text_combined: james rogers jamesrbestcom tue 20020820 1416 dave long wrote philippines getting legal title take 20 years egypt 80 population cairo lives places officially illegal situation egypt anything like situation philippines people due strange desire jobs squat land dont philippines suffers spanishimposed aristocratic landowner class latin america serflike relationships go multiple generations peasantssquatters cultivate live lands almost human parts property package problem philippines landowner class fading peasants still operating old economic assumption even though isnt imposed cases number areas landowners dont use lands bad years ie sugar prices fall low condition makes planting unprofitable global economy cases abandoned come back plant crops several years later find peasants living fallow land scratch farmers survive waiting landowner come back give something governments solution redistribute fallow land peasants lived created number problems process first meant agricultural producers plant crops time profitable government would seize land give someone else economically optimal means second give peasants use become scratch farmers particularly productive economic activity landowners generally let free land fallow anyway third peasants generally prefer work landowner rather land make money opportunities become middleclass enjoy better lifestyle arrangement result landowners either run economically suboptimal agriculture business protect lands risk land seized without compensation given peasantssquatters gladly sell back plantation owner rather becoming scratch farmers another economically suboptimal solution real role government arrangement drag economy dont know 20 years land titles philippines takes little longer us though much may bribe someone make work well expedited manner isnt onerous regions im familiar speaking former philippine plantation owner yes really negros cebu led strange life james rogers jamesrbestcom httpxentcommailmanlistinfofork 21 aug 2002 111958 0700 curse indias socialism