“No country, however rich, can afford . . .

. . . the waste of its human resources”

That is a quote, as most of us know, from FDR during the Great Depression.

He demonstrated strong leadership and was able to turn the tide against both extremes: those who had declared the demise of capitalism and the privileged few who wittingly or unwittingly were perpetuating an economy of haves and have-nots. Because of our failed economy, we are seeing similar extremes in the Philippines? (We have a structural challenge that has overwhelmed our psyche – so we keep thinking small?)

But the core of FDR’s philosophy was rather simple: problem-solving, not ideology – he rejected wealth redistribution. Born to privilege, he knew how those with access to wealth could create a financial bubble and undermine the economy especially the well-being of the less-privileged. And so he took unto himself the task of re-charting the course of the nation: imposed limits on the influence of wealth; prioritized industries accordingly – to receive government support or stimulus – and forged partnerships between them and labor and consumers. Not surprisingly, he was a traitor to his class and labeled a socialist especially because of his “make-work” schemes and social security. But he was able to preserve capitalism and leverage its strong points – although Bernanke, a student of the era, concluded that a more aggressive stimulus could have ended the Great Depression sooner, and why he is not hurrying to raise interest rates in today’s America.

What can we learn? “No country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources.” And it goes without saying that neither can a country afford the waste of its capital. Unfortunately, that is precisely what we have done and continued to do. And not surprisingly, we are the most uncompetitive in the region and close to 30 million hungry Filipinos are paying the price. (The ideal president is one who can say and deliver as follows: “I have a concrete plan to raise our GDP by $ 100 billion – that is the only way out of our poverty!)

We have wasted so much human resources with the millions of OFWs – who should have been provided the opportunity to produce higher value-added products and services instead. And have wasted so much wealth by applauding our industry while sub-optimizing capital via our monopolist heritage and isolation. If we could peer beyond our parochial boundaries we would be red-faced and do something – and enough of the excuses? But we could not even build a new airport terminal on schedule – a microcosm of what ails us?

How did FDR do it? He cobbled together, not a flawless, but an integrated plan and led its execution with passion. He kept media informed right from the Oval Office, and the public too with his fireside chats. When the World Bank challenged NEDA to pursue integrated planning, did they get a cold shoulder instead?

Recent news reports say that we are currently preparing an R&D and investment program. It does not have to be flawless, but how integrated is it? For instance: Have we identified the industries that will give us true competitive advantage that should be the raison d’être of this initiative and raise GDP by $ 100 billon? Is partnership with industry incorporated? What about global players – e.g., if we’re talking drug manufacturing, is a global player like Pfizer invited? If we see agribusiness as one of those industries, who locally and globally from the industry are invited? Same question with BPOs if that is another industry we believe we should pursue? Who will lead execution efforts with passion? How will media and the public be kept in the loop?

That is how we should quiz presidential wannabes not incessantly focusing on personalities. We should be focused like a laser on our socio-economic cancer cells – above and beyond injecting our “kuro-kuro”?