What comes after COE hike?

The surge in COE prices must have brought smiles to many people and to the state's coffer. Maybe some will filter down to help the needies. But what else will be affected by this COE good news? The car owners will be affected immediately and positively with the resale values going up. On the negative side, taxis and buses, I think they need COEs too. So be prepared for higher taxi fares and maybe bus fares. Hopefully the MRT is not affected by COE hikes and would not raise MRT fares. But their staff travel by cars and vans. So the hike still affects their cost. All transport agencies or businesses will be affected if the cost of vehicles goes up. And this will just trickle down the line for sure. This is one thing that must be passed down to the consumers. School buses? The cost of living will move up nicely.

270% interest rate per annum

A blogger asked me for my view on the 270% interest rate that was raised by a forumer in the ST forum. The writer said that this is a possibility provided by the Money Lenders Act. I did not pay too much attention to such numbers as I have been desensitised by the greed in the financial system, where exploitation for quick profit is now seen as a merit and deserving great rewards. But since I was asked, I took the question to the cesspit for a little discussion. The PhD holders in the cesspit thinktank, all bought of course, were very adept in this kind of issue. They have all made their millions doing the same thing, and their only conscience is their own pockets. So what would they say? No issue at all, all corners are covered. In the first place it is legal. Period. Anything that is legal is legal, faultless and blameless. Only those who do not know how to exploit the legal road would kpkb about such things. The beneficiary will just laugh their way to the banks. The next point is that it is completely transparent. The fine prints are made known to the borrower, and the seller representatives were well trained to tell the borrower all the risk involved. No cheating, no undisclosed information, no misrepresentation. This leads to the third point. Willing buyer and willing seller. No one is being forced to take the loan. And yes, this is covered under caveat emptor. And this is a legit business. Business means making profit. The higher the profit the better the business. And this is good for the economy as well. How else could people make so much money to buy so many million dollar properties? The whole thing generates wealth and a vibrant economy. These are what the cesspit thinkers came out with and all very reasonable, logical, legitimate. I am quite surprise that they could think so clearly. So where is the problem? No problem at all. In all business transactions, there must be the suckers and the big winners. Somehow I feel so nice reporting their findings. I think I have been infected by the E1U1 flu bug. Maybe a few more practices I can start to apply to join the Elite and Uncaring class.

It is all market forces

Now what shall I write this morning with COE hitting heaven and Sheng Siong still in the limelight? Shall I rejoice that my car can now be sold more than the price I bought? Between the two hot issues now, both have a same vein to stretch. COE prices are the result of normal supply and demand. No one is at fault. The system, like the BTO scheme, is well designed and the best. The govt has done it part. So let's live with the high prices. The alternative is to have all our roads turning into car parks. So bite the bullet and pay. For those who cannot afford to pay, please, go and take public transport. If you can't pay, you don't deserve to be driving a private car. This is the reality of life. Got money got everything. No money, diam diam. As for Sheng Siong, HDB has stepped in to warn that if prices go too high, Sheng Siong would not have enough stall holders to sell produce in the wet markets. Have no fear, Sheng Siong can run all the stalls by itself. This is business. Sheng Siong is out there to do a business and will respect market forces. If all the current stall holders quit, the better. I am confident that Sheng Siong, being a successful business empire, will have everything thought out and planned. No one should interfere with market forces. The stall holders can go, the customers can refuse to patronise, doesn't matter. And Sheng Siong being the market owner, is free to set its rentals and the tenure of the rental. It is free market practice. Now who is out there trying to temper with this classic economic theory of growth? If Sheng Siong can raise fee another 50%, and if there are stall holders who are willing to pay for it, so be it. The Ah Sohs and Ah Mahs who think the prices are too high, can take a walk. I mean they can take a bus or MRT to another market to buy. No need to depend on Sheng Siong if they are not happy. Then there is FairPrice always ready to serve them at fair prices. What's there to complain about? Storms in the tea cup! Now, what am I saying? Early in the morning, a bit blur like sotong. I really like the way I talk down to the losers: )

Pig talk and pig logic

This guy was very hungry and he went to the pig to ask for bacon. The pig snorted. 'Wait for my piglets to be born, and another one year they should be ready for the table. Now go away.' So the hungry man went away, hungry, and waiting for the bacon to be ready. The pig had solved his need for bacon, to be delivered in a year's time. Would the hungry man survived while waiting for the bacon to arrive? Or would he find a subsitute to ease his hunger pang? Oink, oink, oink.

Trading mentality, changing places

We have this great tradition as a trading port. I think this has been in our blood for too long that it is becoming a part of us, our culture and mentality. We will trade everything, anything, for money. We sold our power stations probably seeing their yields or future not going to be too bright. Now we are going to India to buy power stations because the growth potential for power is very promising. We have developed ourselves into an education hub to earn more foreign currency. Education as a business can generate a lot of revenue if the fees are high enough. And we are very successful in getting foreigners to come here for their education. In the meantime, our children will not have enough places here and have to go elsewhere for their education. We have limited places for medical education. And many of our bright students have to go overseas to be trained as doctors. But we also have a shortage of doctors here. So we import cheap doctors from other countries to fill the gap. Isn't it funny? We tell our not so talented to go overseas to work. In their place we import foreign talents to replace them. Singaporeans sell their properties here just to be able to buy properties elsewhere. All these are very good and healthy for the economy. Just keep trading and exchanging goods and services. One day we may even trade our not so marketable parents for new and more efficient parents.