Yushui Village in Lijiang, Yunnan, with snow mountain backdrop and cascading waterfalls.
4/15/2010
Myth 220 - The Myth of under consumption
Rich people will want to stay in C Class hospital wards. So it is necessary to have mean testing as C Class wards are highly subsidised. Rich people will want to buy 3rm or 4rm flats so there must be an income ceiling to bar them from buying HDB flats or else they will deprived the lower income from buying smaller HDB flats. I shall go on to say that rich people will want to drive China or Korean made cars and not Mercedes, BMWs or the more exotic brands. Oh, this is not true as these products are not subsidised.
Is it true that rich people will want to under consume? Is under consumption good? Let me address the first question first. For every rich patient who wants to be admitted into C wards, there will be 10 less rich patients who want to be warded in A wards. And for every rich man who wants to buy a 4 rm or 3 rm HDB flat, there will be hundreds or thousands of less rich men who want to buy bigger flats or private properties.
So what is the problem? The problem is the supply. If the people want to be admitted into C wards, why don't they build more C wards? If there are more people who want to buy smaller flats even if they earn more than $8,000, why don't they build more smaller flats and let them buy?
Unfortunately restaurants are not subsidised. Otherwise they will have to conduct mean testing to make sure that the rich customers order only sharks fin and abalone and nothing else.
And the second question, what's wrong with under consumption? Is it not prudent for people to spend lesser and save more? And this is very important to young people who have not much savings to start with, and that they should not be forced to buy properties that will eat up their incomes. It is crazy and irresponsible to demand that young people must buy expensive properties.
And then later complain that people did not have enough savings for their retirements. This is real cock. Only fuckheads think that way. Be prudent, spend within your means, but dictated that if one has some money, they must spend it. Then complain that they don't have enough for retirement, then start to grab more money from their CPFs under all kinds of schemes for retirement.
Are the fuckheads making sense or talking nonsense? To me it is full of contradictions, full of holes in the reasonings.
This is so absolutely true. Very good analogy and well-thoughtout.
ReplyDeleteActually the Ministers should ask themselves if they with their high salaries want to take up a 'C' ward? Of course not! So why did they have this stupid reasoning is beyond me!
In fact I know of one rich person who had a whole plane constructed to be a flying hospital. No prize for guessing who that is.
Kaffein
Picture this. A retired person staying in a private house that he/she has saved and paid up for, dutifully paid personal taxes/indrect taxes, finds that they have to pay more for C class wards. This reeks of double taxation and the government playing Robin Hood. All the while we are told to save for a rainy day/retirement but please be prepared to pay more if you are financially responsible.
ReplyDeleteDear Kaffein:
ReplyDeleteMe believes Ministers and Senior Civil Servants are all entitle to First Class, maybe even Super First Class Wards with top medical specialists and personal protection officers station around their wards.
Anyone knows how Parliamentarians and Senior Civil Servants are treated for hospitalizations? Do give us lay citizens an insight into the Privileged Class. Pardon me for my inquisitiveness.
patriot
I made an observation once in a public forum that the only rich people who go to the majority of C class wards are relatives of doctors or politicians. They know that they will be treated well regardless of their class status while the other Singaporeans know that they take a risk. This was very clearly explained by the Director NNI who also pointed out that NNI is a worthy exception:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/breaking-views/46661-subsidised-or-not-treat-all-patients-equally--lee-wei-ling
Those animals that are sent to the vets are definitely many classes above those abandoned, culled or fed to other animals.
ReplyDelete