Singapore about to introduce a ‘living tax’

It is still work in progress, but Hsien Loong had spoken about it at the National Day Rally and he has recently confirmed it during the Ask the PM live TV chat show. This ‘living tax’, where every living citizen will have to pay for being alive is going to be implemented very soon. Only the details have yet to be finalised. From what was said, from a baby to the oldies, everyone pays. It is a kind of tax from cradle to grave!

Oh, you have not heard about it. I am telling you now, it is not called a tax and not really a tax. It is called Medishield Life, just like the CPF Minimum Sum Schemes, they are also not called tax. To be exact, it is called Medishield Life Insurance Scheme for everyone, young and old, sick or healthy, no one will be missed. It is compulsory! It is as good as till death do we part. And very likely from the very moment when a child is born. I am waiting to hear the angels sing. One can choose to buy or not to buy an insurance policy. One can choose to adapt a healthy lifestyle to avoid being robbed by the medical professionals. This one there is no such option. Healthy or sick, you pay. If it is not a tax, what is it? You tell me.

The GST is a very regressive tax where the poor actually pay more as a percentage of their income. Even those without an income have to pay the GST as long as one has to consume goods and services. But compares to the Medishield Life, GST is nothing, or at least one can be selective and opt out. One can eat or consume less or not consuming at all to avoid paying GST. In the case of Medishield Life, there is no escape.

Now the little problem is what would the govt do to those who really cannot pay and do not have any minimum sum locked up in their CPF to be carved away? A legalised compulsory scheme imposing on the people to pay means that not paying is an offence. It must be. Hsien Loong has mentioned about peer pressure, making your neighbours or families or friends know that you did not pay your dues, a way of shaming one in public. Would the expertise of Ah Long runners be called upon for this? Would the full force of the law be applied, with policemen knocking at your door for not paying? The evil is in the details, so they say. Wait for the details. Many are so happy about this comprehensive ‘cover all’ insurance scheme and earnestly waiting for it to be implemented. So it must be a good thing.

Poor Sinkies are going to incur another unwarranted and unwanted cost of living expenses imposed on them by the caring and paternalistic govt. The govt is very foresighted and always been thinking of how to take good care of the people, and with the people paying for whatever schemes the govt can think of. It knows the people are over reliant on the govt.

The foreigners need not have to pay for this living tax for sure. The non citizens, not sure about the PRs, are not so lucky and will not be affected. And if PRs are affected, their children and dependents who are not PRs would definitely not be affected. Heheh, being citizens has its privileges, to pay another tax.

With such a comprehensive and all encompassing scheme that makes every living citizen pays, at $1k per citizen, it will be $3.3b added to the GDP I think. If PRs were to be added, that is another 540m annually. With an unthinking population over reliant on the govt to think and plan for them, it is so easy to generate this kind of money with very little effort but a stroke of the pen. There is no need to waste time and effort selling the product. It’s a done deal and a very lucrative one. A super extraordinary salesman and his super product, exceptional talent!

Would there be a political price to pay for this living tax?  Oops, I mean compulsory Medishield Life Insurance Scheme for all citizens, or is it for locals only? One thing for sure, the cost of living of the people, especially the lower income and the ‘no income’ will just become more unbearable or simply unbearable and unaffordable.

Thank God you are alive and have the good fortune and privilege to pay for this ‘living tax’. Is this a blessing or a curse?

2% or 3% GDP growth maybe about right for a mature economy

We are going to get this kind of growth rate for a while given the maturity of our economy. Many mature economies are going at the same rate unlike the emerging countries that are talking of 5 to 10% growth rate. We had a miracle of 15% in 2011 which could be the last flash in the pan.

What is not so comfortable is that the GDP growth is attained through high population growth, inflated housing prices, high rentals and high car prices, or at least these items contributed to a large extent to provide the growth numbers.

What would happen without the influx of more migrants, if property balloon gets deflated, if a more efficient COE system is implemented to replace this highly inefficient and loaded system? Where is the growth going to come from without high inflation?

Are our industries growing and chalking up decent numbers to give the GDP a positive number? Or are we running out of steam, running out of ideas and by hook or by crook we will need to inflate the economy, bring in more head counts, retain the COE to keep car prices high, keep housing prices high, keep medical cost high and higher? And yes, introduce Medishield Life to boost the GDP and whatever that needs to be boosted.

Without these highly inflated industries what would become of the economy? Is there a growth sector that can uplift the economy to show growth?

Dubai – Food for thought for material Singapore

‘So many myopic comments here. Myanmar is a far larger and more complex country than tiny Spore. And Myanmar should not adopt Spore’s style of meritocracy and penchant for material success.
 
A better comparison is Dubai which has emerged from the bleak landscape of the desert to be a vibrant financial and tourism place. Dubai is more than 95% managed and operated by foreigners and is thriving. They also have brilliant Emerati leadership and top class CEOs.
 
Singaporeans are a very unhappy lot. They do not appreciate the journey that Spore has taken since independence and Dubai imitated Spore initially but has over-taken Spore in many aspects.’
 
The above is a comment by a Webex in TRE. For a country like Singapore to be over taken by Dubai is nothing surprising. There was really not much growth in the island for many years if we take out the elements of influx of foreigners, the housing balloon, the ever increasing high rentals, the COEs and car prices and the high medical fees. These factors alone could have wiped out all the growth there was, or negative growth in their absence. How’s that?
 
But with the example of Dubai there is real hope. Singapore should imitate Dubai to over take Dubai with our brilliant leadership, at the moment second only to Dubai. What Singapore needs is to rely more on foreigners. 50% foreigners could only bring us 2-3% growth. Dubai is managed by 95% foreigners. If we follow Dubai, we could increase our growth by 4-6%, which is good. According to a banker Mak Weijie as quoted in the Today paper, ‘As long as the person is capable enough, it doesn’t matter what nationality he is.’ (My comment: Are you a citizen or a new citizen? We have a country, not a shop)
 
And what is 6.9m? Go for it, 95% foreigners, Singaporean core reduces to 5%, and we will be so much richer as a shop, oops, I mean a country. Our population could be what, 30m? Knn, what am I thinking?

Fake degree holders – Get out while you can

The Philippines Embassy is warning its citizens here to submit only genuine degrees and certificates and avoid being caught with their pants down. It seems that they have been given notice that the MOM is coming down hard on fake degree holders. If this be the case, it means that all the embassies must also been notified of the next move by the MOM.
 
For those fakes currently under employment here, it may be wise for them to get out while they still can. The easiest thing to do is to submit their resignation and return home as soon as they can. Any day of delay will increase the risk of them being detected, caught and charge in court. The sentence could be $20k fine or up to 2 years of imprisonment.
 
The window period for those who are here under fake qualifications is closing down fast. They must know how efficient the Singapore govt is when they made up their mind to go after the culprits. They are damn good. The real Singapore talents when tasked to do a job will do it extremely well. Get out you still can and do not hesitate or waste a single day here. Never think that you have been here for many years and you can get away with it. Trust the Singapore talents to do what they are good at.
 
Good luck. And this will also apply to those who have converted to citizens or PRs using fake qualifications. You will be caught. It is a matter of when. When the Singapore govt means business it is business. You have been warned. Just because things were slack before they can be taken as slipshod and did not know what was happening. When time to be efficient, you bet they will be very efficient. Our car park attendance is a good example of how good they are.

USA, The Biggest and Most Evil Rogue State

                                                     USA  --  The Biggest Rogue State And  International Terrorist Country

It is time to carry out a regime change in USA  -  The Evil Empire which is the cause of all troubles, wars, distability and strive in all aspects of life in this world. Since the end of the Second World War, USA has wasted no time in creating endless wars and distability in various parts of the world. The biggest industry in USA is the War Industry and so The Evil Empire has always been using the medium of wars as a conduit of sustaining this industry and enriching itself by selling arms to other countries at wars incited and fomented by USA through sowing seeds of dissension , suspicion and contention among the targeted unsuspecting victimised nations. The White American concept of perpetual and permanent warfares both direct and indirect through proxy wars has been on going and institutionalised since the first year of its independence from Imperial Britain. With this insidious policy America has always used it to grab lands and resources from other countries and to hold sway and hegemony over all other countries big or small. The original USA started with thirteen states comprising a territory of about five hundred thundred thousand square miles. Then with its aggressive policy of wars of expansion it marched westward to attack, conquer and eventually annexed all the selfgoverning native American Indian states and of course after killing eighty-five million or over ninety-percent of the native American Indians. Then from 1840s to around 1890s The Evil Empire continued  its war of aggression against the Mexicans and took by force Mexican lands of about one million six hundred and fifty thousand square miles comprising the present territories of Florida, Texas, Utah,Nevada, New Mexico, Dakota and California. At present this concept of perpetual wars of aggression and expansion shows no sign of stopping. Instead it is getting hotter and more hostile as can be seen in the American fomented wars and distabilities in the Middle-East, North Africa, in East Asia, South China Sea and its surrounding countries and South Asia in India , Pakistan and South West China.

The Evil Empire has created enough trouble, wars and miseries in this world. When can all the countries wake up and unite to put a stop to this Western carnage headed by USA? It is time the countries of the world unite to carry out regime change of the USA government, failing which it will allow The Evil Empire to drag the whole world to virtual destruction.

Southernglory1