Myth 156 - Saving not enough

Singaporeans, at least 80% of them, are having a nightmare that they have insufficient savings for old age and retirement. Why is there so much hype and obsession about savings? Insufficient savings have been an issue as old as prostitution. The people of the world have insufficient savings to retire like kings and queens. But many will still live and survive even with little or no savings. The present assumption is that everyone must retire with a huge nest egg, scrimping from their daily needs, so that when they retired, they will be richer and have more money to spend than when they were healthy, young and working. And there is also this assumption that the cost of inflation will outrun all their savings and they will never have enough. Another part of the equation is to take away all family support and the asset esp the HDB flat that will also become quite a bundle with inflation. And of course when all these oldies are old and feeble, they need to spend more to live like healthy young things with a growing appetite to spend and party. And now people are encouraged to work for as long as they are alive. Actually as long as one is able to find a job that one can work till one drops dead, there is no need for savings. The longer one works, the shorter one has to live on one's savings. So the lesser savings is needed. If only more jobs can be created for the oldies. Who needs all the pretty young salesgirls or salesboys when these jobs can be done by granddads and grandmas, and at lower cost? Singaporeans are over saving, and for what? Oh to feed the ever increasing hospital bills and other cost of living.

Price Survey

With so many incidents of price hikes and profiteering, the Dept of Statistics should conduct a survey on the prices of food sold in all hawker centres and food courts, plus shops. The survey form shall list out all the items on sale, what is the latest price, when was it changed and what were the last three prices. Make this a compulsory survey like the household surveys and not completing them honestly will be heavily fined. Once the hawkers and stall holders have submitted their guilt in black and white, then go after them one by one, at your own time.

Singaporean Dictionary v1.1

With a few new additions The Singaporean Dictionary of famous phrases, in jest. (To be added on as more gems are discovered) Affordability: It means affordable according to the income of the person saying it. Brutal Truth: Utter only by the super rich and super talents. Equality: Some have more rights than others. Or as in Animal Farm. Foreign talents aka Fallen Trash: Not very bright foreigners but can replace Singaporeans on cheaper pay. Foreign workers: To compete with local workers to keep wages low. GST: Tax to benefit the poor and lower income citizens High Pay: Free of corruption Honest Mistake: Free from accountability. A learning process for taking risks. IR: Another term for Casinos Let's move on: Enough. We have decided and no one should say anything more about it. Case closed. Local talents: Only in demand overseas Majority: If 1 million did not vote and 3 voted, 2 is a majority. Means Testing: An opportunity to strip a citizen down to bare all his poverty. Mee Siam Mai Hum: Uniquely Singapore National security: My security, or the security of whoever saying it. NKF: Every Singaporean knows what it means. Pah Si Buay Chow: Stay on as long as the pay is good. Peanuts: As it is, good for monkeys only. Political talents: The best of all the country's talents. Privatisation: This is a process to make public service organisations more efficient. Once they are privatised, the have to operate to make profits. Inevitably all become more efficient. Quitters: Applicable to Singaporeans who can't make it here. Redbeanforum = online rantings in futility? ;P Retirement age: Not applicable in politics Shareholders' interest: This is used to justify profit at all cost. The shareholders' interest is supreme to the interest of the general public or the country. Straight As: Above average students. Anything below is average or below average. Straits Times: Tongue in cheek views of professional journalists for nation building. Subsidies: Govt subsidises, the people pay. Super talents: Measures by income . Tooth: Tooth that Singaporeans believe in. A variation of truth. Transparent: For me to know, for you to find out. Unemployed: Refers to lazy and choosy individuals. World class: This has many definitions depending on the context. World class govt: Highest paid govt. This is unchallenged. Will appear in Guinness Book of Records soon. World class public transport: Sardine packed public transport. World class universities: Based on the criteria of assessments and number of foreign students and lecturers tweaked to fit to the expected model.

How good are fund managers?

Dow hit by 380 pts fall The SubPrime Loan crisis is not going to go away. American and European Banks are pumping in a few hundred billion US$ to try to stave off the problem. Some American and probably European funds are hit bad. Investors who have put faith in the professional expertise of these fund managers are heading for a rude shock. Could this be the American equivalent of the Asian financial crisis? Let's hope that these great talents and fund managers are able to clean up the mess they have created. It is unbelieveable that they could create such a big bubble for themselves and they are teaching the world how to manage their economies.

Bus concessionary pass is a privilege

Tammy Tan of SBS Transit replied in a letter to the media that concessionary pass is a privilege. So no pass just pay adult fare. Is the running of public transport a privilege or a right of bus companies? Why do we need humans instead of running everything by unthinking computers or robots? This is the kind of Singaporeans that we are creating. The unthinking kind that just work by following the book. A very good example of such Singaporeans are the security guards. Because of the terrorist threat, all the guards are told to check for pass. No pass no entry even if he knows who you are, that you greet him or he greets you every morning. Another stranger who picks up a pass and wears it on his chest will be allowed into a building with no question ask. He got a pass. But then, we cannot expect Singaporeans at all levels to have the thinking ability. Thinking too much is dangerous.