5/04/2013

Can we afford not to be selective?




As our Govt continues in its relentless drive for growth, without growth no salary increment, it has become something like the Hokien saying, 什么南鸟都要。Who can say don’t want growth and don’t want salary increment? But can they say got increment must be more than inflation? Got $200 increment, inflation and cost of living eat up $500, good huh?

We have three national universities and several semi govt funded universities. Now we have this thing called NUS Yale University that is costing a bomb for the infrastructure and the foreign staff being brought in. Not forgetting all the great professori in the other govt universities. Do we really need this NUS Yale University and all the expensive foreign professors that are paid so handsomely that all of them is looking more handsome than before arriving here? Yes, our students will also become more handsome and would earn just as much as them or more.

We have F1 supposedly bringing in more revenue indirectly than the direct cost. This is necessary, I think, as all the rich and super rich need a past time like the F1 to kill their boredom. And all the hotels, retail shops and supporting businesses will get more businesses. Simply put, it is good for business and the indirect income is more than the millions spent. The businesses must be grateful for this govt largesse.

We have a super expensive man made garden. This one sure brings in more tourists to spend more money here. One day it may get into the Guinness Book of Record as one of the new 7 wonders of the world, man made wonders. Then Singapore would be known world wide and the publicity is worth every millions spent on its maintenance. And the people got to enjoy the great plants in them.

We allow all kinds of industries and businesses to operate here. Many businesses need not be here but because we are so good, good in everything, infrastructure, power that never break down, water that comes out of the tap without fail, MRt that never stop, and a world class workforce, world class workers to support the businesses. And if the workers are found not good enough, too expensive, the businesses can import their own workers, or at least most of them. Just make sure they have some pieces of papers to say they are talents.

And we are selling properties like hot cross buns with great profits.  We have unlimited land and we can afford to keep selling and selling. The sky is the limit. We can build higher than the Tower of Babel or deeper than the deep blue sea. In this sense, we have no land constraints. That is why 10m population is no big deal. I am thinking of 50m or more. Our ingenuity beats the world hollow.

We are never short of talents. We just import them. No need to grow them from young. No need nurseries or pre schools or primary schools. We bring them in like ripe durians, minus the trees. We are bringing anything that walks on two legs and called them talents. We can have the old and mature ones. We can have the young ones, just pay for their tuition fees, food and accommodation and hopefully they turn out good. We can have those that came with papers, fake ones also can. No worry as long no one knows. Just pray no one blow the whistle and everything will just look fine.

Everything is about generating money and more money. With land no longer an issue as the sky is the limit, we crave for more and more people to fill up our land, to create more economic activities, it is easier than manufacturing, to generate more revenue and money, but there is a little hitch. Somehow the average people are finding money no enough, and money disappearing everyday, even those in the savings. They said inflation is under control, no problem.

Can we be more selective in what we want, what we do, what we allow to come in, what kind of businesses we want, and how we spend the money that we made so easily? Or shall we adopt the gambler’s mentality of easy come easy go? We have so much money, spend lah! Just keep on buying anything we fancy, more angmoh professori and FTs, F35s, or buy anything in the name of investment, short term, long term, or very long term as long as it is not gambling.

We are such a blessed city, with God’s grace, everything will just go on fine. And everything is just looking fine. Bring in the people to increase economic growth. No need Samsung, Apple or Toyota. Our products are people and unlimited good value added land.

6 comments:

Edmund Lim said...

Gd morning RB,

The classical economists such as Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Richardo, J S Mill "swore" by it.

Adam Smith, in his magnum opus - The Wealth of Nation ( 国富论 ) - stated in the chapter "The Principle of Commercial or Mercantile System" that "The quantity of every commodity which human industry can
either purchase or produce, naturally regulates itself in every country
according to the effectual demand, or according to the demand
of those who are willing to pay the whole rent, labour, and
profits, which must be paid in order to prepare and bring it to
market."

In other words, as stated in Say's Law: "Supply creates its own demand". Quantity supplied creates quantity demanded and market-oriented economies operated at full employment of production factors or resources on its own.

It is defended by neo-classical economists such as Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises.

Nonetheless, the Great Depression of 1929 proved that it is not necessarily true.

However, even modern great economists like Paul Krugman, Nouriel Roubini probably have no answer to the conundrum of modern capitalism and democracy working side by side.

The 3 most over arching maxims of capitalism and democracy when these two ideologies are "fused" and made to work together are GDP Growth, more GDP growth and still even more GDP Growth.

The neo-keynesians are unlikely to solve it either in the long run. Building tens if not hundreds of "ghost cities", "roads and bridges to nowhere" as seen in some "big countries" is probably also not a long term way out.

Perhaps, somebody will "stick his neck out" to proclaim that either there are some "fundamental flaws" in the accepted notions of "modern capitalism" or there are "fundamental conflicts" between "democracy" and "capitalism" as the goals envisaged by these two ideologies are almost impossible to be attained simultaneously in a sustained basis over the long run.

As you mentioned in another article, hopefully the world can witness the "parachute" of some geniuses into this world. Someone like Nicholas Copernicus who can see the "flawed concepts" adumbrated in modern economics ideology and show the world that the "earth revolves around the sun and not the other way round".

Cheers :)

Happy "Blogging"
sgpropertymatters.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Knn!
The latest utilities bill is $100 more than the usual average of $220.
More boiled when got to hear news of neighbouring countries announced cheaper electricity rates due to lower fuel cost.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Democracy and capitalism are strange bedfellows, and their "fusion" is full of conflicts.

Lucky people can choose: the dead shits can use democracy to vote themselves the contents of the wallets of the wealthy producers of goods and services, and the wealthy producers of goods and services can decide WHERE to live/ conduct business and HOW they would like to be taxed -- if they do or not.

Capital still rules. No amount of anti-capitalistic dogma or regulation will ever "scare" a true-blue capitalist, because they can shift their assets :-)

Krugman and Roubini (and other Keynesians) have never run an enterprise with their own money, fail and start again, -- never had to meet sales targets, or better their competitors or serve fussy and disloyal customers, or meet payroll obligations even when the business is bleeding money -- but they can write great screeds against wonderful, sexy, free wheeling, Ayn Rand/ von Mises/ Hayek CAPITALISM which is enjoyed by Selfish Sovereign Individuals such as my good self.

BTW, you can only earn as much as you are able to produce value for and to others. If you want to earn more, make sure you can PRODUCE MORE VALUE.

Otherwise shut the fuck up and be broke, asshole.

Anonymous said...

Matilar, ya you asshole knn talking nonsense knnchb

Anonymous said...

Singaporean voters are not very selective when it comes to voting for their political leaders.

So why should political leaders be selective when it comes to importing Foreign Talents?

Anonymous said...

Very well said.