Singapore has acquired another great reputation by being the fourth most expensive city in the world, out ranking New York, Osaka etc etc. Only Zurich, Paris and Hong Kong outranked Singapore by a mere one point. The 3 were ranked equally as the world's most expensive, and Singapore could even claim to be the world's second most expensive in a way.
Singaporeans now have something to brag about, living in the worlds second or fourth most expensive city in the world and enjoying every bit of it. Why not, the signs are all there to tell the world Singaporeans are managing it very well. A piece of paper to qualify to buy a small car is now $50,000, excluding the price of car and taxes. This piece of paper could buy two small cars in many countries. And to buy a big car, this piece of paper is costing $80,000.
This is small change for Singaporeans as Singaporeans are really rich. Many are millionaires and earning millions annually. So all the increases in taxes, in GST, in transportation fares, rents, utilities bills, petrol etc etc would be accepted as necessary to keep and maintain Singapore as one of the best and most expensive city in the world.
Well done Singapore. Well done Singaporeans. There is no poor people in Singapore. Some Singaporeans would be shocked in disbelief to hear that there are poor people in Singapore. More than 89% or is it 90% of Singaporeans are home owners...at least for 99 years before their million dollar flats becomes $0 in value. And for the lucky few that owned freehold land properties, some own several pieces, there is no estate duty to pay when they expire, but the properties would never expire and the value can only go up and up, just like HDB prices. Oops, oops. Who are the big owners of such exclusive properties? The lucky descendants of the rich and powerful.
A Singaporean millionaire because of his $1m HDB flat would become million hair when the lease expires and the value becomes $0.
ReplyDeleteI paid $36k a year ago and should I congratulate myself as being lucky, paying $36k for a piece of paper?
ReplyDeleteThis is daylight robbery.
SG is one of the top 4 expensive cities in the world. Y not ? Our cabinet with a bunch of politicians quietly collecting $million$$$ each years, and this is the HIGHEST in the world. Wonder whether if there a record in the Guinness World Book for the highest pay in the world ? If it is not in the record book, we shld write to Guinness to inform them ! We also have the Swiss-standard of living, BUT only for the millionaire cabinet and those alrdy retired, and oso the filfty rich towkays. We are oso the FIRST WORLD COUNTRY but perhaps the world doesn't know we have many poor peoples (poor elderly uncles & aunties collecting cardboards on the streets, and table cleaners, rubbish collectors from above 60 yo to 80 yo. Elderly sleeping in the streets at night and begging in broad daylight !
ReplyDeleteAt the rate Singapore leaders are squandering the National Reserve, in no time either taxes are going sky-high or Singapore will collapse as a failed nation because of poor and legally corrupted administration.
ReplyDeleteThe millionaire elites are enjoying the Swiss Standard of Living, but not the citizenry. I think Woody wasn't talking about the country as w whole trying to achieve that, but more about himself and his gang. They have surpassed that with flying colours.
ReplyDeleteMediocre can also become remarkable if you allow ownself to pay ownself.
The non stop taxing of the people, raising fares, fees, cost of living, just so that the few elites can be paid in the millions, cannot go on and on. Somewhere at some point the string must snap.
ReplyDeleteWe should go by country not by city.
ReplyDeleteBecause Singapore is a country having the size of city, it is as good as Singapore is the world's most expensive country, perhaps in universe if Aliens didn't disagree.
It amazed me that ministers publicly remark that they need millions to maintain their quality of life to survive, and yet shamelessly tell sinkies that they can survive and buy house with $1000 per month.
How ridiculous can that be ?
Condemned by countless countries due to poor handling of pandemic (now covid is the new normal in red ot) and yet ministers can go around mocking, lecture and laughing at citizens.
Paying themselves New York and London salaries, but paying workers third world wages.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tremeritus.net/2021/11/07/100th-placing-in-the-covid-19-world-recovery-index/
ReplyDeleteCOVID-19 Recovery Index
Japan leads Asia in COVID Recovery Index as Singapore lags
Region's most-vaccinated countries diverge in ranking, at least for now
Japan's high vaccination rate and relatively widespread resistance from past infections appear to be working together to keep daily case numbers low. © Reuters
GRACE LI, Nikkei staff writerNovember 5, 2021 14:00 JST
TOKYO -- Japan jumped to sixth place in the latest edition of Nikkei's COVID-19 Recovery Index, from 14th a month earlier, after bringing daily infections below 300 from more than 25,000 in August. Singapore, on the other hand, slipped 30 places to 100th due to its persistent outbreak.
Singapore is at 100th place
Well done MTF
ReplyDeleteSingpore adopts the USA/Western liberal democracy capitalist Darwinist system of government. Under this system the rogues and scoundrel or the elites or aristocrats as they refer to themselves reserve their entitlemmen to rule and plunder the country with impunity.
The ministers, MPs, top civil servants who may be party card holders, directors and CEOs of government linked companies are paid by the millions at tax payers expense while the by and large proletariats, the workers and wage earners can hardly survive with their down to earth salary.
Every year the CEO of DBS, a foreigner made instant Singaporean is paid over ten million dollars in perts in addition to his million dollar salary. A former CEO of Capitaland was paid over 20 million dollars for his service before he went over to take charge of another GLC. Why are the CEOs and company directors paid so much in unrealistic astronomical sinful salaries and perts? This is outright robbery and plunder at the tax payers'and country's expense. This is pure Darwinism practice at its height. This is similar to Wall Street plunder of the Rothschild's Cabal. The people need to wake up to this evil and toxic western liberal democracy Darwinist capitalist system and replace it with a genuine socialist socioeconomic system of government which is fairer and more humane.
If the plunder of the national wealth goes on endlessly then the island state may not survive in the next few decades. This is national suicide.
WP Louis Chua said that home ownership is not superior to home renting and suggested that home renting be made mainstream. He cited the examples of Switzerland and Germany which have the lowest homeownership rates among OECD countries but one of the highest gross domestic product per capita and Human Development Index scores globally. He concluded from these 2 examples that home ownership is a preference rather than a superior choice.
ReplyDeleteThis is a superficial way to reach a conclusion.
In Switzerland, in addition to personal income tax, homeowners have to pay a wealth tax, income tax on IMPUTED rents (even when there is no rental income because it is owner-occupied), property tax, etc.
The tax on rental income even when no rental income is received apparently is for the purpose of narrowing the difference in cost of living for home owners and those who have to rent. Those who own a property usually live more cheaply than if they rented the same property. Thus, in accordance with Switzerland'solidarity-based tax system, real estate owners are therefore required to pay more. (Source: credit-suisse)
Few, if any, countries have a public housing policy like Singapore's, where the quality of the housing is great and the estates come with all kinds of amenities and good transport connectivity, where even 85% of the low income group own their homes.
"Few, if any, countries have a public housing policy like Singapore's, where the quality of the housing is great and the estates come with all kinds of amenities and good transport connectivity, where even 85% of the low income group own their homes."
ReplyDeleteThis is laughable comment. Don't tell me this is the same IB-joker that continue to post nonsense. You have government that profit from HDB with nonsensical subsidy, and yet can tell you 85% own house.
May I ask rely this clown with stupid question. Why not other government in the world follow Singapore and be blatantly corrupted, but defend saying that they provide service and housing to the public, so they have the right to profit and exploit citizen with supernormal profit ? So the world is stupid , and only Singapore government intelligent ? Singapore government can only do this because the sinkies are spineless, no other reason.
Stupidity at his best.
Keep quoting other country but yet didn't ask if those country are offset with better welfare and other advantages. Stupid or what ?
We once had an excellent public housing scheme until it was transformed into a scam when one has to pay an arm and a leg for a 99 year lease flat on public land.
ReplyDeleteIt would be suicidal if this already drastic scheme is changed to rental scheme when many people could not find employment after 50 and have to live to 90. Where are they going to find the money to pay rent when they are jobless or living from hand to mouth?
HO Ching
ReplyDeleteTrue, the weekly new cases have a week on week ratio of less than 1 over the past week.
This means we will have a fair chance to halve the new cases in 4-8 weeks if we can maintain a ratio of less than 0.9, and press forward towards a 0.8 weekly ratio.
However, the hospitals are still. Ot anle to relax yet.
The week on week ratio of the numbers of seriously ill folks on oxygen, in ICU, or dead, as of Monday 8 Nov 2021 vs a week earlier, has just popped up to 1.03, after hovering only a tad below 1.
This 1.03 weekly ratio means a 3% rise in the serious/severe/fatal cases over the week.
Most of the fatal cases would have been in hospital, on oxygen or in ICU, and hence are included as an indicator to track the pressure on our ICU folks in hospitals.
Another good and simple marker to track is the number of new cases, vs the number of discharged cases.
The number of discharged cases covers those discharged from hospitals, CTFs/CCFs, home recovery. They reflect the cases which arose from 10-21 days prior.
For the unvaxxed, their hospital stay lasts about 20 days. For the vaccinated, their hospital stay tend to be shorter, about half.
For the severe ICU cases, the duration varies according to age and other factors, apart from vaccination.
Comparing the number of daily new cases to the number of daily discharged cases, will also give us a sense whether we are on the rising part of the wave, or the falling part of the wave.
Yup, the school exams will soon be over, and families are anxious to celebrate and enjoy family time with their kids.
But take it easy ok, and if we have unvaccinated kids, it is best to avoid weekends when we expect more crowds.
What is this Old Woman talking about her Vaccination thingy all the time inappropriately out of topic and out of subject matter in this post. Doesn't she has any cow sense not to intrude into a discussion of a topic different from her pet subject, because Temasek has invested greatly in the Vaccines - a decision that she must have made and is directly for her personal self-interests???
DeleteBTW, IT IS VERY RUDE TO CONTINUOUSLY INTRUDE INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S DISCUSSION WITH OUT OF TOPIC NONSENSICAL GRANDMOTHER STORIES!
Only people with poor-upbringing, poorly educated and without self-respect and dignity would do that.
How come discussion on cost of living issues meanders into grandmother's stories. Grandmother itchy bitchy wants to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of vaccination. She must be a big shareholder of big Pharma.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4.05
ReplyDeletePlease do not talk badly about the " First lay of Singapore ". She should have the respect from all Singaporeans.
Don't be thick skin and shamelessly claiming that she is first lady. In every country, the First Lady is the wife of the Head of State, which is the President who holds the Highest Office in the Land. If the President is a woman, then her husband becomes the First Gentleman.
DeleteNever have we heard of any PM's been referred to or addressed as the First Lady.
Please educate yourself first before coming here to make a big shameless fool of yourself.
There is no such thing as "should have respect from all Singaporeans".
DeleteRespect is earned, not demanded.
Only a very thick-skin, shameless and uncouth hooligan or mafia gangster demand respect from everyone.
Wake up!
Wife of Singapore Supreme Ruler can also be called First Lady of Singapore. Why not? Singapore can be the first to set the trend. She is rich, powerful, glamorous and trendy. So becoming the First Lady of Singapore must be a good thing for the country.
ReplyDeleteGlamourous and trendy? My toes laugh.
ReplyDeleteLooking like a man. Behaving and talking like a man. How to fit in as a lady, har?
ReplyDeleteTrendy in wearing sleepers when visiting the White House?
Glamorous in amassing a lot of money from secretive highly paid salaries and bonuses?
I laugh until my stomach aches.
Empress Dowager can be First Lady or not?
ReplyDeleteBetter don't try to "sar kah" somebodee here lah.
ReplyDeleteInstead of making her look good, you may inadvertently make her look bad.
So, better to keep your own orgasm to yourself.
There is an old saying:
"DON'T TAKE YOUR OWN COCK TO HIT YOUR OWN HEAD!"