a familiar problem

'(the people) now make a living selling houses to each other, financing the deals with mortgages. The XXX scandal that recently shook the financial community is a clear symbol of the greed that has become an insidious problem even for large, publicly owned corporations. While companies shared increasing profits with their employees previously, those have become a burden and more and more jobs are moved outside the country to lower costs. Income inequality is on the rise, boosted by incessant tax cuts for the rich. the por are staying poor and the present administration makes few efforts to take care of the weaker deciles of the population as govt inaction before.....' The description above is very familiar. It is actually written by Emanuel Shahaf and is in the Today paper. He was actually describing the American and their economies and the Enron scandal. By removing the specifics, it is applicable to many countries. It is a problem started and created by the Americans and eagerly copied by young blue eye boys around the world.

myth 15

'Greed can be satisfied.' I am raising this myth after discussing with some bloggers on whether it is acceptable to tax the poor. One thought so and considered it low to tax an income of $12k per annum at 5.8% or $700. But when I posed to him the question of who is in a tighter spot, someone who earns a million and pays $200k in tax or this poor chap who could not make ends meet with his $12k income and still have to pay $700 in tax, he backed off his position. Can greed be satisfied by keeping on paying more to the greedy? A technician who missed his $80 annual increment for losing a test meter could have his world shattered. He may need the extra $80 for his school going children's pocket money. On the other hand, a person who is doing sweet nothing and getting paid $1 million may still expect his 10% increment every year, with no caps, as if it is his birth right. And this is the trend, for the big earners to keep lining up their pockets in the millions and never say enough. Greed can never be satisified. The more one gets, the bigger the appetite and the bigger the delusion of grandeur and one's talent and ability.

myth 14

'Singaporean pays the lowest tax' This is the myth that Singaporeans are believing. Yes, in income tax alone, we may have one of the lowest rate in the world. But in real terms, the amount of tax a Singaporean is paying is very high especially at the bottom rung of society. The poorest segment of our society, the people that need help, pay the full GST. Everyone, from the baby to the retired and jobless old man/woman, pays tax in the form of GST. In many countries, there is no income tax on the poor. And also no GST. We are perhaps one of a kind in this world to tax our poor.

myth 13

I might as well add this to the list of Singaporean myths. 'The richer one gets, the more magnanimous one becomes.' I would expect rich people to be more generous than the poor people. I would expect them to be kinder and less petty as well. But if we were to look at the persistence and the tenacity shown in trying to implement means testing only to catch a few stingy not so rich people, maybe not the right words to use, prudent people who are careful with their money, it clearly shows that rich people are anything but magnanimous. They are so mean and so petty.

myth 12

'Singaporeans are highly dependent on government initiatives.' This is a myth that Li Ao, our Taiwanese friend, said in his latest story on Singaporeans. He illustrated his point by the story of 3 men stranded in an island. The Hongkie will start to pick fire woods and look for food. The Taiwanese, the smartest, will think of how to build house and water supply to sell to the two. The Singaporean will be lost, waiting for a govt to tell him what to do, or to build the house for him. Now this can't be true right? All Singaporeans will disagree with it. Singaporeans are just too organised and prefer things to be orderly. Not that Singaporeans have no initiative. Just look at the HDB flats. If every Singaporean were to paint whatever colour they want on their windows or the facade of their flats, we will have a riot of colours. And if we allow hawkers to do business anywhere, we will have a mess. Neatness, systematic, and staying together, moving ahead are our strength. We will do everything together, organised. Ok, we will now all smile together. Now you see the impact of 4 million smiles! No country can behave like Singaporeans, to be able to act as one people. It is not that we have to wait for the Govt to tell us to smile then we will smile. We are organised and discipline.