Oh God, have mercy on your people

The people must beg the govt for mercy. Please, please don't help us.( I thought that was what the govt said. There is no charity. The people must look after themselves, with their own money?) The more the govt is trying the help the people, scheming all kinds of solutions, the more the people will get it. To help the poorer section of the people, we have the 2% GST. Now what, everything is shooting up beyond control. More than the 2% for sure. The govt is going to provide world class transport system. Be prepare to pay world class fares. No free lunch. World class hospitals, pay. No such thing as opting for C class wards. You will be subject to means testing to make sure you pay. The GST was the magic formula to help the poorer people. Now we have another magic formula to help the aged, whether you need it or not, you must have it, in one form or another, flexibility. This is another cure all formula. And whatever objections there will be another counter argument for it. One thing for sure, it is a well thought out plan. A must have plan. Without which the people and the nation will face disaster in the future. The govt is going to help the people to help themselves. And the people pay, with their own money. There is no other better solution to this. No other solution except this one. The supertalents have done their jobs. They could not find any. All the suggestions by the people are hogwash, flimsy options that cannot work. Whine as much as you can now. But as sure as the sun will rise, the annuity plan will be there and you have to pay with your CPF money. Even if you have been planning for your own retirement plans with all your savings and insurance and assets, and children to support you. Oh God, please don't do so much for us, please. Your children just want to be children.

This is the Truth, not the Tooth

CPF changes An uncle's woes He writes from the heart how his elusive savings promised for 55 had eluded him even when he was laid up. Sept 22, 2007 This anonymous bloger posted this letter when commenting on "CPF Lies - The very blackest kind." by Kenneth Tiong http://freedom-for-man.blogspot.com/2007/09/cpf-lies.html Anonymous said, Hi Kenneth, Quote from ST, 20 Sept 2007: "To a question by opposition MP Low Thia Khiang (Hougang) on whether the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) uses funds from the CPF funds to invest, Dr Ng said: "The answer is no." "Later he rose to add: "The relationship is not so simple". I could not believe my ears and eyes! Far as I’m concerned, it’s a STUPID EVIL (moderated)! I watched a video of parliament and I saw Hen (Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen) denigrating a nation by mocking his own and other MP's, violating and belittling the intelligence of Singaporeans, insulting uncles like me for being too dumb to handle our finances, saying, "having a fling here, having a fling there". I cannot believe that an overpaid manpower servant that we pay with our taxes thinks so lowly of his fellow citizens! A case of “kurang ajar” or, in the hokien dialect which is pretty popular in Parliament now, “kiam kah”! If I remember well, when I started work as a teenager in 1968, I was told by my boss that 25% of my pay will go to CPF. He will contribute 25%. My boss said, “That’s law, don’t worry. Government guarantees you’ll get it all back when you retire at 55”. On reaching my retirement goal/age of 55, I was shocked that they have moved the goalposts many times since I started work at 1968. My money wasn’t my money anymore. Yes, there's Special, Medisave & Retirement Account - SMRA - "You can't touch these!" A hip hop/rap song? To be fair, I received my yearly CPF statements of the changes, but who reads? I did not. Eight years ago I had a heart attack and ventricular fibrillation. I was jobless for seven years. Lately, I was suspected of having other health challenges and in the past months, I had my share of visiting polyclinics and hospital. Poor rich! I'm rich enough to have more than $28,000 sitting in my Medisave Account BUT I cannot use it for tests, treatments and medicines in hospitals and polyclinics. Yes, my bills from Changi General Hospital and Polyclinics had to be paid in cash from my pocket. Oh, they tell me I can only use it if I spend more by visiting the hospital again for an artery ballooning/stent or a by-pass procedure. Or maybe another heart attack and ventricular fibrillation caused by the agony and heartache of “My Money Sits in CPF but Cannot Use For Staying Alive!”; “They Use my $$$, Make A Profit, Don’t Pay Back, Then Say I Stupid” & “Not Enough, Want Some More, Force Annuity On My Children!” Since nobody wants to employ a sick geezer with a heart condition and other challenges, I am fortunate that a kind soul, having faith, love and trust in me, offered me a sum of money to start a little business last year. I registered a sole proprietorship in ACRA to start the little business. Another heartache - I was informed that I could not register because I owed CPF Medisave which I did not pay when I was self-employed previously. Unless I pay up, I could not register my little business. Imagine, I was broke and I still had to top up my Medisave (already loaded with >$28,000) if I wanted a licence to make myself productive again. Simple: No Top Up, No Licence. This is what I know as Uniquely Singapore First World Standard of Whatever! Another irony: After seven years of joblessness (due to my health challenges) without paying tax, I made good enough to pay tax again for year ending 2006. I've done my part as a citizen, I even did NS in the army from 1969 to 1971. "Fend for myself"? I have. I pledge myself as part of “a united people regardless of race language or religion to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity & progress for our nation”. As a simple heartlander, I’ve done my tiny part. No worries, I may just jump in front of moving MRT before I bother my busy hardworking government with any problem. Question: What has the Government done for me? Zilch. . . and please don’t do anything. Whenever you do something for the good of the people, you cause me more pain than gain! Eg: PUB increase, 7% GST, Bus fares increase, etc. Just don’t hurt my family further by forcing my children to pay for annuity which is another scam to leech from innocent citizens! On second thought, you may want to upgrade my HDB flat with a “Go-And-Die-Chute” so that sick and old people like me who have outlived our usefulness to the regime can self-destruct by jumping into it. Health Minister may like this idea as he wants me to die at home so that I will not be a bother or a burden to his money-making hospitals. Based on the video, Mintsters just give us plenty of sarcasm and zero empathy. Just Mr. Hen talking cock! Another wayang, another day’s work to justify obscene million dollar pay! The more they "strengthen the CPF", the worse our lives become. ... Please, denigrate us no more and stop treating Singaporeans like idiots! Let us live with dignity. Just because we are peace loving citizens does not mean that you can walk all over us. Trying your luck too far may just change a push to a shove. Yes, even peaceful monks can turn into citizen activists. They are at it in Myanmar! Do what’s honourable - Simply explain the difference in returns of GIC, Temasek and my hard earned CPF. Come clean with transparency! My problems may have been less if the returns in my CPF had been on par or better than Malaysia’s EPF. Maybe part of the interest that could have been mine has ended up in the purchase of Manchester City Football Club. Am I co-owner now? Thanks Kenneth for igniting the fire of a sick and tired Singaporean to write something on this disgraceful state of affairs Sincerely, Feed me to the Fish http://freedom-for-man.blogspot.com/2007/09/cpf-lies.html I copied the above article from littlespeck.com This is a polite letter from a disgusted oldie who could not take it any more. And this is only one of many written, by one who can write. And there are many who cannot write or have no means of expressing themselves and be heard, but have more angry things to say. My posts in my blog and forum are only skimming through the tooth by being polite. I could post more angry stuff. But despite what this anonymous uncle said, he is still a sheeple. He only demands an explanation on the difference in interest earned. Remember my story on the Sheeple and the Robber? We should be demanding that the 55 withdrawal age stays and including the Medisave and Retirement Account portion. That was the first position. And if people want to put some in Medisave and Retirement Account for higher interest, let that be voluntary. The owner decides what he wants to do with his money. And why should self employed people continue to pay into their Medisave when it has reached the legal maximum? Is the contribution to the Medisave a bottomless pit? If $28k is max, those who have reached the max need not have to put in any more. What other stupid reasons? Whose fucking idea is that?

I want, I want!

Civilisation progresses because of dreams, dreams of better things. Singapore will progress because of such dreams, and Singaporeans are all screaming, I want, I want! And we are getting there, very fast. On record, we have a clean and green modern city admired by the lesser developed beans of the world. We have world class medical facilities, education, homes, transport systems etc. These are not enough, we will have all the havens of pleasure at our doorsteps. Marinas and yachts, private planes, fast cars, modern homes, fully automated and landscaped, the best restaurants and world class concerts in world class theatres. Wining and dining will be a daily affair. Singaporeans can all look forward to a future they can only dream of and turn into reality. How many Singaporeans will live the dreams and fullfil their 'I want, I want' desire? But even if they could not be there, it is still good to have dreams. But first, make sure that they earn the first million before the dreams materialised. I also want.

2051 - A bright future

By 2051, Singapore will be renowned the world over for another great success story. Longevity and healthcare. The high quality of healthcare, the annuity schemes, and the drinking of Newater, have extended the lives of Singaporeans well pass the 100 year mark. And many Singaporeans are living beyond and still healthy and mobile. Singapore is a totally new city and a change landscape. The infrastructure and transportation mode also changed. Wheelchair is the primary mode of transport for many of the senior citizens to move around. They are all healthy and able, radiant, dark hair, full set of teeth, good eyesight and full of life, even over 100 years old. The little difference is that medical science could not replace everything and many have to rely on wheelchairs to move around. And some will have drip bags hanging over their heads, urine bags hanging below the seats, batteries hanging on their chests. But otherwise, everything is normal. They lead very healthy lifestyle, playing basketball, dancing, marathon races etc, on wheelchairs of course. And with the half a million dollars in their CPF and an annuity payout to boot, life is a breeze. Retirement is great fun. The flourishing industry in the island is health and medical care. The senior citizens need routine serviceing weekly to keep the system going strong. Wheelchair industry has overtaken the automobile industry. And viagra is doing roaring sales. With money and excellent medical care, life can go on forever. And the head of govt is a young 90 something.

One good thing from the CPF debate

We must thank Eng Hen for this annuity proposal thing and debated it rigorously in parliament. And despite the scheme being poked with holes all over, there is a little silver lining in the smoke screen. The issue of CPF interest rate, how the money is being deployed, how little it gets in return and how little it pays to CPF members and how it could actually return more to the people, is the only good thing that came out from this debate. We can only hope that MPs will dig their scalpels deeper to reveal more morsels for the CPF members to chew. Now we are having 1% more from the CPF, from the returns it gets from buying govt bonds without sweating. And if properly managed and invested, CPF members can look forward to higher returns. No need 10% or 18%. That the risk will be too high. Maybe 4% guaranteed and a couple of percentage points more will do.