The PSA came out with a report that Baguio City has performed very well economically, even outranking some big cities in Metro Manila. While that sounds very good, the fallacy when it comes to economic statistics is it never reveals the true living conditions of the masses.
The closest view we can get as the conditions of the masses is of course the supposed per capita income but that is just computed by dividing the gross income by the number of citizens covered. Thus, it never means the real amount of income of individual citizens. As such, incomes, even per capita are illusions on the economic conditions of people.
High incomes in democratic countries never show if resources are equitably distributed among the populace. So what is the use of having economic statistics then?
Such are actually useless in gauging the economic progress of the people. These are only useful for those “who have” in society. And they are the ones who are interested because they are the ones who will actually feel the impact of any of its ups and downs. A good economic performance means they will get more of its benefits while a bad performance means they will undertake the necessary steps to protect themselves.
The only thing we can gain from economic indicators is for us to know where we can earn more the next time around. Where our labor should be directed for us to at least survive.
As far, however, as an appreciable improvement in our lives are concerned, perish the thought. Such is controlled by the socio-economic and political elite. Only a revolutionary change there can substantially affect the status quo of our economic conditions.**