ABSTRACT
The deepening crisis of our society is graphically depicted in the Bureau of Census Study on Family Income. The figures presented by the Bureau reveal a startling picture of acute social inequality. Almost 70% of Filipino families have an income of less than P2,500 and fully 46% earn less than P I,500 a year. On the other hand, only 2.6% of Filipino families receive over P I0,000.1 While the census study is timely, it nevertheless has its shortcomings in its manner of classification. Considering the inflated state of our currency and the higher cost of living in urban areas where most of the higher income families live, we can hardly accept the Bureau of Census inclusion of those with incomes of P I0,000 as members of the elite. The true Filipino elite would therefore constitute considerably less than 2% especially if the study included foreign families. This is the group which together with foreign corporations arrogates unto itself the bulk of the nation’s wealth because it wields both economic and political power.
