3/24/2014

The virtuous cycle of fee hikes

Sinkies are blessed with a very generous govt that despite the its policy against a welfare state when giving money freely to the people is frowned upon, the govt is always there to help the people whenever there is a fee hike. Fee hikes of any form or nature will always be accompanied by the govt giving more subsidies to help the people to defray the rising fees.
 

The latest tuition fee hikes in universities and polytechnics again sees the govt coming out with more subsidies and grants to help the people. During his budget speech last month, DPM Tharman announced that the government will provide more support to more students for bursaries. The per capita monthly household income threshold will be raised from $1,700 to $1,900. This will cover students from two-thirds of all Singaporean households, he said. Thus only one third of all Singaporean households will be affected by the higher fees.
 

University undergraduates from the lowest one-third of households will see their bursaries increase to from S$2,900 to S$3,600 a year. Bursaries for middle-income students will be S$2,600 – this is an increase from S$2,150.
 

Polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students from middle-income households will also get more support. ITE bursaries for lower-income students will be higher than their fees, helping them defray living expenses, he said.
 

This is the virtuous cycle created by the govt, raise fees, raise subsidies, people pay new and higher fees with the subsidies, and the higher revenue goes back to the govt? Even if it does not go back to the govt directly, it still goes back to somewhere while the subsidies given to the people will just slip through their hands and disappeared just as quickly as they received it.
 

This is a very nice formula to tell the people that the govt is helping them with the rising cost and would guarantee that the people would always be grateful to a kind, compassionate and generous govt. It keeps on giving and taking and giving and taking and the people will not feel the pain if there is any.

15 comments:

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

RB:

>> despite the its policy against a welfare state when giving money freely to the people is frowned upon, the govt is always there to help the people whenever there is a fee hike. <<

Which is why I have always maintained the position that Singapore has state welfare. It is only that it is "conditional" on whatever-fuck-policy has been pulled out of someone's asshole, or in the case of CPF-HDB-subsidised-public-housing, it is a political tool as well as a welfare program, plus a "wealth creation" program all wrapped up in a Ponzi, govt-supplied housing scam... I mean scheme.

Raising fees and then doling out subsidies is another way the govt gets to manipulate people via their pocketbooks.

Thumbs up! It is BRILLIANT! I make my living designing ways for enterprises to manipulate people -- but I bow down, prostrate myself in fear and awe to the myriad and exceptionally effective ways governments and their political mavens use on a daily basis to get their citizens to not only OBEY, but keep on voting the same TYRANTS in, again and again.

Marvellous!

Anonymous said...

RB, MS understood your message whoa. He is getting smarter than before.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@1126:

>> He is getting smarter than before.

Impossible. My brain cells are dying. I make sure they're dying quickly because I don't want them to suffer. So I drink to oblivion.

Anonymous said...

Fee hikes for Singaporean students.
But
Free university scholarships and living expenses for foreign students.

Traitors!
Traitors!
Traitors!

Anonymous said...

Subsidies for the Sinkies are one off only what, tio bo?

But fee hikes are always there, not one off, tio bo?

Please correct me if I am wrong.


Anonymous said...

But is the strongest opposition ready to be govt?

If not, then subsidy or no subsidy no difference lah.

60% will be very scared they accidentally vote PAP out because opposition not ready to be govt.



Anonymous said...

Tiok.

That's why PAP not scared of being voted out so they kar kar (brave) increase this and that fee.

Sinkies can only kpkb. And those like RB who is net savvy will blog to kpkb lah.

Anonymous said...

With all those subsidies given, why are we still rated the most expensive city in the world? The world most highly paid PM and ministers are still scratching their heads.

Anonymous said...

Anon 12.38 " Sinkies can only kpkb. And those like RB who is net savvy will blog to kpkb lah. "

What are u trying to say? Rb a talented blogger but not so talented in politics so end up kpkb? Maybe not. Many bloggers likely are talented in politics but chose not to get involved directly because politics often can get super dirty and not everyone doesn't believe in kharma ........ and only "foolishly" in the ephemeral materials, filthy wealth, selfish/ self-centred enjoyment, obscene opulence, decadence lifestyle, meaningless accumulation of sins and riches, riches that reflect their inferiority, riches that are akin to people in IMH, devoid of rationality not unlike a miser who builds up a gold mountain of wealth for its sake which may not serve any purpose except assuage that person's highly disturbing and profound sense of insecurity and selfishness. So the moral is to ignore all these "kar kar" this and that and not follow those who are "utterly lost". Live life by one's own conscience, moral compass and resposibility.

Anonymous said...

"Many bloggers likely are talented in politics but chose not to get involved directly..."
Anon 1:13 pm

Tiok lah. That's why the opposition is not ready to be govt lor.

And how to expect 60% SInkies to vote opposition when the opposition is not ready to be govt, u tell me lah?

Anonymous said...

"Potential People's Action Party candidates are already active on the ground, ahead of the next General Election, said party organising secretary Ng Eng Hen.

Their earlier-than-usual deployment was in response to feedback after the 2011 General Election, he said in an interview published in Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao on Sunday."

Wah seh, u see lah, PAP is very ready to be govt, tio bo?

Why WP Teochew Ah Hia didn't say the same for the opposition if they are ready? Like that how to expect more Sinkies to vote opposition, u tell me lah?

Anonymous said...

To tell the hard truth, it is much more easier to attract talented Sinkies to join the PAP rather than the opposition lah.

And to be PAP candidate is by invitation only. Because there is a 93% chance of winning, u know.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1.40 pm // To tell the hard truth ........ //

To be "hard", by nature it is "erected".

What is so gd when the truth become "hard" or "erected"? What is the purpose of getting "hard" or "erected"? For show? Or doesn't it carry the hidden connotation of going to get the " ruled screwed hard "?

The eventual outcome is still getting the " ruled screwed left, right, centre and even in all kinds of contorted positions and extreme pains and sufferings " by the "erected" or "hard" truth propagated?

So do you think it is a boon or bane to be invited one day say by a "demon king" hypothetically?

In some countries, even lowly positions are by invitation only in those big triads.

But if hypothetically one foolishly accept the invitation and get in, do you think he can get out of the triad by his own choice without being "hacked" to death?

Without actually knowing what one is joining or will be tasked to carry out eventually or even frequently, do you think it is a great fortune to be invited?

You tell me lah!

Would you consider such a fate for your own children and egg them on along this type of "no turning" back path?

Almost sure win one u know?

You tell me lah instead?

patriot said...

Do correct and pardon me if I am wrong or not able to get your concurrence.
Me remember that when me was young, there were opium smugglers and vendors. The Latter liked to get others hooked and addicted in order to enrich themselves(smuggler/vendor). What the opium vendors did was to give free or very cheap puffs and claimed how wonderful opium will do to the feeling and how it would make the opium smokers more productive in what they do. Once those invited got addicted, that was it.

Sinkies have got themselves hooked to greeds for subsidies, piecemeal monetary awards. And it all started with the early implementations of the Government Schemes. Family were proud to show off scholarships and some even faked bursaries as scholarships to others for sake of glory. So, Sinkies were, are NOT just greedy, they like to 'howlian' (打肿脸皮当胖子) as well. Shall I say the Boastful trait is natural for the Chinese used to (光崇耀祖/名扬四海)love for glory and just plain face value.

Okay, it should be safe for me to conclude that Sinkies have got addicted to subsidies and rewards.

Btw, just got the Information from a CNA Programme that in 1892, Singapore was the Richest Place in the Whole of SE Asia, though it might be just a Fishing Village. Hopefully with this info, Sinkies will not feel shameful to have generated from fishing villages.

patriot

b said...

All gov are evil, some are more evil than others. One can easily assessed how evil the gov is by the type of house the people owned. If there is no land, no freehold but need to pay off in thirty years, that gov is extremely evil. If there is land, freehold and only need seven years to pay off, that gov is less evil.