Problems or Opportunities?

In many forums and blogs, the congestion and ERP rates are a perennial complain by everyone. There is a thread on how raising ERP rates at the CTE is not going to solve anything. Everyone is looking at the congestion as a problem. And it is true, a problem only to the motorists. As a businessman, where making profit is the ultimate goal, the congestion in the CTE is a golden opportunity to make more money. If the govt is going to sell the CTE to a private operator, yes privatise it, I will be the first to bid for it. Then I will sit back and be a genuine toll collector. Where is the problem? It is all opportunities to become rich if you can see it from a different angle.

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.