February 14, 2010
Influential international journal The Economist has hit out at the Singapore government of being a “stingy nanny state” in reference to its antipathy and resistance towards public welfare.
Though it acknowledges that the government “does run a handful of schemes directed at some of the needy, from low-income students to the unassisted elderly, these benefits are rigorously means-tested and granted only sparingly.”
“The most destitute citizens’ families may apply for public assistance; only 3,000 currently qualify. Laid-off workers receive no automatic benefits. Instead they are sorted into “workfare” and training schemes,” it added.
Known as the Public Assistance (PA) scheme, it gives applicants a monthly allowance of $330 which is hardly sufficient to survive in Singapore. One has to be completely destitute without any living relatives or certified permanently unfit to work by a medical specialist before one can qualify for it.
The process of seeking help is also made tiresome and in some ways humiliating on purpose to deter “free-riders” from “abusing” the system.
Singapore workers have no job security to speak of as a result of the government’s open-door policies towards foreign migrant workers who now make up more than 35 per cent of the workforce.
“Official reassurances that migrants create growth do not convince those competing for scarce jobs. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding father and still its “minister mentor” has maintained that ambitious migrants help to keep citizens on their toes. In an interview given to National Geographic last July he said that if native Singaporeans lag behind “hungry” foreigners because “the spurs are not stuck on [their] hinds”, that is not the state’s problem to solve,” noted the Economist.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, the relentless influx of foreign workers has depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing, decreased labor productivity and led to an overall decline in the standards of living.
To compound matters, there are no independent trade unions to represent and fight for the interests of Singapore workers. The only legal trade union in Singapore – NTUC is a pseudo-PAP organization which is always headed by a PAP Minister (without portfolio).
Right after he became Prime Minister in 2003, Lee Hsien Loong emphasized that “welfare is a dirty word in Singapore”, a sign that his administration will not do much to help those who have fallen behind.
In a speech made in Parliament in November 2006, he said:
“We need a sustainable approach. You saw the numbers. You see how quickly the number of old people and the proportion of old people is growing in Singapore. Some MPs and some other commentators outside writing in the newspapers have suggested old age pensions, which they argue every Singaporean should have as of right, because I am born here, I carry a pink IC, I should have an old age pension. But if every old person, whether rich or poor, is entitled to an old age pension, it is going to impose a very heavy financial burden on the State, which means a very heavy financial burden on young Singaporeans, because they are the ones who are going to be working and paying the taxes, which is where the State will get the money.”
Yet the state is flushed with cash as evident by the billions of dollars it lost recently in failed overseas investments via its two sovereign wealth funds – GIC and Temasek Holdings.
The Economist Society of Singapore (ESS) recently proposed to a government committee that it should build a more robust safety net, starting with unemployment insurance which would promote social stability and help muster public support for Singapore’s open-door migration policies.
“While self-reliance is a good principle in general, it may be neither efficient nor just if taken to extremes,” it claimed.
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/02/14/the-economist-accuses-pap-of-being-a-stingy-nanny-state/
First, it's National Geographic. Now, it's The Economist!
Speaking out the truth wlll get yourself sued by the Emperor.
The $330 for monthly provision for financial assistance is bullshit. I know of people who are receiving this and the maximum they give is just $200.
Though it acknowledges that the government “does run a handful of schemes directed at some of the needy, from low-income students to the unassisted elderly, these benefits are rigorously means-tested and granted only sparingly.” == this is very true.
That is the down side of having a govt who is not interesed to place public service as the top priority. Seems money making is their main motive of staying in power.
In National Geographic, the old heck do name calling , called singaporeans "champions of grumblers or champion grumblers".
He loves to do name calling to Singaporeans and many times he displays displeasure of Singaporeans, seems he hates us so much. He is ungrateful, without us there is no LEE KUAN YEW. Without us, it is impossible for him to pay himself world class salary. How dare he to speak to his bosses this way!!!
Originally posted by Fantagf:In National Geographic, the old heck do name calling , called singaporeans "champions of grumblers or champion grumblers".
He loves to do name calling to Singaporeans and many times he displays displeasure of Singaporeans, seems he hates us so much. He is ungrateful, without us there is no LEE KUAN YEW. Without us, it is impossible for him to pay himself world class salary. How dare he to speak to his bosses this way!!!
Very much like Sgf.
Originally posted by Chew Bakar:Very much like Sgf.
Ya, that was what I mentioned before.
Ha ha ha
The taxes are bad enuf now, do we need a separate welfare tax to help those who have "fallen behind"?
Originally posted by dadeadman1337:The taxes are bad enuf now, do we need a separate welfare tax to help those who have "fallen behind"?
Why do you need an extra tax?
Just sack all the ministers in the PM's office, and remove 2nd Ministers of each ministry. Not to mention removing 2 SMs, 1 MM, 1 DPM
You would have automatically saved millions each year, that could go into helping those who have fallen behind.
Originally posted by soul_rage:
Why do you need an extra tax?Just sack all the ministers in the PM's office, and remove 2nd Ministers of each ministries. Not to mention removing 2 SMs, 1 MM, 1 DPM
You would have automatically saved millions each year, that could go into helping those who have fallen behind.
Being realistic, thats not gonna happen...
Even if the opposition takes power, im skeptical about them wanting to cut their own salaries
Originally posted by dadeadman1337:Being realistic, thats not gonna happen...
Even if the opposition takes power, im skeptical about them wanting to cut their own salaries
that depends on which opposition we are looking at, or even PAP for that matter.
The current situation is that they don't even care a hoot about what we say.
Lose 1 or 2 GRCs (and automatically you lose 2 ministers), and they will start to listen.
Originally posted by soul_rage:
Why do you need an extra tax?Just sack all the ministers in the PM's office, and remove 2nd Ministers of each ministry. Not to mention removing 2 SMs, 1 MM, 1 DPM
You would have automatically saved millions each year, that could go into helping those who have fallen behind.
Happy Lunar New Year!
It does not make sense to have more than 1 minister in the ministries and PM's Office. The ministers are paid world class salary and if I did not hear wrongly LKY did mention a few times that his ministers are first class. First class, world class paid ministers incapable of handling the ministries themselves and need more than one minister doing the job is a joke. The highest paid PM in the world need a few ministers to help him in his office is waste of manpower.
LHL recently talks about productivity of the people. Think he should start himself first before expecting productivity from the people. It is not productive to have more than one minister in the PM's office.
Originally posted by Fantagf:Happy Lunar New Year!
It does not make sense to have more than 1 minister in the ministries and PM's Office. The ministers are paid world class salary and if I did not hear wrongly LKY did mention a few times that his ministers are first class. First class, world class paid ministers incapable of handling the ministries themselves and need more than one minister doing the job is a joke. The highest paid PM in the world need a few ministers to help him in his office is waste of manpower.
LHL recently talks about productivity of the people. Think he should start himself first before expecting productivity from the people. It is not productive to have more than one minister in the PM's office.
LHL is not talking productivity, more like squeeze blood.
Originally posted by Chew Bakar:LHL is not talking productivity, more like squeeze blood.
but sissy mentioned productivity.
well knowing the dialect group we know what they are in for.
Currently, our taxing scheme collected so much taxes that Singapore can have a pension scheme for our all fellow citizen for another 60 years without any new injection of fund..
From
GST,personal income tax, Singapore pool, ERP,road tax, COE, HDB maintainenace fee, Gas and water, public housing(HDB)
Definitely implement safety net for needy and fellow citizen is possible.
We just need to have less money invest on money loss making Temasek Holding and cut down on unneccessary high minister salaries...
The myth that pension and safety net implement require higher tax on our current generation workforce is BS...
Current Government is currently obsessed with generating more income to continue fed on Temasek Holding.
Their investment habits are hard to break.
Originally posted by Chew Bakar:Their investment habits are hard to break.
It is hard to resist temption of money.
Originally posted by soul_rage:
Why do you need an extra tax?Just sack all the ministers in the PM's office, and remove 2nd Ministers of each ministry. Not to mention removing 2 SMs, 1 MM, 1 DPM
You would have automatically saved millions each year, that could go into helping those who have fallen behind.
The millions saved annually from paying for the useless ministerial appointments in 1MM, 2SMs, 1DPM, 2MwoP in the PM's Office, and several 2nd Ministers - could have paid for the annual insurance premium of a National Insurance Policy that would have provided cover for:- primary and secondary medical attention for those who need such medical services, and also to attend to the needs of the older generation in the population.
The additional funds accumulated by the PAP Government that are placed in high risks investments, would have been better used to build for a separate Trust Fund that could be better used to benefit Singaporeans who are retrenched and have families to feed during the economic downturns.
Those annual handouts from "economic surplus" could have been better used to build a sinking fund to assist young Singaporeans to fund their studies overseas - either as study loans, or scholarships.
Unfortunately, greed and political insecurity has influenced the PAP to use these public funds to attract supposed talents to enter politics and join the PAP, and placate the general population with small handouts costing a billion a year that are uselessly spent and returned to the Government.
Originally posted by βÎτά:
Speaking out the truth wlll get yourself sued by the Emperor.
Originally posted by AH TRUTH 1:The Economist accuses Singapore of being a “stingy nanny state”
February 14, 2010
Influential international journal The Economist has hit out at the Singapore government of being a “stingy nanny state” in reference to its antipathy and resistance towards public welfare.
Though it acknowledges that the government “does run a handful of schemes directed at some of the needy, from low-income students to the unassisted elderly, these benefits are rigorously means-tested and granted only sparingly.”
“The most destitute citizens’ families may apply for public assistance; only 3,000 currently qualify. Laid-off workers receive no automatic benefits. Instead they are sorted into “workfare” and training schemes,” it added.
Known as the Public Assistance (PA) scheme, it gives applicants a monthly allowance of $330 which is hardly sufficient to survive in Singapore. One has to be completely destitute without any living relatives or certified permanently unfit to work by a medical specialist before one can qualify for it.
The process of seeking help is also made tiresome and in some ways humiliating on purpose to deter “free-riders” from “abusing” the system.
Singapore workers have no job security to speak of as a result of the government’s open-door policies towards foreign migrant workers who now make up more than 35 per cent of the workforce.
“Official reassurances that migrants create growth do not convince those competing for scarce jobs. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding father and still its “minister mentor” has maintained that ambitious migrants help to keep citizens on their toes. In an interview given to National Geographic last July he said that if native Singaporeans lag behind “hungry” foreigners because “the spurs are not stuck on [their] hinds”, that is not the state’s problem to solve,” noted the Economist.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, the relentless influx of foreign workers has depressed the wages of ordinary Singaporeans, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing, decreased labor productivity and led to an overall decline in the standards of living.
To compound matters, there are no independent trade unions to represent and fight for the interests of Singapore workers. The only legal trade union in Singapore – NTUC is a pseudo-PAP organization which is always headed by a PAP Minister (without portfolio).
Right after he became Prime Minister in 2003, Lee Hsien Loong emphasized that “welfare is a dirty word in Singapore”, a sign that his administration will not do much to help those who have fallen behind.
In a speech made in Parliament in November 2006, he said:
“We need a sustainable approach. You saw the numbers. You see how quickly the number of old people and the proportion of old people is growing in Singapore. Some MPs and some other commentators outside writing in the newspapers have suggested old age pensions, which they argue every Singaporean should have as of right, because I am born here, I carry a pink IC, I should have an old age pension. But if every old person, whether rich or poor, is entitled to an old age pension, it is going to impose a very heavy financial burden on the State, which means a very heavy financial burden on young Singaporeans, because they are the ones who are going to be working and paying the taxes, which is where the State will get the money.”
Yet the state is flushed with cash as evident by the billions of dollars it lost recently in failed overseas investments via its two sovereign wealth funds – GIC and Temasek Holdings.
The Economist Society of Singapore (ESS) recently proposed to a government committee that it should build a more robust safety net, starting with unemployment insurance which would promote social stability and help muster public support for Singapore’s open-door migration policies.
“While self-reliance is a good principle in general, it may be neither efficient nor just if taken to extremes,” it claimed.
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/02/14/the-economist-accuses-pap-of-being-a-stingy-nanny-state/
First, it's National Geographic. Now, it's The Economist!
All these are british and american are just jealous of us, they should mind their own business, westerners likes to about others, with so much human rights in their culture, what rights do they have to talk about our society, aren't their economy falling, ask them to take care of their own economy, gay marriage and unemployement rates before bumping us again. No wonder Malaysia also asked Aussie to shut up over Anwar case, each individual country must respect each other domestic issue, each should not go in meddle with it, just like, if my house got a problem, i dun need a neighbour a come and critise me, what right does he/she has??
You guys had already truly said that we are being conned by the western banks of billions of lost, and now you still go on and listen to their comments and critics on you, i think you must be very stupid lor
if my house got a problem, i dun need a neighbour a come and critise me, what right does he/she has??
+++++++++++++++++++
The neighours can gossips and talk behind your back. But not step into your house, sit at the sofa and make comments.
Originally posted by angel7030:
All these are british and american are just jealous of us, they should mind their own business, westerners likes to about others, with so much human rights in their culture, what rights do they have to talk about our society, aren't their economy falling, ask them to take care of their own economy, gay marriage and unemployement rates before bumping us again. No wonder Malaysia also asked Aussie to shut up over Anwar case, each individual country must respect each other domestic issue, each should not go in meddle with it, just like, if my house got a problem, i dun need a neighbour a come and critise me, what right does he/she has??You guys had already truly said that we are being conned by the western banks of billions of lost, and now you still go on and listen to their comments and critics on you, i think you must be very stupid lor
Jealous? Hahahah, what is there that the govt in sg are doing that make the westerners jealous???? You are minding their business now that you speak this way, I tell you mind your own business, angel7030 aka longinchjohn. Just because the western countries are not singing the same tune as your beloved evil PAP you are against them. I believe one day if they take over sg you will sing a different tune, that time you will put PAP down and bootlick them.
Conned by the western banks is none of your business. It is your beloved PAP who invest and lose the money, western banks did not force your beloved PAP to invest in them. If your beloved evil PAP loves to lose so much money it is none of the business of singaporeans. Singaporeans have no control over how the govt wants to invest the $.
Moreover, the article was not from AH TRUTH. Get all your facts right before attacking! YOU sound real stupid! Think you only good at getting prosititutes to work for you and nothing else.
Originally posted by likeyou:if my house got a problem, i dun need a neighbour a come and critise me, what right does he/she has??
+++++++++++++++++++
The neighours can gossips and talk behind your back. But not step into your house, sit at the sofa and make comments.
ya, but they should not go public mah, they can talk what they like, it their mouth, not mine
Originally posted by Fantagf:Jealous? Hahahah, what is there that the govt in sg are doing that make the westerners jealous???? You are minding their business now that you speak this way, I tell you mind your own business, angel7030 aka longinchjohn. Just because the western countries are not singing the same tune as your beloved evil PAP you are against them. I believe one day if they take over sg you will sing a different tune, that time you will put PAP down and bootlick them.
Conned by the western banks is none of your business. It is your beloved PAP who invest and lose the money, western banks did not force your beloved PAP to invest in them. If your beloved evil PAP loves to lose so much money it is none of the business of singaporeans. Singaporeans have no control over how the govt wants to invest the $.
Moreover, the article was not from AH TRUTH. Get all your facts right before attacking! YOU sound real stupid! Think you only good at getting prosititutes to work for you and nothing else.
whoever lah, all same same one lah...
Originally posted by angel7030:
whoever lah, all same same one lah...
After shooting , you gave this kind of irresponsible remark, boo, you coward!
then shoot you lor aunty very funny...kong xi fatt chai