Micromanaged

FIRST PERSON

- ALEX MAGNO

There is always peril when bureaucrats interfere with market forces. For instance, should government, to fulfill a campaign promise, insist on rice retailed at P20 per kilo, there will be starvation in the farms. Rather than lose money, rice farmers will stop planting the staple crop. There will be shortages and rationing. We will import all we need.

This is not even the worst-case scenario. The worst case happens when the rest of the world runs out of rice to sell us.

Heavily subsidized, rice is being retailed at P40 per kilo in a few outlets. This is pure showmanship. Unless we reverse the fragmentation of farmland and pursue economies of scale, we court a rice crisis.

We have entered the season of Carmaggedon. Traffic flow is choked. There are few rides available at any price.

In the face of our annual mobility crisis, bureaucrats at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) could not resist interfering with market forces rather than offering a solution to the gridlock. Chasing brownie points, they propose to slash TNVS surge rates by 50 percent.

If they enforce this, we court an absolute shortage of transport.

Years ago, the matter of surge rates seemed clear enough. If there are no provisions for surge rates, TNVS drivers will avoid the roads during rush hours. They will lose money if they do. At precisely those hours when the most commuters need a ride, transport will be scarce.