CPF, circular logic at works

Swee Say said, later retirement and extension of withdrawal age is not to lock up your CPF money. And that is the truth. Another truth is that your money will be locked up for another 3 years. I am confuse as to which is the greater truth. And this Michael Chwee said, 'If you want workers to work longer, we must have extra savings...' What is he talking? If a worker is employed to his last day of life, eg 85, he is expected to have a decent income till that day. Why should he need more savings? Only those that are not working and has no income need to have more savings. Once the retirement end is extened from 62 to 65, the workers are working 3 extra years, earning 3 more years of income. So his needed savings should go down by 3 more years. Is this reasoning so difficult to understand? And I am referring to people who are not working and have no income. Many may not be working but still have income. I do not buy the argument that the whole concept of filial piety or to take care of your parents, or just to give them a little pocket money are a total washout. If that is the case, our education has failed miserably and we should scrap teaching such concepts in schools immediately. It is a total waste of time and effort. A big farce. A big failure.

60 good men and women

To start with, 60 good men and women may be enough to present themselves as a credible political alternative. And it is not difficult to find 60 of them in this little island. There are many highly trained professionals and successful people available to form the core for a good alternative party. There are many who have made a name in the industries and are financially independent to be free from any kinds of threats, including those who are supposed to have retired. If these men/women would to offer themselves seriously to the people, and play the political game correctly, they may stand a chance. For it is not easy to run down 60 good men and women at one go with frivolous accusations. Any wrong move would antagonise the families, relations, friends and associates of these 60 people. And being successful people in their own right, they will have a fairly wide network to fall back on. And they could finance their own political battle or be able to canvass for funds to support their political cause. It is quite easy when the time is ripe for true leaders to appear to lead the nation for a better tomorrow.

Sunday best for frivolous pursuits

What shall we talk about on Sunday? I read about ladies being insulted because they were more than 36 years old. And the reason, they were not seen as useful to attract men to frolic or spend money in drinks on them. And socialites all dressed up to their nines for a night out ended being humiliated in public. Please don't come even if you put on several thousand bucks of hardware on their expensively treated skins. They are not going to waste a couple of free drinks on them. No deserving, past their prime. I am sure the ladies did not go to public entertainment places to be insulted. Then the beautiful below 36s. Would they feel elated that their youth is good enough to be given free drinks? Or would they be equally insulted that the free drinks were given to them as cheap rewards to attract customers to the joints. Were they exploited? Would they not feel cheated? Just for a few free drinks, they are paraded as commercial adverts and they have no inkling about it? All for a few free handouts?

help yourself

'Whether it is a charity or even among companies, from time to time you would have a case that comes up with someone who helps himself to the money. Ultimately, you're dealing with the vulnerability of the human weakness to temptation.' Gerard Ee Now this is a profound statement from the Chairman of the new NKF. I have been pondering over it again and again and I think I will be pondering over it over the whole weekend. How many people have been helping themselves to the money and laughing all the way to the bank? Then again I am very thankful that, perhaps this island is really blessed that we don't have so many people helping themselves to the money. At least the record shows that there were very few. Maybe Gerard is wrong. Or maybe he is right. Or maybe we are living in an island that is not occupied by humans, so there is no human weakness to temptation. The NKF and the latest St John Hospital case are just exceptions. Whew.

Is it the fault of the CPF?

Let me look at the CPF from another angle and how it could be the source of other ills of our society. Traditionally children were the insurance of old age for parents. And children became a necessary item of all families. They are the provider for the parents when they are old and feeble and can no longer toil for a living. What's that got to do with CPF? Yes, the CPF has become the substitute for children. People no longer depend on children for their old age. They have their own money to look after them. So no need to get married and have children. Does it make sense? Why not? The CPF has unwittingly becomes a substitute and contribute to the no need to get hitch and no need to have children society. Now where have the children gone? Who cares? This is only one social problem that the CPF may help to create. But the CPF can help to get rid of our oldies problem too. When the time comes, when all the oldies have a couple of hundred thousands in their CPF, and untouchable, what is the next best thing to do? Cost of living is extremely high in this little island for the jobless. The few hundred dollars to be paid out by the CPF will only be good enough for subsistence level lifestyle. Why not take all out? Yes, denounce the citizenship, take out everything and migrate to a cheaper paradise. The oldies may find such an option a more desirable and practical way to spend their old age and their life long savings. So the CPF will help to disperse our senior citizens around the world as rich old Singaporeans living out their golden years in wealth and in health. And our oldies and over crowding and welfare problems will be solved. Singapore will be forever young. Is this part of a well thought out plan?