The Economics of Pragmatism

We don't have enough land, above and below, to build longkangs to prevent floods. Our land are about the most expensive assets in the world. We need them to generate wealth than to collect rain water. We may not have land for longkangs, but sure we have plenty of lands to build prime properties for big profits. And sure we have plenty of land to take in another 5 million people. The main consideration is to squeeze as much value as we can from the plentiful or limited land, depending on how one wants to view it, so that the developers can laugh all the way to the banks. A little flooding is acceptable. That we can live with, but no land shall be wasted. It is all about economics and maximisation of returns. I hope no property developers reading this seriously think that they can build properties without having to build longkangs. Shouldn't the two be part and parcel of developing infrastructure? The more buildings and structures are built, the more people living on them, the need to have more longkangs and sewerage pipes. Economics and profits may be important, but the longkangs are complimentary to the existence of all the infrastructure and cannot be dispensed with. You can have your buildings, but you must built a network of longkangs to make the place liveable. Like they say, you can't have your cake and eat it as well.

Myth 222 - The Ignorant Singaporean Myth

How many people really believe that Singaporeans are ignorant? I don’t believe a wee bit that Singaporeans are ignorant at all. Singaporeans know exactly what is happening around them. Even the non graduate talents like Jack Neo and Mark Lee are as street smart as the university graduates. And they too know what to say and what not to say, what can be joked and what cannot be joked. The reason why Singaporeans are reticent and appear stupid or ignorant to some is that many are perfecting the art of Tao, the art of doing nothing and all will be done in due course. Yes, when the boat nears the bridge it will straighten itself. In a way Singaporeans are quite like the Thais. The Thais are known to be overtly loyal and obedient to their revered king. But time is near, and they are talking. Even Ahbisit told the military and the King to stay out of politics. And many Thais are saying, quietly in private, and now openly, calling for a change in the political system, without the King and the military’s meddling. Who knows how long will the Thais continue to revere their King and how long will the monarchy last? The Singaporeans are as ignorant as the Thais. Oh, I am not saying that the Thais are ignorant. The word ignorance has a different definition and meaning in a different context and time. So, how many people believe that Singaporeans are ignorant?

Willing the problems to go away

In paradise this is the easiest thing to do. There are many problems and there are no problems. Does anyone hear about problems of high insurance premiums? Does anyone hear any complaints about the 40% hike in public transport fares? Does anyone hear anything about CPF, CPF Life, Medisave, minimum sum schemes that turn your money into fixed assets that cannot be moved? The extraordinary rain and extraordinary floods are just acts of god. And the mess in public housing demand and supply is only an imbalance, maybe also an act of god. The trick about willing the problems away is not to talk about it, not to report in the media. Then quietly the problems will disappear. This is Singaporean ingenuity.

IMF warns of Spore inflation

'Singapore's inflation is likely to accelerate and policymakers should stay vigilant on the outlook for growth and prices, which may require the "further calibration" of monetary policy, the IMF said....' This is quoted from a front page article in mypaper today. When I read this statement the only thing that came to my mind is that the IMF is talking nonsense again. Where got inflation here. If there is any inflation, it is good inflation. These people from nowhere think they know better than the locals. A 5 rm flat may cost $30k 35 years ago and $600k today. But this is not inflation. It just so happen that Singaporeans have too much money and savings and don't mind spending that kind of money. And what's wrong with it when they can brag about how expensive and asset rich they are now? And then there are foreigners who are willing to pay more for the public housing flats. This is proof that the properties are worth every cent they paid for. It is not inflation and there is no inflation. How could there be inflation when the annual inflation rate is 3 to 5% or even lesser?

I am so lucky

I won’t say that to Wally. You see, Wally thought he was smart and had a good deal when an FT bought his 3 rm flat for a fortune. Yes, it was a fortune for Wally to build a palace in LiJiang. The palace is up and Wally the emperor is enjoying his life there. But little did Wally know that the FT, if they are worthy to the name FT, must know something more, or is smarter than the locals. And the FT has proven to be right. The ridiculous price that he paid Wally was not ridiculous anymore. The price of HDB resale flat is going up and up and the FT is going to make a fortune. Wally thought he had a good deal. But the FT is having a betterer deal. All he needs to do now is to sit on this little gold mine and see his fortune grow by the day. Wally must be regretting now. I almost sold my little flat too to join Wally. On hindsight, I can now celebrate for procrastinating to sell my flat. If the FT is right, another 30 years I may be able to buy 5 palaces in Lijiang instead of one today. And if I wait longer, another 30 years, I wonder how many more palaces I could buy. So I am just going to feel good about my little HDB flat and my good fortune. Its price is going to go up and up. And I can keep smiling and smiling as the media keep a good daily update of how expensive my little HDB is getting. Oops, I mean how worthy I am by the day with my HDB flat appreciating in value in an unstoppable manner, and more FTs and those citizens that were squeezed out of the HDB queue came knocking to offer me more. The COV is enough to see me retiring, smiling into the twilight. To borrow a phrase from Wally, I am waiting for the next sucker that is going to pay me more for my HDB flat?