Myth 133

'How Much?' No no, I am not talking about minister's pay again. Practically all the things that need to be said other than the obvious have been spoken. It is time to forget and move on. I am referring to the big bucks in sports. It was horrifying to know that our dream for the World Cup Final is tainted with game fixing. Is this the reason why we will never make it to the World Cup? But if money is an issue, then our World Cup dream can easily be realised. Money is what we have. In our squeaky clean environment, it is incomprehensible to think that bribery or game fixing happens in our super league. I can expect such things to happen in other big leagues, but definitely not here. After all we are all super clean and if not, we just pay them well and the problem will simply go away. We better set up a task force to study the pay of professional footballers. And if they are not competitive enough, surely they deserve a pay rise to keep them clean. But if the problem is small enough, and we have our fame anti corruption agencies to handle them, then perhaps, no payrise is necessary. Of course the football talents would disagree. If there is no huge payrise, then more such cases will appear in the papers.

Is it so difficult to run a command economy?

Yes, it is very difficult when there is no absolute power, when there are many powerful interest groups with strong support bases, when the rule of law and constitutions are supreme, like the USA. In the most recent case of the unmasking of a secret agent by a top govt official, only in the USA that the culprit can be brought to task. There is not only a separation of power, but the opposition is equally strong to prevent abuse by the top national executives. Then life is not so easy. George Bush is now facing opposition in his war in Iraq. He needs to convince the people's representatives that what he is doing is right and for the good of the nation. As long as others are not convince, he cannot do as he wishes. But when there is hardly any opposition, hardly any strong interest groups to challenge the govt, everything goes. And running a command economy is about the easiest thing to do. All essential services are a monopoly in every way. The supplier dictates the service, the quality of service, the price to be paid, without competition and opposition. How difficult is such a task? And to lose money in a monopoly is criminal. Yes there are airlines, steel mills, etc that gone bust despite being monopolies and with govt backings, all because of corruption and incompetence. In a functional govt when there is rule of law, when there is transparency, when there are watchdog agencies, incompetence and corruption will be nipped in the bud. Unless everyone is walking with eyes closed. Compare to the private sector that operates by demand, when the customer is king, life is not so easy. Any goods or service providers thinking of raising his price should be wary of losing his customers and market share. And they cannot dictate to the customer what is good for the customer. The customer decides what is good for him and what price he is willing to pay. There are alternatives and substitutions from competitive suppliers and service providers. So, which economy demands greater skills and greater talents? (Matilah, your favourite thesis)

revisiting means testing

Revisiting Means Testing Of the many reasons behind means testing is the assumption that family is the core and all family units are functional. In the Singapore of today, when many are trying to make ends meet, the family unit that is intact is probably the parent and small children. The parents will often sacrifice for their children, paying and giving without asking for anything in return. Unfortunately this only holds true when the family is young. When the children have grown, it becomes to each his own. An extended family or a bigger family may look good on paper, with household income of $5k a month, but 5 or more mouths to feed. And bet you, this is not a large sum and a lot of tightening is still required. And when it comes to a big lump sum to be paid, many do not have the spare capacity to do so. A $10k or $20k hospital bill is going to turn their lives upside down. The premise that children must pay for their parents, when children have children to pay for, is stretching the ability a little too far. But of course, when children are earning a million a year, filial piety is a given. For there are a lot of spare cash flowing around. Thinkings of people earning millions are definitely different from those earning a couple of thousands a month. Even husband and wife may not be on speaking terms or on the verge of a divorce. So would a cash rich husband or wife be forced to pay for a spouse that they would not want to see for the rest of their lives? We may have laws to enforce such payments. But if the paying party just refuse to oblige, the problem is still with the patient. What can the law do? Or can the hospital says, your husband or wife or children must pay. Otherwise the bill is still your problem? How I wish all the Singaporeans are all earning a million dollars and their family units are functional. The reality is far from it. And paying hospital bills can break up family ties and strain relations.

one people, one country

Great People, great country A country can only be great when its people are great. The people can only be great when their hearts are one, thinking only of country. The ruler should rule wisely, and the people should be thinking people and obey wisely. To borrow from Confucius, The ruler must be ruler, the people be people, the father be father and friends be friends. The relationship of these four groups forms the basis of a good and strong nation. When the relationship is wrong, when ruler does not rule wisely, when people do not think wisely, when father does not behave like father and when friends are less than friends, the country will be disunited. Are our ruler and people having the same dream? Are our people thinking people or blind sheep?

a little bit of history

During the days of the Japanese Occupation, life was tough. And the worst of human traits were allowed to be given full play. Everyone was fighting for his own survival. There was no more righteousness, no more loyalty, no pride, no shame. Many locals sold their souls to the dark side. They became informers for the Kempeitai and reported on their friends, neighbours and even relatives. Many were killed or savagely tortured by the Japanese, all because of these informers. When the Japanese surrendered, many of these informers were identified by their neighbours and beaten to death on the streets. Do not be tempted by the dark side and lose your souls.