The latest vote by both houses of congress to increase the minimum wage is a fine example of political expediency. It was easier to just get over the issue and look good in front of the voting masses and focus on the coming elections. What is lost is the potential drop in productivity that will result in a give-away that is not supported by the economy.

We are so far behind because the investment climate in the Philippines is not friendly. I am not suggesting that we all work for next to nothing, only that we try to emulate the millions of Filipinos working overseas in difficult conditions. In order to compete, we need to sacrifice and high labor costs will certainly not help lure more investors to our shores.

What we need to do is lower energy prices: gasoline, diesel, electricity which will directly lower the price of food and transportation. We need to lower healthcare costs by raising taxes on tobacco. We need to plant more fruit-bearing plants and vegetables by giving outright subsidies towards communities who organize themselves into planting cooperatives.

By reducing cost of living, we will allow citizens to extend buying power. Lower labor costs will also invite more opportunities for increased production.

Idealism, intelligence, integrity, fire in the belly, good looks will get you lot of political mileage if the political highway is smooth and cemented. If instead of a highway you have a muddy farm access road pockmarked with deep holes, you will require an entirely different type of vehicle that will be appropriate for such conditions.

Without money there is no media exposure. Without money, access to politicians who control votes is severely curtailed. Without money, there will be no poll watchers to guard your votes. These are the passive drawbacks that will seriously slow down a campaign without big money.

On the other hand, money will buy election officials, powerful political bosses, unscrupulous members of mass media, fear-inducing characters, "poll watchers" (a euphemism for vote-buying). These are just a few of the active advantages that big money can buy.

The eerie phenomenon is everyone seems to know about these realities. These have become accepted realities of life in the Philippines. Whose responsibility is it to institute reform? Can we expect the powerful and comfortable few to change their ways? Have we become so complacent and happy in our own small ways that we just as well accept the lot that has been given to us? This last question is not simply a rhetorical one. Am I being arrogant in thinking that I can change a world that does not mind its current state?

While we have a provision in our constitution that prohibits political dynasties, there is a strong chance that fully a quarter of our 24-member senate may be composed of father-son, brother-sister, brother-brother tandems. Mind you, there are many other permutations possible.

There's nothing being done about this. Just another of those things that we, the disengaged, out-of-the-loop majority have been patiently tolerating from the beginning of our history. But also another reason why a total unknown like me with no money, no connections, no stake in the corrupt, fraud-ridden election apparatus is spoiling for an opportunity to fight.

Randy David is a popular columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He writes, "In our society today, a large number of individuals enter politics not because they have a vocation for it but only because they have an advantage they think they must not waste". He refers to the actors, athletes, television celebrities, scions of political dynasties and old wealth. He writes that one should not run on the basis of electability but rather on whether one has a political vocation. He quotes Max Weber who lists three essential traits: "passion, a feeling of responsibility and a sense of proportion".

Whenever I think of the sacrifices I will have to make in order to discern if I truly have a political vocation I always think of the sacrifices other people have made long before me for the good of the country to assuage my doubts and strengthen my commitment. Others have been imprisoned and tortured, others have lived away from family for many years and others have been killed. We need to continuously measure ourselves next to what these heroes have sacrificed.

Per Olofsson is a Swedish inventor who is marketing a novel innovation, solar-powered airconditioning. A thermochemical reaction between water and salt results in heat exchange. This would be a wonderful improvement for a materially-poor but sun-rich country like the Philippines. The technology is rather expensive but Olofsson's main concern is how to convince populations to exploit sustainable energy sources. "Changing behavior is more difficult than changing technology."

Across the Atlantic, Jim Poss from Massachusetts is an alternative-energy entrepreneur who invented a solar-powered trash compaction system that will make trash pick-ups less often. Apparently, the US spends $45 billion annually to haul garbage away and this converts to 180,000 diesel trucks rolling around the streets every single day.

Two wonderful innovations that will help preserve our environment arising from areas relatively deficient (compared to the Philippines) in sunlight. Why an impoverished nation straddling the equator cannot pursue harnessing solar energy full time presently escapes me. Another reason why I need to be in some position where I can find out the real reasons behind this disconnect.