10/19/2008
Give the people a stake in the country
This was the magic formula of the first generation leaders in the early days of our history. They really built affordable, I mean really affordable, HDB flats for the people to live in. A 3rm flat in Queenstown cost about $7000! Ok, for a better perspective, that was a time when a teacher would probably be getting about $500 pm or $6000 pa. Today, a 4rm flat is $450k against a teacher's pay of $3k, $45K pa. Affordable!
What has gone awry with this magic formula? Isn't it good that the flats are now costing half a million or 1 million? Don't the people feel richer with all the asset inflation?
The trick then was that the people can live comfortably with their $7k flat while other costs were also relatively low. Living here was comfortable and manageable when compare to living in other countries.
Today, living here is a big struggle even with a half a million dollar flat. Everything is too costly relative to options in other countries. The previous magic formula attracted people to want to stay here and have a decent living. The new formula says you will be better off selling what you have here, collect all the cash and move on to a relatively cheaper country where your wealth can be multiplied several times over.
Yes, the system is designed for the average citizens to sell out and move out. The option of staying behind is a life of struggle to make ends meet while bragging about being very rich in the CPF and a half a million dollar flat.
The new formula is flawed. Or maybe it is intended that way. Make your money, grow your assets, then go away in your golden years.
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http://www.tankinlian.blogspot.com/
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"Give the people a stake in the country"
You must be joking. If the people owned their country, the govt won't have any power!
Do you think you over paid MP is going to give up his cushy job?
Before you judge him as "evil", ask yourself — would you, if you were in his position (of absolute power)?
don't compare ordinary human beans with righteousness.
We had been ruled by the same group of people for far too long. Over the many years, they felt they did right and made decision to invest in what they think best.
Of course had they made monies, there is nothing or less to say. But we had always been told they calculate carefully and they employ more FT to get the buzz. Clearly they missed the buzz again and got their timing wrong.
They set up many agencies examples.. SME, IES,SBF etc.. these organisation had been paying lip service to small small enterprises. So is our big time listed companies.. they feed unto their own self system and dare not venture beyond the usual box.
Small small enterprise funded their own and ventured outwards without the support of IE or SMe or SBF.. over many years and yet Goverment of NMC kepp to their usual box.
There are many ways to invest for the future of SIN. Government can help to launched many ships had there been more leadership and forsight and steeering CS away from usual box-up outlook. Many small small enterprise would have by today standards reached into many industry wide and these ships would have returned to pay their dividend..
These billions of dollars lost by GIC could had been used to launch many enterprises overseas and they would return to make SIN a larger INC.
Government vision are narrow in their investment plan, they believe only in themselves and trusted no one. They dont even trusted ppl who had desire to leap-frog, they believe they are the only ones working hard for SIN and like little children we just watch them perform.
Time to re-look into strategies and lauched many ship out. They will returned with laden goods. Start believing in your own ppl.. you had done enough and are now tired.
we have reap our own destiny through our own narrow viewpoints.
the people changed and are changing. the values also changed. the mission also changed.
HDB must not see itself as a commercial enterprise to make as much profit as it can when opportunity strikes. when the first offer of these flats was price $200k below the second offer, the difference is pure additional profit. it is very difficult to say that this is not profiteering.
the mission of building a stake for the people must not be forgotten. and with the rising property prices over the last few years since it was launched, the new price seems commercially acceptable. but with the coming recession and falling property prices, the next batch of buyers may face an immediate loss. this is possible though not very likely.
then you have two owners moving in at the same time to the same flats and knowing that one has to pay $200k more, because of market pricing.
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