I was just sent an e-mail with about a dozen beautiful pictures of the streets of Manila in the 1960s. I was amazed at how spotlessly clean, well cared for, and uncrowded the city appeared to be. No wonder it was referred to as the "Pearl of Asia." What Happened???? Manila certainly isn't like that today. It is an overcrowded, filthy, smokey, big, third world city where just getting by is a real struggle. I am no scholar on Filipino history but I believe the current problems started with Ferdinand Marcos and the corruption during his reign. The money became devalued (sound familiar) the country's infrastructure went down the tubes (hmm... sounds familiar too), and jobs became scarce (high unemployment).
Based on these pictures, I would have moved to Manila in a heartbeat. Not today, I have been to Manila more than once. It is not a pleasant site. By now, you get my point. We are 40 years away from a similar fate if we spend ourselves into bankruptcy.
I would post the pictures but they are copyrighted. Contact me and I will forward the e-mail to you.
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