Golden Period or Golden Era

There is a big debate going on now. No they are not arguing whether it is a period or an era. It is about who owns the most gold. And gold is what people should be going after. The prophecy of Matilah is coming true. The fiat money is shrinking so fast that once it took $1 million to buy a home, now it is going to take $2 million. Once it took $3 to buy a plate of noodle, not it is $4.50. Once it used to be $4 or $5 a trip on a taxi, now it is $8 or $10. The safest thing to do now is to convert all the fiat money to gold. Soon we may be trading, buying or selling things with gold when the fiat currency turns into banana currency. Good luck to your $200k or $1 mil savings in the CPF when you lay your hands onto it. Now you know why your savings will never be enough. Better to ask CPF Board to allow depositors the choice to convert their savings into gold. Welcome to the golden period.

Myth 147 - The good news myth

The landlord goes to his tenants with the good news. The economy is doing very well. Property prices are going up. But he is going to increase the rental by $500 a month. And another good news, he is giving the tenants 3 month's of rebates. So for three months in a year he would waive the $500. And a sweetener. Every month he is going to provide one packet of 3 in 1 coffee free for his tenants.

Why are prices higher?

Lilian Lee Pei Lin went to Shop N Saves and found that all the prices are higher than it used to be. And there are many signboards shouting loudly that the store is absorbing the 2% GST increases. A pack of eggs used to be $4. Now it is $4.08. Anyone needs a calculator? Wondering why is she asking 'Why are prices higher?' It will be more fun is Shop N Save puts up another sign saying 'It is good for you.'

A surprising GDP growth

8.2% yoy growth in the second quarter and economists are revising the whole year estimates which can possibly be double digits. That's a big surprise. Would there be surprising news for the people, I mean the citizens, the good kind of surprises? Basically, what's in it for the people? Higher income, higher employment rate, higher prices, higher costs? Would the better than expected economic data be justification for raising fees and rates in good times, quickly before the feel good moment is gone? That may not be surprising. Not at all.

Red Mosque - Violence begets violence

The situation at the Red Mosque left Musharraf with little choice. When militants chose the path of violence, it must be met with violence. Procrastination or appeasement will only bring on more pressure to the Musharraf govt. He is left between the devil and the deep blue sea and not between god and prosperity. The storming of the Red Mosque is like a repeat of the Tian An Men Incident. It is controversial and will be attacked by one side and defended by another. Once violence has been promised, it must be delivered to quell further violence. And it needs a greater violence to stop it in its path. Unfortunately, the violence of muslim militants will not be stopped by the storming of the Red Mosque. The disease is too widespread, it is an international problem and will be supported by international movements and organisations. It will never end until one party is extinguished. A similar situation is festering in southern Thailand. Peaceful negotiation is no longer an option. It is now a fight between God and Allah.

Political Party Manifesto 6

Education is the greatest leveller of our society. It facilitates mobility of people up the social strata. It is a relatively neutral vehicle to carry the people along and it must be kept that way. The citizens must be given every opportunity to take a ride on this vehicle without any obstruction. And political parties must ensure that the education vehicle assists and not inhibits the aspirations of the citizens. I am stressing on the word citizens and not people from all corners of the world. Doing a bit of charity for other people is acceptable but citizens must always come first. Violation of this principle is unacceptable if political parties are seen to represent the interest of the citizens. Provision of educational opportunities at minimal cost to the citizens is a key objective of political parties. It is investing in the people and the future of the country. This is different from investing in non citizens which is a hit and run option. Also, the country's resources are meant for the citizens. Non citizens have no right to this claim and neither any political party has any obligation to take care of them. A citizen's first policy is vital to the existence of all political parties.

Political party manifesto 5

No one shall be deprived of hospital care A motherhood statement that is politicallly correct to say but must be seen to be done. Means testing may be one way to do it to make sure that no one is deprived of hospital care and no one shall take advantage of hospital subsidies. Of course this is debatable. There are many ways to skin a cat. Maybe skinning a cat is not the right choice of phrase as it connotes the meaning of tearing off something and causing pain. There are many ways of providing health care, or there are many ways of charging health care. I think for political parties, the key issue is how to provide health care at a reasonable cost and not how to make profits from the sick. But both can still exist side by side, make profits to subsidise the less able to pay. At the profit end, there are people who are willing to pay and it is criminal not to make profits from them. At the lower end when people are sick and unable or unwilling to pay too much, it is sinful to force them to pay. Political parties have to strike a balance between the two and hopefully making one pays for the other. It would be nice to hear political parties come out with a position that B2 and C wards will be subsidised without the tedious and mean process of means testing. That people are given a choice to choose to pay little or pay more and the hospital facilities structured accordingly. Political parties should not have evil thoughts and mean minds to skin the poor and those who do not want to be skinned. The attempt to skin, the obsession to skin is bad.