COE is up again

Looks like everything is up and nothing going down. ERP, GST, property prices, etc. The good thing is that employment is also up and salaries are going shooting to the sky with some probably getting double what they were earnings. For those whose salary increases are more than to offset all the increases, it is a good thing. For those who are getting $50 increases or $100 or $200 increases, would it be a good thing? Would they be celebrating and jumping around like happy monkeys? All these increases seem to be seasonal, we will have our Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter in a 4 year cycle. Spring is the time of promises and looking a head to a glorious future, then Summer and Autumn when the food are harvested. And Winter is a time to feed on the years harvest when it is plenty, or to tighten belt when the harvest is bad. I skip Summer as the seasons of Summer and Autumn, in fact Spring as well, are very shortlived. Of the four years, probably Winter will stretch for 2 to 3 years. The farmers are having their feasts. Not sure about the cows, the horses, the sheeps, the pigs and the rest of the fowls. Or we have gone past this stage and the farmers were gone?

The en bloc battle ensues

Neptune Court residents are also locked at battle over the sale of their estate. And the issue is, yes, the tyranny of the majority versus the tyranny of the minority. The second issue is about the ugly Singaporeans who think that with a little knowledge, a little money, they can go around demanding apologies or threatening to sue one another. The legal provisions for the en bloc sales has stood up as a sore thumb. Its provisions are clear, legalistic but simplistic. It actually provides for the majority to do what they like. And though there were some considerations for the minority, these provisions can only hold under very exceptional conditions. If the majority can command their required 80-90%, technicality the sale will go through. Unless the minority have the resources to fight a long legal battle in court. The other aspect of demanding apologies and threatening legal actions are a reflection of the kind of Singaporeans living among us, their pettiness and shallowness, simplethons in their heads, but think that they can go around threatening and suing everyone. They did not know that to do such silly things they need to have a lot of money to spare. The lawyers would love to have more of them as their clients.

Myth 137

Li Ao is Right Yes he is right. Singaporeans are stupid. This is no longer a myth. After assessing all the debates in the media, it is conclusively proven that Singaporeans in general are stupid. And many Singaporeans will quietly concede to this truth. And those who still refuse to acknowledge this truth are the not stupid one. They are even more stupid than the average Singaporeans. For they still did not know that they are stupid. But I am saying that only the Singaporeans in general are stupid. There is of course a very small group of Singaporeans that are smart like hell. And the smarter this group becomes, the stupidier the rest of the Singaporeans will be. Their smartness is directly proportional to the dumbness of the rest of the Singaporeans. Now, anyone going to disagree with my observation?

a monetary perception

The media flashed a picture of Hsien Loong at the Yahoo HQ flanked by Jerry Yang and David Filo. My immediate impression is S$3m flanked by several hundred million US$. Now that is an extraordinary picture. A head of govt being dwarfed by two young men running an information exchange system in terms of income.

Private sector salary benchmark

The professionals are expecting a revision of their salary. The doctors, except for a few exceptionally well paid specialists, are also staring at their low income vis a vis other professions. In terms of training hours put in, the medical profession is the longest, each spending about 10 years of post secondary education to become a specialist while other professions can make do with 4 to 6 years. They are justified to expect salary in the same level as the accountants and lawyers. And in the medical, engineering or technology fields, the advancement in science and medical knowledge comes in leaps and bounds and it is a strenuous process to keep up with the new knowledge. Not that accountants and the legal professionals are stagnated and have little to keep up with. There are changes and new developments. But the volume of changes is very little compare to the medical and other fields. And the doctors are eyeing the ministerial pay as the benchmark for their salary increment. Knowing the brilliant minds of the doctors, they cannot miss a good thing. The formula is crafted by the top talents of the island and is near to flawless. It is as perfect as it can be. And if one is a beneficiary of the formula, it is almost guaranteed to go one way, up, up and away. The probability of it coming down is at most 0.1%. And this can only happen if there is a world wide depression. Will the doctors get their benchmark? Can they use the same logic and reasonings like they will become corrupt if they cannot get their benchmark? Or can they argue that the medical industry will go to the gutters? Or can they say that the nurses will end up as nurses in neighbouring developing countries earning peanuts? I bet the doctors will be smart enough to come up with more logical justifications that are seen as reasonable. And one reason they can give is that if their salary is not raised, the profession will not be able to attract the top talents into their fold. And many will be poached by top medical facilities around the world.