8/13/2008

Happy MPs and grassroot leaders

There were repeated clips over the local news on MPs and grassroot leaders giving up food packages to the poor and needy. It was reported that more of these desperate poor are appearing to seek financial assistance as they could not cope with the high cost of living. Many must have reached desperation point that they could no longer hide in their little nooks and corners and are crawling out for help. They need not look far. Help is around the corner. The MPs and grassroot leaders were there to help them with food and financial assistance. And they are doing it with great zeal and enthusiasm. After distributing the packages, they went on a flat to flat hunt for more needies who would not come out to look for help. The MPs and grassroot leaders must be very happy that they were doing a good deed to help the poor. What was obviously overlooked, in my view, is that the act of giving and help the poor, so many of them, is a sign of failure. We have done something wrong that resulted in so many people needing help. We can expect such situations in poorer countries and should not happen in one of the richest country in the world. A few pockets of poverty are inevitable. But the scale of poverty in paradise is unacceptable. Who or what is causing all these poverty and desperation? High cost of living, high cost of basic necessities and transportation, not forgeting high GST. They all eats into the pockets of the poor. Why is there a need to take so much from them, force them into difficulties only to give some back to them? When help is needed openly, by so many, we have failed. The most effective way of helping the people is to create a system that allows them to help themselves and be self sufficient. Helping them without having to be seen to help them through a systemic change in our economic structure is the better way. When the people can help themselves to earn enough to feed themselves, there is no need for all the high profile help to be flashed across the tv screens. We need not have happy helpers helping those who need help. It is not a happy thing.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

By raising GST, food and prices of eveything will go up and the poor will come out of their little nooks with heads held low and submit themselves to eat humble pie and to seek help.

GST DOES HELP THE POOR.

Now I understand what our loving caring and all-inspiring PM meant !
The SS

Anonymous said...

Clever analysis !

The systemic failure in the PAP economic policies have resulted in many more poor needing help.

It is important to put this message across to those poor folks
Vote the PAP at your peril!
Trust them at your peril!

Anonymous said...

Increase GST, price hike (gov benefit from all things 7%GST, don't they), increase ERP gantries, increase foreigner intakes etc to show how caring they are to moderating these things they started.

Increase GST , price hike, then use MSM to announce the following

Government that full of love and compassion helps the poor to cope with inflation and high cost of living. Rest of countries's government should follow suit to help the poor.

Surely, the rest of other governments can follow suit except that they are unable to do what our government do in increasing GST, price hike,transport etc as and when they like.

F$#%#king superficial Singapore government trying to deceive the world and the citizen.

Anonymous said...

30% of singapore lives under the poverty line.

60% of singapore does not earn enough to pay income tax.

One of the richest countries in the world. Cool.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

the poor here is shouldering a disproportionally high tax burden relative to their income. unbelieveable.

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable? It is PREPOSTEROUS! Even children are made to pay for GST.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

don't forget the unborn and the dead.