9/30/2011

Forgetting the asshole

Today I try, or pretend, to be an elite and think or reason like an elite. This is an important exercise as the elite are the thinkers, agenda setters and decision makers, and will decide the type of life we will lead. And presumably the elite are smart asses and will not think silly or act silly, or short change the people.

A plate of chicken rice is now $10 in some places. And if the price is not controlled or brought down, it will keep spiraling as every seller will think that this is the new normal. All they need to do is to shout that the price is affordable and soon the people will believe so. So the asshole who started the $10 chicken rice is going to reap all the profits he desired and get away with it. Is there a problem with rising prices of chicken rice?

An elite may suggest, since the price is $10 or 3 times the normal price, it will be cheaper and reasonable to divide it up and eat it in three meals. That will make the chicken rice cheaper won’t it?

Another may suggest, reduce the quantity into half and sell it at $5. Or for small eaters, reduce the quantity to a third and sell it at $3. See, the price of chicken rice is now affordable, like before.

There could be more brilliant and cleverer suggestions from the elite thinkers. And they will keep on doing it, cracking their brilliant minds to solve the high chicken price problem.

And none will want to ask, or to know, how the chicken price got to become $10 in the first place, and whether it is justifiable. They have totally forgotten about the asshole that started it. They have accepted the new normal, that a plate of chicken rice should be $10.

Where is Khaw Boon Wan? Has he resolved the high HDB price problem?

13 comments:

notanotherspinstory said...

Good piece. Replace "chicken rice" with HDB.

Problem is the chicken rice was open indiscriminately to foreigners speculative buying and the COV keep going up. The freaking chicken rice cartel was limiting the chicken rice supply to 3 years order in advance to keep prices crazy high. All the while the price of chicken did not change. Free money.

Anonymous said...

I see you are not very successful in putting on the elite hat. To the elite, $10 chicken rice is good news. The rice seller has become more productive. GDP is growing. The city is booming. Time for celebration. The next target is to make it $20.

Anonymous said...

Elite: "The sky is falling"
Chicken little, (aka daft citizen):Really? RUN!(or buy)

Anonymous said...

Bluntly speaking...a system/population can only afford to support a certain number of elite...

Once the numbers of these elite exceed the system/population support / feed them...

It is like the snake eating its own tail.

We need to rememeber elite people (in the main) do not provide real life solutions nor are very productive themselves...especially when the pie is this small but they want it all.

Too me...

Elite (in the main unless proven their worth truely) = Low born and low life real parasites living off from others. [And they are proud of this fact...real nut cases all rite]

And you can take that to hell or heaven or limbo!

Anonymous said...

Whence the chicken rice towkays made enough money, do You expect them to remain chicken rice hawkers?
Many Sinners have properties and assets overseas, Sin politicians could be owners of luxurious villas in many places.
Who knows?

patriot

Anonymous said...

Khaw Boon Wan is not taking over MND to resolve the HDB price problem. If you are expecting that to happen, sorry to pour cold water on your dreams, because that is not and will be the last objective that he is there for.

What can you expect from a former Minister for Hell, who raised hell for Singaporeans in respect of healthcare? He is not going to change hell to paradise whichever Ministry they may put him in.

He is there to sit out his term to qualify for his fat pension, while the price of HDB continues to escalate.

The said...

Substitute elite with nomenklatura or amakudari........

Anonymous said...

Anyone with insider information about our Sin parliamentarians owning oversea assets or their offsprings have settled abroad for good???

patriot

Anonymous said...

Daft Sinkaporeans always lose out in HDB's pricing because supply is always ensured to be less than demand. Moreover, BTO flats are ordered 3 1/2 to 4 years in advance and if there is less than 65% of the orders for a particular project, it will not be built. As such HDB do not lose anything, it is a head I win tail you lose situation.

Selling chicken rice is not the same, already cooked and ready to eat, if it is too expensive just boycott it, the price will adjust by itself.

Anonymous said...

No lah, elites will ask you not to buy chicken rice if it's too expensive. They'll ask you to eat fish or more veggies. If you say the same about Hdb flats, they'll tell you the same except to stay with your relatives.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Don't be surprise when the chicken rice seller said he would not order the chicken or cook the rice unless there is a queue outside his stall.

And he will put out a sign, 3 hours waiting time. Can't wait go somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how many of our citizens can afford S$10 chicken rice?Not many,I think!

Anonymous said...

There was talk of some asshole asking hawkers not to increase prices, but that obviously did not work. Frankly, how will it work when it is all due to the rental charges that ultimately benefits the HDB.

Now, prices of hawker food and drinks are going up like 'boh cheng hu'.

My low class black coffee just increase by 10 cents a cup, an increase of 12%. The coffeeshop lady tells me that it was because of a change of ownership of the coffeeshop. No wonder the Ah Pek sitting next to me was shouting 'daylight robbery'.

Anyway, got 'cheng hu' also no use. They will tell you not to patronise or to look for cheaper coffee elsewhere by spending $1.72 on bus fare. How is that for problem solving by our elites.