The taxi trade - how to make money from the stupid

The statestimesreview has an article with this headline, ''ComfortDelgro wasted S$642 million acquiring Uber''. The reason given by the article is that ComfortDelgro drivers were introduced to Uber's dynamic pricing software but after a while most of them gave up using it, thus making the purpose of acquiring Uber totally wasted. This may be a simplified way of looking at the acquisition which would include things like gaining market share, disruptive technology and buying over a competitor. There must be very good reasons to spend $642 million to buy over a company, uppermost must be the bottom line.

So, with the acquisition of Uber, and maybe Grab will be the next target, ComfortDelgro could eventually be the major taxi service provider, again, with the biggest market share of the business. Sounds pretty logical. The acquisition of Grab, hypothetically, could cost another $500 million or thereabout. This would mean a total outlay of a billion dollar to stay on top, to regain the market share. The big question is how to make a billion dollar of profit and how long would it take to make this sum just to square the book?

Let's look at the business again. Before Uber and Grab, there were X number of customers and a handful of taxi companies, maybe 5. So with Uber and Grab, there will be 7 taxi companies but the number of customers would still be X. With the acquisition say of Uber and Grab, the number of taxi companies would be back to 5, ie ComfortDelgro/Uber/Grab becoming one company, and the number of customers is still X, caveat from new citizens. See the stupidity in the logic of acquiring Uber and Grab?

The pie is the same. Before and after, the pie is still the same. But by letting Uber and Grab to operate in the same market, the pie is shared by more players. The acquisition would mean technically the number of players will be as before but the pie is still the same. So, by allowing Uber and Grab to come in and to be bought over by ComfortDelgro, Uber and Grab made the money and scoot off, leaving ComfortDelgro with a billion dollar hole in the pocket, just to retain market share for the same piece of pie, or to return to square one. This analogy is hypothetical of course.

So, after Uber and Grab, another GrabU taxi operator may set up business again, the story could be repeated with ComfortDelgro buying over the new company, and GrabU would walk away with another few hundred millions. This musical chair game could go on and on and the stupid will keep paying and paying just to retain market share which is still X.

The same formula is being repeated in the telco business. Have Starhub and M1 been bought over by SingTel or the govt to maintain market share? And a new player has come into the market in Circles.Life. This telco needs not make profit. Just go for market share and eventually some stupid would make an offer to buy it over for a few hundred millions. And Circles.Life can walk away laughing to the bank. And the circus can be repeated all over again by other telcos and taxi operators.

It is so easy to make money from the stupid. And the stupid did not know why. This is an exercise to identify the stupid. Give you some clues. Who is the biggest loser? Who create the situation for the loser to lose without knowing why? The best part, some stupid would be thinking that they are fighting against competitors and very clever to buy over the competitors to retain their share in the market?

Hundreds of millions were wasted all for nothing. To gain market share that was there but given away only to be bought back by the hundreds of millions?

China has no military allies

This is the sneer the Americans keep broadcasting to the world and its allies. China may not have military allies, but it has friends all over the world and is the top and second biggest trading partners of more than 100 countries. China does not need military allies for two main reasons. One, China does not aspire to be a hegemon military Empire and has renounced war as an option to settle differences between states. China does not seek to threaten any country with sanctions or with wars. Two, China is now more than capable of defending itself against any external threat from the Americans or a combined force of hostile military allies.
 
Is China concerned about the Quad, the encirclement by the American Empire, or the military exercises conducted by a pretentious regional power like India? With China’s military might today, and growing, soon it would have at least 6 aircraft carriers, China is not even bothered by the threats of an American preemptive strike or an all out war. As far as India is concerned, it is irrelevant, insignificant and would at most be a pin prick irritant. China could overrun India any time if India did the foolish thing again.
 
India is positioning itself as a regional power and aspiring to be a superpower with a third world economy and infrastructure. All the silly countries that think India is going to be a super power and eager to be a part of this ‘great super power’ and India as their regional master are welcome to defer to this ‘great’ military power that has never won a war except to bully its small neighbours and treating them as semi colonies.
 
Even if India is to form a military pact with the 16 countries that are holding a joint military exercise, it would at best be a joke. Economically, militarily, in science and technology, India is still a third world country in every aspect. And these countries want to call India boss?
 
Would China be worried about a little ant crawling around when it is in contention with the USA to be the Number One super power in all fields? India is just not in the super power league for another half a century at least, if it ever gets there.

SHOOTING OFF THEIR MOUTHS -

If  it  had  not been such a mega tragedy, the performance of some American

leaders  in  the  aftermath  of  the  Marjory  Stoneman Douglas High School

massacre  would  have  made for a rip-roaring comedy. But thanks to some of

the  most  tragically  comical  personalities in US politics, it has passed

into the realms of tragicomedy.

Leading the cast is the 45th president of the United States who brilliantly

suggested turning teachers into armed sheriffs in defence of their charges.

Not  all  teachers  mind  you,  “only  people  with  a  natural talent (for

shooting)  or hitting a golf ball, or putting”, assured Mr Donald Trump. As

an  incentive, these firearm-adept school staff will be given “a little bit

of  a  bonus”  for  carrying  weapons,  much like Singapore civil servants’

language allowance. Adding icing to the cake, the president also shared how

he  would  have  reacted  to the situation at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High

School  had  he been there (but he wasn’t of course). “I really believe I’d

run  in  there  even if I didn’t have a weapon”. Then without the slightest

tinge  of  irony, he went on to talk about mental institutions. “We’ll have

to  go  for  greater  institutionalisation  of  mentally ill people who are

capable  of  violence. A lot of folks in this room (state governors) closed

their mental institutions because of cost, so now we have nothing between a

prison and leaving him at his house”.

Next  on  the  list  is  the honorable Wayne LaPierre, head of the National

Rifle Association (NRA) who blamed gun control advocates for pushing, well,

gun  control.  Decrying  the  “shameful  politicisation” of the tragedy, he

accused  them of wanting “to strip law-abiding gun owners of their firearms

freedoms”.  Mr  LaPierre went on to say that the Second Amendment staunchly

defends  every  American’s  right  to  bear  arms,  and  (again without the

slightest  tinge of irony) assured that the NRA would be happy to work with

schools  to  make  them safer. To be fair, it wasn’t just talk. He actually

sat  down  with  President Trump over lunch and managed to convince him (in

the  president’s  own words) that “the gun advocates want to do something”.

Even  better,  he and his side-kick Chris Cox had the president purring and

tweeting  post-lunch:  “What  many people don’t understand or don’t want to

understand  is  that Wayne, Chris and the folks who work so hard at the NRA

are  Great  People  and  Great American Patriots. They love our Country and

will  do  the  right thing.” It was a mantra the president carried into his

session  with the governors, saying: “Don’t worry about the NRA, they’re on

our  side.  Half  of  you  are  so afraid of the NRA, there’s nothing to be

afraid of”.

These  two  leading  men aside, no tragicomedy would be complete without an

able  supporting cast. They don’t come any more able than Florida’s Senator

Marco  Rubio,  the  failed  Republican  aspirant  for the 2016 presidential

election,  who  famously (or infamously) opined in 2015: “None of the major

shootings  that  have  occurred in this country over the last few months or

years that have outraged us would have been prevented by new gun laws (such

as  expanded  background  checks)”.  Asked  by  a student if he would still

accept  campaign  donations  from  the  NRA  after the latest shooting, the

senator replied: “The answer is people buy into my agenda. And I do support

the  Second  Amendment, and I support the things”. Huh!!?? He got away with

that  one as a politician in America but if he were a student in Singapore,

he  would  have  flunked  our  ‘O’  levels  for  failing to answer a simple

question.

Post by Foo Siang Luen, our new contributor

2020 GE is a conscious choice if the people still want to go along with the PAP

The govt will raise goods and services tax (GST) from 7% to 9% sometime between 2021 and 2025. This is to help fund growing expenditure in areas like security, healthcare and other social spending.

2021 is the year when the PAP may decide to raise the GST. Why 2021? 2020 is likely the election year and the people will have to decide if they still want the PAP in charge. The 2020 GE is critical as it will affirm and confirm the choice of the people, meaning that the people do not mind the hike in GST to 9%. It will be a mandate for the PAP to do whatever it intends or proposes to do. GST hike is just one of them. The taxes raised, among other things, would be channelled to more foreigners to increase the population and thus more infrastructure needs. Hopefully the compulsory Eldershield, which is likely to be another profit making scheme has not been forced down onto the people and the people also have the chance to decide on this issue.

The PAP is holding back the GST hike to after the GE not without reasons and concerns. Raising the GST before the GE is as good as casting the die and there is no room to manouvre. The people will feel the impact of the hike and will vote according to how the hike affect them. By delaying, the people would still be kept in a quandary, not sure whether it would be raised. The hike would also be an issue in the GE and the PAP would be able to feel the reactions of the people. Despite all the crap talks that the GST is good for the people, all the taxes are good for the people, the PAP is still cautious that this could the bridge too far.

A big vote of approval would mean that the hike is accepted by the people and will be raised. A big fall in popular vote would have the PAP thinking if the hike should go ahead or to go ahead with the risk of losing more votes.

The people are given an option, an opportunity to vote for the GST hike in 2020. It would be their decision and after the GE they should live with it.The PAP is not taking the risk to raise the GST first and hope for the best or come what may. They knew that this is very painful on the people, especially the lower income group as the hike would affect everything and the cost living.

The 2020 GE is a gauge as to how far would the PAP go to raise more taxes, to bring in more foreigners and all the unpopular and extravagant policies and projects.

The American murderers crying foul in Syria

A cease fire in Syria has been passed by the useless UN in favour of the murderers of human civilisations, the evil American Empire, to protect the last few survivors of their cunning and wicked schemes. The Americans are pulling all the plugs to save the rebels that they have bred to cause civil strife and wars in Syria when they are about to be wiped out completely to bring peace back to Syria...a war started by the Evil Empire to do a regime change.

The rebels are hiding behind the civilians, using them as shields and resulting in some civilians being killed in the bombing of the rebel positions. About 500 civilians have been killed in the process and the Americans are crying foul, using this as an excuse to stop the eradicting of their mercenary soldiers. Here is what the Americans are screaming about.

"Every minute the council waited on Russia, the human suffering grew," US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council after the vote, accusing Moscow of stalling.

"As they dragged out the negotiations, the bombs from Assad's fighter jets continued to fall. In the three days it took us to adopt this resolution, how many mothers lost their kids to the bombing and the shelling?"

Goodness me, the Americans have a conscience to protect the lives of civilians? Reflect this statement on the civilian death and the number of civilians killed in the two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Think of the massive bombings that flattened North Korea, not just the cities, but the whole country and how many civilians were massacred by the Americans. Think of the carpet bombings of Vietnam, Agent Orange, napalms and the millions of civilian Vietnamese mothers and children and babies murdered and many are still dying today, also in Laos and Cambodia. The Americans were testing all kinds on chemical weapons on the Vietnamese people just like the Japanese did in China in WW2. Think of the deceitful invasion of Iraq that let to the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, millions wounded and homeless. No mothers and children and babies died?

Did the Americans bothered to think or care about the children and mothers that were dying because of their massive bombings in their wars of Empire?

These are the war crimes of the Americans against civilians and civilisations. Did the evil Americans shed a tear? No! They got the cheek to say the death and wounded and the homeless were war collaterals, without any guilt or shame, with no remorse. And the useless UN would not and could not bring the murderers to court to be charged for war crimes against humanity. Now the same mass murderers are crying foul because their mercenaries are being killed.

Today they are crying crocodile tears at 500 casualties in Syria. How foolish are those men and women representing their countries in the UN to let the real mass murderers to go Scot free and trying to pick on a small incident like this dumb girl guide screaming in the UN Security Council. If there is a fair God, the Americans would be punished, sooner of later, for their brutal crimes against humanity and humankind.

The western media have been harping about Syrian govt using chemical weapons against the civilians. With the black ops conducted by the CIA and other American agencies for so many decades, anyone could guess with eyes closed that these were all false flag incidents with 100% accuracy that the culprits are the Americans. But the Americans and western media are pointing the fingers at Assad. And many sillies are believing in this white lie.