Thoughts on the global financial tsunami

The global financial crisis can be seen and felt in small and large matters. I do feel, in a way, the effects of the current global financial meltdown, and I can sense it in the air. I see it on the news that we read every day: news of layoffs, foreclosures; the closures of some businesses; and the lack of confidence, both in the buying public as well as in the selling businesses. It can’t be denied that the global financial meltdown is manifested in the alarming, growing number of street children, out-of-school youth and unemployed.

This calls for another round of belt-tightening among us Filipinos, especially OFWs that were terminated due to the global crisis.

In a way it scares me. I have a grim scenario of life’s difficulties ahead, but this makes me more prudent and to work even harder. Also, it’s acting on our instincts. Just go with the flow and don’t get caught unprepared. It’s always better to save for rainy days, affected or not by any crisis.

It’s advisable if some of our luxuries be dispensed with since they would likely upset the meager budget. Let us all pray that the worst effect of recession that is now gripping the rich nations of the world will not hit us hard. We pray, too, that our government now acts to put us away from harm way in regard to this fearful global threat.

I call upon my fellow Filipinos to find alternative sources of livelihood fast. I hope the government would focus on helping the unemployed get back on their feet instead of wasting too much time and resources on controversies that are mostly of their own making.

We’ve been facing crisis after crisis for decades, be they natural or man-made; unemployment has been in double digit for many years now. Yet, we’ve survived. The present global financial meltdown will surely make our difficult lives a little bit more intricate; it will surely make us tighten our belts another notch, but we will survive. And how did we survive crises in the past and will we overcome the next? We are resilient. We can survive any crisis.

I do believe that there is a bright future ahead of us. I am pretty sure that we can weather this financial crisis with flying colors. I only hope that we will learn our lessons, and never forget them in the future, in order to not repeat this violent cycle of want and taste.

It’s simply a matter of living within our means, and as the saying goes, not keeping up with the Joneses.