Sotu and Super Bowl

I was in Washington, DC a week ago when US President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union (Sotu) address, the American counterpart to our own President’s State of the Nation Address (Sona). And as I write this piece in Boston, the annual all-American sports extravaganza known as the Super Bowl is on TV, watched by an estimated 111 million viewers worldwide.

What’s in the Sotu and the Super Bowl for us Filipinos? The latter is easy: the featured performer at the Seattle Seahawks-Denver Broncos football showdown’s halftime was half-Filipino singer Bruno Mars, who my Boston-based son describes as the most popular Filipino performer in the United States today. His stellar performance did us proud, and was hailed by the TV hosts as one that will go down as among the best. As for President Obama’s speech, there were five things that caught my attention that I believe Filipinos could relate with; I take them up in turn below.

First, the improved US economy is always good news to economies linked closely to it, such as ours. Obama proudly proclaimed how they are now seeing “the lowest unemployment rate in over five years; a rebounding housing market; a manufacturing sector that’s adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s; more oil produced at home than we buy from the rest of the world—the first time that’s happened in nearly 20 years; our deficits cut by more than half; and for the first time in over a decade, business leaders around the world have declared that China is no longer the world’s number one place to invest; America is.” Even as Philippine dependence on the American economy has substantially been reduced in the past 15 years, that country remains a top market for our export products and a top source of our foreign investments. As I have written before, when America sneezes, our economy catches a cold. Similarly, when the American economy is doing well, the Philippine economy benefits along with it.

Second, the immigration reform that Obama pushes in his Sotu would potentially benefit tens of thousands of Filipinos living illegally in the United States. He cites bipartisan efforts to reform US immigration policy, the essence of which is to move toward legalization large numbers of illegal immigrants, Filipino “TNTs” (tago ng tago, or “always in hiding”) being a major part of them. And it’s not out of pure benevolence that business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders and law enforcers are calling on government to “fix our broken immigration system,” as Obama cites. He quotes unnamed independent economists who estimate that immigration reform “will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades…. When people come here to fulfill their dreams—to study, invent, contribute to our culture—they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everybody.” While both Democrats and Republicans favor immigration reform in general, I’m told that they differ in one key respect. Democrats would be open to eventually granting TNTs citizenship. Republicans would also provide them legal status, especially to be able to capture their tax dollars, but would stop short of offering citizenship. Either way, the immigration reform Obama’s Sotu calls for would be a boon for the security of large numbers of Filipinos living and working beneath the law in the United States.

Third, Obama reiterates his policy of “bringing jobs back home,” by removing incentives that encourage American businesses to export jobs via foreign investment and outsourcing, and providing incentives to firms that employ more Americans. While our fast-growing business process outsourcing industry has constantly watched this policy statement unfold since Obama took the presidency, there appears to be little threat to that industry’s outlook for further growth and diversification, if recent years’ experience is any indication.

Fourth, Obama’s push for clean and renewable energy, including welcoming fast-growing investments in solar energy, is worth noting. Even as we continue to debate costly electric power and an uncertain supply outlook, the imperative for alternatives to fossil fuels is a trend that we need to factor into our own energy future as well.

And fifth, Obama’s observation on the economy is noteworthy: “Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by; let alone to get ahead. And too many still aren’t working at all. So our job is to reverse these trends.” Sound familiar? It seems America is just as in need of inclusive growth as we are. But then there’s little surprise there. After all, our market structure largely follows theirs, but with one major difference. The United States has had a strong competition policy since the 19th century, meant to curb monopolistic and oligarchic control over the economy and provide a level playing field for smaller enterprises. It also has a government serious about implementing it. Our own efforts at passing a law on competition policy have faltered over several Congresses now. One hopes it would finally make it this time.

As for the Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks won convincingly in this annual competition for supremacy in American football. It is this celebration of competition that is symbolic of the dynamic and resilient economy that America prides itself in.

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