12/12/2012

Strangling the CPF golden goose


The CPF was the best thing that could happen to Sinkie workers. The high contribution rate was a bit painful for the start, but on hindsight it is actually planning for the ugly future that Sinkies would have to face. Sinkies must by now realize that their income is an income to last 3 or 4 life times.

They need the income to keep them alive during their productive years. Count this as one life time. They need an equal amount or more with inflation added, to keep them alive for another life time when they are unproductive or retired. They also need an income of an equivalent amount to bring up children. Now there are two big expense items equivalent to their life time expenses, housing and private transport if they want that comfort. And if they are unlucky, they need a much bigger sum, more than they need in a life time to pay for the days they need to be hospitalized.

A Sinkie needs to earn 5 or 6 times an income during his working years. Sinkie must divide whatever income he is getting today by 5 or 6 times. He can only afford to spend 1/5 or 1/6 of his income if he is to survive the journey. For a Sinkie earning $3000 per month, he can only spend a max of $600 if he is to survive to his retirement age. Actually the CPF was very well positioned to do the job until….

What the Sinkies did not prepare for, beyond their control, is that some wise guys got an enlightenment. They saw the huge sums of money in the Sinkies’ CPF and started to plan to use this for all kinds of things. Make public housing affordable according to how much the Sinkies can afford to pay from their CPF. They forgot that the Sinkies needed the money for a life time for many other needs. Now the CPF is practically empty or just enough for housing alone.

The CPF was the golden goose that lays the golden eggs. Now the eggs are gone or going. The goose is being made to lay more eggs but cannot keep up with losing the eggs. And when the goose is old and dry, when no more eggs can be laid, and no more eggs are left for winter, it is like a futile exercise. The golden goose is expected to lay a life time of eggs for the golden years. But the eggs have all been harvested, gone long before anyone knows what is happening.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

FYI - TRE and TOC seems to be down

patriot said...

You have left out Medical Expenses to keep ones' life in good health.
Paradoxically, working and thinking for and about medical expenses worries many to be sick.

Sad that we are struck by something like the Merciless Lightning.

patriot

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Haha Patriot, TRE and TOC struck by lightning?

patriot said...

Chin Leng:

They will resurrect and if not

will reincarnate.

Heard that those who died with injustice
will not go away.

patriot

Anonymous said...

TRE and TOC kena strike by "lightning" like singapore surf?

Veritas said...

Today in Yahoo news.

......it highlighted that Singaporeans are not saving enough for retirement.......

Despite these worrying trends, one piece of good news is that Singapore has the highest average level of savings among 10 countries (the US, three Asian countries and six European nations) surveyed by Aviva in June.


WTF is that? Countries that have low savings rate have enough for retirement while we, having the highest saving rate, highest reserve per capita in the have not enough for retirement.

You got to be kiddin me.

In addition, Singaporeans are the hardest working in the whole world.

Where the hell the monies gone to?

Sometimes, as someone who follow religion and fear God, I always wonder how can we have such wicked people like LKY, LHL, Ho Ching and those PAP bunch. I am really sad and really could not understand how can people like them make others miserable so that they themselves can have a privellege lifestyle.

To make it short, all our savings are being suck up by PAP using ponzi CPF, property and healthcare. They are then lost inside stock market. Next, PAP start to blame us for profligacy.

virgo49 said...

TRE keep on harping on that idiotic MP Gan who cannot speak proper english despite been a VP of a prestigious Bank.

PAPies cannot tahan, so has to do something to it.

Hope that it is Ok now, very boring without it plus Mr Redbean Blog

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

I must say lucky never include that youtube here. Andrew delivered a knock out punch.

Veritas is hitting the nail on the head. The highest saving nation and all got no enough money for retirement, and all millionaires. What the fuck is happening?

Actually it is all about inflation. Inflation will deflate everything saved away. Insurance also got no help. Saving with no control over inflation is futile, a con game.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

>> The CPF was the best thing that could happen to Sinkie workers. <

Hahahahahaha...really? "Best thing" for who exactly?

Other cuntree also have provident fund for their workers retirement. But only in Singapore has the state turned CPF into a sophisticated MACHIAVELLIAN political tool -- a goose shooting out golden eggs from it's goose-cunt for the benefit of the political elite, and a source of infinite funding for the state's sovereign wealth fund.

The best part of the myth is that most people still believe the CPF belongs to them. ;-)

This "faith" is backed up by people having too much false hope. Notice the Pavlovian response everytime the govt waves the CPF magic wand.

When the magic wand is waved, the goose shoots out another few billion eggs.

Pure mastery.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

The CPF is not designed to "be sufficient" for retirement. It never was, it never can be. So wake the fuck up.

Got productivity?

Anonymous said...

Who harvested all the eggs?

Burren Waffett said...

The golden goose's eggs have been compulsorily acquired by the wicked farmer who fires them through a blunderbuss as overseas investment target practice. Usually missing.

The goose is only allowed 2.5 eggs per year, but must pay 2.6 eggs or more for the loan of its chicken coop (goose coop?) Higher class geese can opt to stay in shoeboxes instead and pay many many more eggs for the privilege.

With a lack of surplus eggs, the geese flock no longer reproduces and the evil farmer has resorted to importing foreign geese which look similar to local species but have drastically inferior training, morals and egg producing abilities.

Local geese are not amused.

Anonymous said...

Is that Wally Buffet in disguise?