will the budget achieve what it sets out to do?

This budget can also be known as the GST budget. The 2% increase in GST is the main theme, and how this will benefit the people as it was meant to be will be closely watched. We have heard often that this budget is to help the lower income groups and to narrow the income gap. In addition, Tharman also said that the budget was to grow the economy, improve the education system, renew estates, building a better transport system and better medicare. So the budget and GST are meant for more than just helping the lower income groups and to narrow the income gap. But to many people, their immediate concerns will be these two issues. For the first issue, with all the money and rebates given, no one can deny that the lower income groups will have more money to spend for the next five years after deducting away the amount they have to pay for the additional 2%. The question is how much of the handouts will be left. Will there be some leftovers, how much is the leftover and would this be meaningful in allevating their plight? Will they be better off? Only individual case studies would be able to tell. The next issue is the narrowing of the income gap. Is the income gap narrowed, by how much and for how long? Technically, a dollar difference is also a narrowing of the income gap. Would there be statistics to show how successful this objective is achieved?

thai military's political truth

Views of Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr on Thaksin 'During Thaksin's time, the justice system failed to work fairly, and civil servants served his corrupt schemes. The independent institutions supported Thaksin's business, so if the military had not come in, the country would have been damaged even more.' And according to the general they now have enough evidence against Taksin. The one in power has spoken. When the next batch of coup leaders took power, what would they say of the current coup leaders? Would they also say the same thing, and that they have enough evidence to charge them? The whole political truth about power in politics.

the other side of truth

Met up with several friends over the holidays and heard many success stories and many millionaires and billionaires. Not that this is news. Have been hearing a lot of such richness from friends, clients and acquaintances. There are many cash rich and high net worth people in this little place. So I was thinking, maybe I should change my tact, talk about all the great and successful Singaporeans, about the good life, about people buying their 3rd or 4th limousine that cost half a million or their 5th or 6th landed properties in prime areas with cash. What, people struggling to buy a 3 room HDB flat? Gracious me! Now would that be more uplifting than to gripe about 20c increases in transport fares or desperate people who cannot make ends meet? Why bother with such people who have only themselves to be blamed for their failures or inability to seize all the chances available to them in this land of opportunities. Maybe, maybe I shall ignore them and tell the brutal truth!

treason in thailand

Treason in Thailand Sonthi said he wanted to take back 'his' assets, or specifically, 'I want my assets back.' But now he had backtracked to say he wanted to buy it back if the Thai public voted to want it back. Now the decision is a nationalistic desire, a commercial reacquistion of the satellites owned by Shin Corp. What happened to his allegation that Singapore was eavedropping on Thai military secrets? If that accusation is true, Sonthi must be charged with treason as an Army general to allow Singapore to continue to do so. He must take immediate steps to take over the satellite operations. Not a day of delay is tolerable when national secrets are at stake. But looks like he cannot substantiate his claims, which means that he is misleading the Thai people of a false claim. There is no such thing as Temasek using the satellites to eavedrop on Thai military communication. Either way, he is talking without much thinking. And even the Thais are getting worried that a soldier that seized power through a coup is talking wildly. And while he is spouting his nationalistic jingoism, he forgets that he has a bigger threat exploding in the south which he has failed to curb. His more important task now is talking about seizure of Thai assets sold commercially to foreign organisations. How long would he go on doing what he is doing, talking and not doing anything to the real problem in the south?

myth 115

Myth 115 The blind myth As a kid, I used to play in the backlanes. I used to see two professional beggars counting their daily collection in the privacy and quiet of what backlanes used to be. One is blind and the other with a limp. The limp was the more superior of the two, with the advantage of sight. Standing behind him I watched him shared the collection with the blind. '$1 for you and $1 for me.' he said as he placed one dollar in the palm of the blind and $10 into his own pool. And this went on and on, 'One dollar for you and one dollar for me' until all was counted. Of course the limped was more generous and any balance will be given to the blind. And the blind was happy as he could not see a thing. But was he really that blind, I wondered?