2/18/2008
Ungrateful Singaporeans
What, what, I can't believe my ears. Singaporeans not happy with the Golden Year Ang Pow budget! With the govt giving away $1.8b from the $6.4b surplus, Singaporeans are saying not enough, that this is not atm budget, that the govt is not playing Santa Claus, and they are disappointed! And some families are getting a few thousand bucks, like striking 4D, still not happy.
What are the Singaporeans expecting? These are money from heaven, no need to work for it and they are disappointed.
Unbelieveable.
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18 comments:
the exceptional few are always unhappy what you do. just ignore them. i think by and large most are happy to recd the hongbaos. but if this huge surplus becomes runaway when the country successly transforms into a global city, i think alot more people may start to question the haste/ necessity to increase gst to 7% from 5%. low income earners would be far better without the inflation and resulting hardships than constant/ periodic hand outs. hope this makes sense?
"With the govt giving away $1.8b from the $6.4b surplus", and keeping the balance for their own pockets. Like this, and you expect the people to be happy? The surplus was taxed from the people, from GST, to ERP, to property tax, etc, etc. How much will you be saving from the tax rebate? Even if you draw $100,000 as the press claims, the $700 will be wiped out by going through the ERP gantry with the increased charges and extra gantries. Now, if the MIW were to admit, yes, bad times are coming, they will take a pay cut, that will put smiles on the people's faces.
what is the difference between collecting additional taxes to give it away and not collecting at all? .. which makes a better santa?
with increased spending expected from the influx of high networth upper crust, why the rush to up gst to 7%?
shouldnt gst be reduced to mitigate unprecedented inflationary pressures?
we are not a welfare state. we don't believe in handouts. we don't want our people to be always dependent on govt for charity
what we are, with handouts every now and then? are we not creating a people that always hope for handouts?
it is actually very depressing for people to live on handouts. lost of any sense of wellbeing to be in such a state of helplessness. never be grateful for handouts. it is a dependency syndrome, like drug addicts.
if we keep letting prices go up so that more people become dependent, then we dish out handouts and think that it is a great idea, it is very mean. this is not helping the people.
gst means everyone pays tax, the babies, the grannies, the unborn, the poor, the unemployed. as long as one consumes, one pays tax.
it is very regressive in nature. is it to help the poor?
At first I considered the "welfare state" argument. I don't quite believe this-- my usual argument -- under this particular context.
It is absolutely disgusting that the govt has a 6.4 billion dollar surplus. Where has the money come from? From looting the PRIVATE PROPERTY of private individuals, thats where.
Therefore the govt has taken TOO MUCH from the people under the guise of "governing" them.
The extra money will eventually go toward one purpose: to build a bigger and more expensive govt.
To be "fair" and "just" (if this is at all possible under a dicktatorship), the govt MUST GIVE BACK THE MONEY to the people they've taken the money from.
Budgets should be BALANCED - neither in deficit nor in excessive surpluses. No one will begrudge a "small" surplus say of 100-200 million, as that works out to average around 5 dollars for every citizen. (200,000,000/4,500,000).
Give the motherfucking money back to the people, you THIEVES!
now now, don't get carried away. we need to save for the rainy day. must be prudent in spending public money. what happens 200 years down the line it starts to rain how?
but if we have billions or trillions stashed away, then we will have a happy problem.
FM misses the mark by miles and from a defecit forecast into a HUGE surplus? Did he not know how much he already collected by June to still raise GST in JULY? Or did the 'surplus' just pop up in Dec? yeah rite...
So after forcing a hike in GST to help the poor we have a budget to help the poor again? Come on.. obviously your GST was high enough?
Don't take us citizens for fools please.
the illiterate and ignorant generations of electorate are as good as gone. the top talents are getting more talented, and so are electorate. they should not take the electorate for granted anymore.
Economic ignorance:
> we need to save for the rainy day. must be prudent in spending public money. <
"Saving for a rainy day"? You don't understand the structure of capital or the nature of capital stock in the country.
Let's say I agree with your "save for a rainy day" idea. If so, why stop there at 6.4 billion? Why not take ALL the people's money away and give them each an "allowance" out of a public pool, and save the rest...for a "rainy day".
There is really no such thing as "public" money. The govt gets its money from the hard work of the workers.
Hongbao or "Peh Kim"?
They've been playing with our money for too long?
The fat cats are enjoying the best deal with the $2,000 tax rebate which is much, much, much more that the poorest of the poor who gets the best of the best of the Growth Dividend at only $450!
Or have I got my sum wrong?
Ooops. . .
Don't forget the abolition of the Estate Duties for the Fat Cats!
Of course must be grateful for the additional $40 for Public Assistance!
3 cheers for 3 meals at Hawkers Centres!
Hip hip hurray!
before the last dollars been 'given away', they would have easily taken it all back and even more through taxations and many other forms of business revenues.
so this budget thing is really illusionary...a slide of hand. their ultimate solution for the lower income folks is that they DO NOT live the singapore dream. whereas the middle income group will always be sitting on the fence. these group can fall on the wrong side of the economic scale if luck is against them. the way things are going, many more will fall on the wrong side of the fence. and as for the shameless rich minority, they'll get to live the singapore dream at the expense pf these sorry folks!
Ungrateful.. who is kidding who redbean? There should be more surplus than that if the ministers are not have multi million dollar increases.
We are also paying to keep all the old man on board.. is the PM so inept that he needs to have 2 old man overlook his shoulder at multi million dollar salaries.
The money is not from heaven - hello. LKY says nothing is for "free". A pay cut as one commentor wrote will put a thousand smiles on most Singaporean faces than for the miserly handouts? which are actually money belong to the people.
Save for what rainy days.. the government is already not transparent in providing the people an accounting of their money, that is being used to bail out sub prime debts, will there be any remnants of the people money left? CPF rules are changing agin so that the government can continue to keep the people's money using new names.
'save for the rainy day' is our national mantra. even the old nkf was practising it to the fullest.
but when you try to save by admitting yourself to hospital, think again.
Where is the logic now that we had a budget surplus?
So it is obvious that the GST increase was NECESSARY so that the Gahmen can dish out the handouts to the poor now. But they forgot to clarify that the GST increase was also NECESSARY so that the Ministers can enjoy their obscene pay increases.
I just can't help feeling that I have been unnecessarily robbed by the Gahmen so that our Ministers and their families can enjoy a better life indulging in luxuries!
hi alan,
can't blame you for feeling that way. probably quite some people will feel the same as you.
what is important is the general well being of the people. are the people better off?
Are the people better off?
Hmmm, you have to distinguish between the right and left hand. The right hand takes while the left hand gives. But the people are served by both hands, so no difference lah.
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