[gexla]

Taking this further. If you do own a smart phone, FB is the one connection you can get free over the mobile networks.

When I walk into a bar here, I pay 45 pesos (approx $1 USD) and the waitress who hands me my beer might make 140 pesos for a 12 hour work day. She should make more in tips, but not always. Down the road, the major grocery store also pays its workers about the same. Minimum wage is supposed to be something like 350 pesos per day depending on industry (domestic helpers may not even make the 140 pesos because they are live-in and get food. But they work like slaves). Businesses get around minimum wage by employing for six month contracts, which is a probationary period.

Internet cafes charge around 15 - 20 pesos per hour. An all day mobile data connection (700MB cap) costs 50 pesos. The locals will get an SMS promo for around 20 pesos per day. Getting to work and back in my city costs 20 pesos minimum. We haven't got to rent and food yet. The math is grim.

You carry a cell phone as a shiny object to show off. You dress remarkably well with this small budget (probably a good reason to sell cheap but fashionable clothing). Somehow you may even be able to buy a scooter.

That's it. That's the economy.

NOTE: The big exception is the occasional splurge for those lucky enough to have relatives sending remittances.

[hartpuff]

> The math is grim.

The math is grim for the poorest people in any country.

> That's it. That's the economy.

The economy of one of the biggest consumer markets in Asia is people earning $3/day and blowing $2 of it on transport, SMS and internet?

[gexla]

Not far off if you throw lunch in there as well. It's growing fast though. The area I'm living in went from relatively quiet with few cars on the road to serious traffic problems in probably 5 years (pulling from memory). Some of that might be increased shopping options in the city pulling in regional shoppers who previously didn't have as much of a need to be in the city. It's hard to say without real numbers though.

Maybe I'm just hanging with the wrong crowd, but pretty much everyone (locals) I know has bare bones possessions. The head of the household has a T.V. and a fridge as an addition to my list. That's friends, family and neighborhood.

There is a lot of money coming in through remittances. Getting money coming in as a basic income (not work) doesn't seem to do much for the work ethic from my experience. Often these remittances are covering a large family with basic living expenses.

I don't have much more than anecdotal evidence, but the profile of a typical person here is way different than that of where I came from (US).

[hartpuff]

If you're living in an area where having a fridge and TV is rare or unusual, if I understand you correctly, then I'd say you're living in a very poor area, not a 'typical' or even average place.

[gexla]

I'm not saying it's rare or unusual. Just that it's on the short list of what people own. People here aren't big consumers. Not the typical household like in the US where people have houses overflowing with crap (and much of that crap being things you can't even get in the Philippines.)