The transport policies, the COEs, ERPs, bus fares, mrt fares, car ownership, etc etc, together is a very complicated issue. It is not easy for peasants to understand or to grapple with. Even super talents find it tough to handle. So please try to appreciate that they are doing their best.
A Septo Sutedja, had a role play as a Transport Minister and got away feeling better that he now had a better understanding of the complicated issues involved. So, is he now more satisfied with the way things are?
When we pay people top dollars, millions of dollars, to do a job, we expect the job to be done to our satisfaction. Once we start to pay market price, we do not see the job as a sacrifice, a voluntary social work. We have gone past that. We are not in a state to understand and appreciate that the best effort has been put in and that’s it.
We don’t pay a mean salary just to accept whatever that is dished out to us. Only the best is expected, and the people shall decide what is good enough. For it is the people’s money that is going into the pay cheque. You name the price, we pay. No question asks.
Now you deliver.
I agree with the tenor of your post.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the state regulates itself—which essentially means no regulation at all. There is the option of chucking out the incumbent govt, but even if The People vote a new govt in, it comes back to the same thing: The State regulates itself.
In the free market, customers are able to choose among many alternatives available to them. So if a product or service provided by Firm A is unsatisfactory, one can take one's money and go purchase from Firm B, C, D or E.
In the free market, because of the voluntary exchange of private property titles (aka "trade"), which implies implicit or explicit contracts, one has the option of SUING firms (and individuals) who don't honour their obligations in the implied or explicit contract.
It is virtually impossible (at least in the S'pore sense) to sue the govt.