Is the CPF scheme turning into a scam?

It was a pillar of our social infrastructure. It gave the people a sense of assuredness, peace of mind, and a great feeling of security. That was our CPF.

Over the years the changes introduced to the CPF scheme have gradually transformed this institution of the people’s savings into an institution of grievances and frustration. It all started many years ago when some economic whiz kid discovered that there was too much money in the CPF waiting to be had. Anyone with a bright idea could lay his hands on this people’s treasure that have been laid aside to earn pittance from the interest rates.

Now you understand why HDB flats are affordable and why the CPF savings are no longer enough for retirement? The policy of pricing HDB flats according to affordability is like pricing HDB flats according to how much the people have in their CPF savings. Brilliant. And the rest is history.

This logic can be applied to the ever increasing medical costs. The CPF has been turned into a vehicle to enrich the medical profession. You have plenty of money in the Medisave or in medical insurance. Thus you can pay for the increasing medical fees. You can afford it, like it or not, your saving will be taken away from you in advance to fund the medical industry. And you may not need it at all. Medical fees and housing prices will keep going up as they are affordable, because there are money in the CPF savings.

Did anyone really scheme to use the CPF for his own gambling habit, to fund his big billion dollar bets? Did anyone think that in such big gambles he could reap millions in bonuses when luck is with him, and simply ignore the losses as the losses came from other people’s money, not his own pocket? No need to pay back. The CPF contributors would be made to patch up the holes somehow through the shifting of goal posts or more schemes. I really hope that no one really thinks that the CPF money is for them to play. It is theft of the people’s hard earned money in all disguises. The line differentiating gambling from investments is too fine to make a difference.

And I am very uncomfortable for anyone, or any economist, to lump the people’s hard earned money as the country’s reserves. It is the people’s money and not anyone else’s reserves. Once the reserves tag is glued on the people’s money, the one holding the key to the reserves may think that it is his for the taking or for his own schemes of things. I find it not only immoral but down right dangerous.

No one can argue about putting aside some of our income as savings. But there are other important things to consider about savings. For those who can afford to, by all means save as much as you can. There are many out there who cannot afford to save. Saving is like eating half a bowl of rice or keeping the stomach half empty, to put some money aside. Forcing people to go hungry is not helping the people but ensuring them a slow death. Help the poor is to make provisions from other sources of revenue to allow them to have their bowl of rice and not go half hungry and not go half hungry by taking away the rice.

And there is a time to say providing for the rainy day is enough. The insurance agents will tell you that there is never enough in the insurance that you bought. Hmmm, reminds me of the reserves in the NKF as well as the reserves in the country’s vault. How much savings will be considered enough? Never enough. But the pragmatic reasoning will say up to a point, one needs not keep stuffing into the tin can for the tomorrow that may never come. There must be a sense of proportion.

This brings to a point about savings by the oldies. At 60, 70, or 80, as long as one is self employed, one must continue to put money into the Medisave. What kind of stupidity or daylight robbery is that? At these ages, everyday is a bonus. If one is economically productive, one should be allowed to spend his keeps while he still can. Forcing grandpas to save! Economically active grandpas would have the comfort of his savings being left untouched. To add to more savings is the logic of an idiot, or robbing the oldies. Now why would people want to rob the oldies? Wicked isn’t it? No, they say they are helping the oldies so that they have more money to pay the hospitals when needed.

There are many things that make the CPF smells foul. When the noble objective of a scheme is twisted to serve less noble objectives, or warped objectives, all schemes will turn foul. There is no need for oldies to keep savings. There is no moral reason to deprive the oldies from their hard earned savings to enjoy their twilight years even if it is for the use of god.

Now what is the real reason to compel the old uncles and aunties to keep saving when they may hand in their identity cards anytime? Is it mercy or merciless?

We have a very regimented institutions forcing people to save and save and while making it very difficult for the people to get back their hard earned money. On the other hand we have institutions like the HDB and the hospitals who are trying to take your money because you have money in your CPF. They price their products and services according to affordability and market forces, or to take every cent from you. It is like a candle burning on both ends.

I have a better CPF scheme. Everyone must contribute 80% of his income to the CPF. Then he will have money to buy affordable flats, and money for all the medical bills, and for retirement. No more worries liao.

Wikileaks leak unhappiness of journalists

It is in the media, that Wikileaks intercepted a report on the unhappiness of local journalists for being restrained from what they could write and report. In a confidential article titled, ‘Journalists frustrated by press controls’, it revealed that political leaders were putting pressure on the papers to toe the govt line on domestic politics. And there was a divide between the editors and the younger journalists.

I have sensed this divide and commented on them before. Our local journalists are very well trained and qualified, coming from some of the best universities in the West. They have seen the world and exposed to the vibrant intellectual discourse of the West. They cannot be cowed to become sheep. They are talented and wanted to express and show their talents. With a freer press, the quality of their reports and the media they represent would be a totally different story than the current pathetic state that made them pedestrian, amateurists, when compared to the social media.

How could that be? The social media may have talented people like me writing rubbish gossips, but the fact is that social media are not professional media with the time and resources and the real journalistic talents to produce works of literary art. My apologies to the few literary greats walking in our midst, like Catherine Lim and a few others.

Every time I read the pieces in the media, I feel very sorry for them. They have wasted their talents and skill on writing about food, cooking, pets, leisure and about how people would want to dress on their last journey, with at least 3 or 4 pages of expensive media spaces in yesterday’s ST, and a totally waste of paper. Very anti green movement to cut down trees and dig up raw materials to print such stuff.

Give them the space and they will raise the standard of our local media and win international awards in literary and journalistic skills with in depth coverage of quality news, and not in how nice the pages were arranged, how colourful were the prints, how creative was the layout, or you know what.

We have so much talent but not put to good use. Isn’t that a pity?

Govt institutions must be freed from politics

This is the most decent thing to do for any govt in any country. The civil servants are neutral and apolitical and just want to have a job to bring up their families. Govts that involved civil servants in politics or meddling in politics will only compromise the civil servants to do things that they should not be doing. Civil servants will be caught in a bind, cannot say no or will lose their jobs or doing things that will affect their values, principles and integrity.

It is unfair for any govt to make civil servants do their biddings for political cause or agenda. In many countries, particularly the authoritarian or dictatorial regime, the fall of the regime will lead to the arrest of civil servants or their escape from their own country as they will be found guilty for working with the authoritative or dictatorial regime.

It is the moral responsibility of all decent govts to free their civil servants to run their ministries and statutory boards in the good of the country and people, without getting them entangled with the politics of the day. When civil servants are not involved, they will provide the continuity of govt during a crisis or regime change, to ensure stability and as little disruption to public services and the security of the people.

The British model of govt is still the role model for democratically run countries to follow. And the neutrality of civil servants should not only be an empty claim but must be seen and believed by the people. Only then can civil servants live in peace and not be pricked by conscience for doing and administering public policies unfairly for the benefits of their political masters.

The civil servants are people and citizens of the country. They must not be coerced or implicated by the power of the day to act against their conscience or against the people. The people and civil servants should not be politicized against their will.

I can’t imagine a new political party returned to power and appoint their own men to run the PA, HDB and all the govt services while those currently in office will have to flee.

Notable quote by Hsien Loong

‘Drawing on our reserves should only be an absolutely last resort’ Lee Hsien Loong

Hsien Loong cautioned against the worsening world economy and that the govt may have to dip into the reserves again. But this will only be done as an absolutely last resort thing.

I also remember Leong Sze Hian saying that during Nathan’s term as President, the reserves were used for something like 29 times. Correct me if I have misquoted Leong Sze Hian. I think my memory is still ok and I am not suffering from dementia. And one of the reasons for using the reserves was for SERS, en bloc resettlement of HDB flats. True or not!

Pulling down old flats to build new ones is so serious that our reserves were used. Must be absolutely last resort or else something serious would happen to our economy or maybe the new immigrants will go rioting for not having a place to live.

If SERS scheme could justify for the use of the reserves, what else can’t? I think I must have heard wrongly, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with my dementia. Hearing problem? Maybe.

Political appointments, public employees or private employees

Recently some politicians lost the election and their well paying jobs as politicians. I am wondering where have they gone to? Have they found jobs in the private sector or have they been employed in the public sector, or have they been appointed by the govt into jobs that are paid by the public coffer?

There should be no issue if they are gainfully appointed by the private sector for their talents. It will be interesting to find out if they are being employed as public employees or civil servants and how much are they being paid in their new jobs. If the jobs are paid by taxpayers’ money, shouldn’t the taxpayers want to know what is happening?

What if they are appointed as advisors to grassroots organizations? Are these appointments paid or they are doing voluntary services for the community, no pay, like volunteers to social institutions?