads, schools, and many more projects that directly promote economic growth.

For the Gross National Product (GNP) to have an increasing growth rate, means increasing the rate funds inflows from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

The ideal rate for our economy to really get that quantum leap is a sustained 7 percent growth for 7 years. We can’t reach 7 percent with the “lower-than-target” government spending for two successive years.

Congress and the executive branch of the national government must come to an agreement and pass a budget that can help reach that 7 percent rate of GNP growth.

The momentum of economic growth will slow down and the benefits of such growth will be dampened by another re-enacted budget.