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3/14/2008
Singapore delegates visit US to learn about poverty
Singapore delegation visits Marshall to discuss poverty issues
Thursday, March 13, 2008 By RACHEL HARPER/Staff writer
Nine representatives from Singapore visited Missouri Valley Community Action Agency in Marshall Tuesday, March 11, to learn new and creative ways to address poverty.
"We are extremely pleased you decided to come to Missouri, we are still flabbergasted," said Missouri Association for Community Action (MACA) Executive Director Elaine West. "We hope this will be a beneficial experience for you and us."
I copy the above from Sammyboy.com. Singapore is really going places. We went to Japan to learn how to look after our aged. Now we are in America to learn how to look after our poor. We will definitely be better off in looking after these two groups of people.
I'm not judging this as "good" or "bad", but I would say it is a politically expedient move.
ReplyDeleteThere is growing support for the opposition parties who are playing the "help the needy" political card, and the PAP is looking like a pack of greedy wolves who put up their own salaries whilst doing nothing for at the bottom of the economic ladder.
And people are getting fed up with the yammerings of the ministers, who just got a huge pay rise.
If the govt doesn't do something to address the public perception of poverty in society, it might lose many seats in the 2011 GE.
Many Aust state govts ran similar programs (resource sharing, education and training, support) after the 1992 recession with reasonable success.
I was told that in thailand;
ReplyDelete1.) their VAT (GST equivalent) are exempted from basic services such as;
-transportation
-healthcare services (government/ private hospitals/ clinics)
-educational services (government/ private schools/ recognized educational institutions)
-professional services (medical,auditing,lawyer services in court and other similar professional services that have laws regulating such professions)
2.) citizens only pay consultation fees at govt clinics, drugs/ medications are foc (and CT 64 multi slice full body scan costs just SGD45)
3.) the enrichment classes/courses in their equivalent community centers are foc - for the thais to learn/train new skills or for leisure
4.) blah blah
are these true? should we send delegates to verify/ learn how this less well off country address poverty?
You will never see PAP learning from 3rd world countries. PAP only learn from 1st world countries.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to comparing, PAP always compare with 3rd world to look good.
Learn from the poor again ? You mean the GST is hiked yet the coffers has no idea how to use the surplus to help the poor ? Then why are they hiking in first place ? Ask large money first, and then say help the poor ?
ReplyDeleteMy goodness !
Look like another GST hike is on the way !
actually what's the big deal dude? franchisors has the right to up the royalties from franchisees anyway they like, that's caveat emptor you know.
ReplyDeletethey have the money but not knowing how to do it. i am sure missouri must have the world best system in solving poverty problem. so is japan.
ReplyDeletewe will be seeing many improvements coming our way.
Does Singapore have poverty? I thought we like to go around telling others that we are already a first world country. We do not have beggars on our streets they boasted.
ReplyDelete"We do not have beggars on our streets they boasted."
ReplyDeleteBut, we do have FT beggars from China.
anon 5:51
ReplyDeleteYes, there are many services which are GST exempt in Thailand. However income tax rates are not low, by global standards - they are "about average".
Thai income tax is around 30% - comparable to Japan, Australia etc.
anon 6:46
Thailand IS NOT a classified as a 3rd world country.
But you are right - the PAP won't "learn" from the Thais. In fact, it is safe to assume that many S'poreans look down on Thais.
As an aside, there is a growing population of S'pore emigres in Thailand who swear they WILL NEVER return to live in S'pore AGAIN. How do I know this? I've been working in Thailand for 11 years.
actually we should go there and teach them how to eradicate poverty. we should showcase to them how we have done this.
ReplyDeletegood thinking beanie.
ReplyDelete