9/24/2011

Freedom fight of the oldies

It is about time that the oldies stand up to fight for their financial liberation and independence from all the rules and regulations that are against their interests. Qualifications, the oldies exclude all the yodas that are being paid million dollar pensions or have several chairmanships or directorships hanging on their feeble necks.

In many mature and developed countries, the oldies will be entitled to privileges in view of their age and a little compassion or acknowledgement of their past contributions to the country. Many are enjoying their golden years, doing the things they want, spending their life savings to amuse themselves. For the fortunate, their children or grandchildren will be showering them with loving tender care and financial freedom. For the less fortunate, the state will assume the responsibility to see that they are housed, clothed and fed without worrying for the next meal, nothing extravagant.

What is the state of welfare for our aged here? The state keeps an arms length away, or betterer, a pole apart. The aged must look after themselves and provide for themselves. Don’t expect charity from the state. And to ensure that the oldies would not be a liability to the state that boasts of having hundreds of billions in the reserve, there are many regulations that will tie the hands and legs of the oldies in the name of protecting them and their money to last till eternity.

How sad that after slogging for a life time, they could not really lay their hands on their own hard earned savings, but instead, the audacious state took control of the money only to dispense to them in drips and drapes, at its pleasure. And the oldies are completely helpless. And the best part, under the current regulations, many will depart from this world, with plenty of money left for eternity. Yes, they will leave behind money that they could not spend. What an efficient and gracious system!

Then the part about force savings imposed on the oldies. Bloody hell, these oldies could be 6 feet in the ground the next moment, and the laws dictated that they must save for tomorrow or a rainy day that may never come. I am referring to oldies that are still working and have to contribute to CPF and Medisave.

Why is the state treating the oldies this way? To protect them of course. You cannot argue against such a noble excuse. And for them to work, to have their own money in their CPF Retirement and Medisave accounts will bring them financial independence and dignity, not being a liability to anyone, family or state. I bow to such brilliant arguments.

But I protest. I say, keep your noble and clever arguments to yourselves. I want freedom to manage my own life, my own finances, to amuse myself with my own money. Can or not? As oldies, what is there to save for tomorrow? We are living by the days and everyday is a celebration. The oldies must stand up to such nonsense and take control of their own lives and finances. They have lived their lives, made all the mistakes they wanted, and there are just so little time left to make a few more before game over. It is the last few luxuries left in life. Freedom from regulations and the chains that little boys and girls put around them, and telling them that they are unable to look after themselves, especially their money.

The saddest thing is that the oldies are no longer able to fight for their own liberation from authority and oppression. They are just like the helpless inmates of nursing homes, at the mercy of their caregivers.

Where is my money? I just want to have a good weekend. Just because god says oldies may live till 90, it does not mean that god can have the oldies money as well.

11 comments:

  1. Lets look it the other way.
    You heard about protection money in the early days?Ah Tongs collected and demanded for it.,esp.those who want to run a kachang puteh business.No protection money,no business to do.
    But it will come in handy when you need it.They give you protection when need arises.Almost all ah Lau knows that.
    Jut think its protection money or maybe tontine and one should feel more comfortable.
    Just carry on working .Think lesser on those issue.Life is not about money.Just work longer hours like me,go eat good food in JB instead of geylang...It will make us a happier person.

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  2. I was at Gelang Petah a few weeks back for a good dinner. Somehow I was not comfortable after all the stories that went around. The Malaysian tourist board and police have to do more to make the visitors feel at ease. Then you will have a flourishing town with more tourists having a good time there.

    They can collect protection money from the restuarants and service providers in the town by keeping crime away.

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  3. The spirit for freedom and anti- slavery is there. Unfortunately the leadership is no where in sight

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  4. Haha JeffGoh, not going to find leadership in Dad's Army. Whatever leaders in this group, they are all elevated to yodas.

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  5. Work longer but paid cheaper only for peasants.

    Yodas continue to receive more and more in salaries and bonuses every year, followed by fat pensions. That is why they never realised or understand why life for peasant oldies can be unbearable at times.

    All MIWs already lost touch with realities on the ground when young. How can we expect them to feel for peasant oldies when they become yodas?

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  6. "The saddest thing is that the oldies are no longer able to fight for their own liberation from authority and oppression. They are just like the helpless inmates of nursing homes, at the mercy of their caregivers". Unquote.

    How can the old folks fight for liberation and why be helpless inmates in nursing homes??

    Go and live in well protected(24/7) bungalows, they will send You to hospital when You are sick. There is no need to take public transport, no need to queue with other patients. There will be armed officers to protect You some more.

    No, me am not saying You commit criminal offences. Get a few fellow oldies or do it oneself, carry placard or banner to protest against policy in public. One is likely to get free shelter and food
    for doing something anyone in the World should have the freedom to so. To those who are strong and happy to work after reaching their 60s, by all means carry on.

    Singapore senior citizens need good protection not just from gangsters, they need it from their rulers too.

    patriot

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  7. Redbean, I want to say something about your old article: Let’s make Money and More Money. You have a very great idea of distributing the profit from our reserve to our people. It is not a wild idea. It has been done in other places.

    You can find a good example in Alaska. They have a reserve fund where dividends are distributed. Over the years, they have paid many thousands of dollars to everyone.

    I hope WP can campaign on Alaska's model. Each of us will get thousands every year.

    http://www.apfc.org/home/Content/aboutFund/fundHistory.cfm
    http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/dividendamounts/index.aspx

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  8. These are the links.

    http://www.apfc.org/home/Content/home/index.cfm

    http://www.pfd.state.ak.us/dividendamounts/index.aspx

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  9. Have to agree with your views.

    How we arrived to such a pathetic situation is really sad.

    As long as the oldies are still alive and kicking, they will continue to be sucked by the heartless and compassionless yodas through even the most unlikely avenues they can think of. This happens even if the oldies are penniless and jobless but with money stucked in the CPF that cannot be used.

    It is only through the ballot box that the oldies' predicaments be reversed/resolved and will have to endure for another 4 - 4.5 years.
    They will need the co-operations of the younger generation and those older new citizens to overcome the odds as they will one day become old and be affected by the policies created compassionless yodas.

    The sad part is that from now to the next balloting, the monies for many oldies will not see daylight. The oldies must go to temples often to pray for their safety, peace and good health in order to see their monies.

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  10. Many oldies are basically PAP voters.
    Too old or stupid to learn how to vote wisely.

    It took me 10 years to convince my elderly parents to vote wisely.

    How did I do it?
    I'm their care-giver.

    Every time money is spent, I asked them why is the PAP government not helping.

    We hire a maid to help look after them. I tell them that we have to pay a maid's levy. It's a tax on filial piety. I ask them why?

    It took 10 years. But it was worth it. GE 2011 - the Opposition gained 2 more new supporters.

    EP elections 2011 - Tony Tan lost 2 supporters.

    Now my elderly parents are talking to their sibling (my aunties & uncles) about switching over to the Opposition.

    My parents now understand. They tell me that they don't want me to suffer when I become old. They have become die-hard Opposition supporters.

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  11. Hi anon 12:02,

    It is only a matter of time when Singaporeans, the true Singaporeans, will lose this island. When there is no ownership, it will be sold, like Christmas Island, against the interest of the Singaporeans.

    When the new Singaporeans own this island, it is as good as selling the island to them, no, handling over to them in a silver platter, for free.

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