your paying millions for THIS?!?!?!?!
I guess this is why I am not a politician or a business man. The whole business world of growing this and shrinking that and all just boggles my little mind. I mean, here is the article from The Straits Times saying that Singapore needs to grow to 5.5 million people. According to wikipedia, the population of Singapore in 2007 was 4.6 million, so that means that Singapore needs to grow an extra 900,000 to 1 million people.
I agree with the ministers logic and theory. I mean, what better way to increase economy and have more money flowing around than to have more people (Especially rich expat/millionaires) living in Singapore spending money on necessities like power, health care, mobile phones, food, CPF investments. All fantastic ideas on how to boost the economy and raise Singapore to high heights of the economic power of the world and be noticed.
Only question I have is, where are you going to house these extra million people that you want to bring in through birth or emigration? At the moment I am amazed that when an HDB flat by the gov't goes up for sale there are usually only 800 units for sale and minutes after the bidding for these places open there are already 5,000 names wanting the place. Now whether that means that there are 5000 people at the age of 30 still living at home with their parents that can not afford the resale flats and have to rely on the gov't subsidy of a $95,000 flat for just walls, floors and ceiling; or whether that means that there are at least 5000 people out there in resale flats already that want to sell their flat at a super high price ($200,000), bank the money, move into the cheaper newer flat ($85,000), fill it with appliances ($15,000) and then put their name into the bidding for a new flat and start the cycle all over again (Old flat sold = $200,000, new flat bought with appliances = $90,000, Profit = $110,000). Over in North America we call this 'house flipping' and it is a very good business if you can work it just right though sort of short changes the middle guy by the house flippers taking advantage of the subsidy and gov't generosity.
I guess this might be one thing that the ministers really dont have to consider. I mean, with a million dollar salary from their part time job as policitians and then their real salary from their full time job, not like they have to worry about space. I am sure that when they go home, sit in their spacious million dollar houses, and walk the quiet neighbourhood of the rich they figure that the whole of Singapore is like this and all are living in granduer and wealth. Figure this is the one downside (of possibly many) of Singapore politics that I am so curious as to why Singaporeans dont do anything about, or at least the opposition parties use as a platform during their very brief few days of election time every 4 years. Why have a country run by the rich for the rich when there are so many poor (or at least struggling) in Singapore. I mean, chances are they dont think of themselves as poor, but if you have 4 generations living in the same house and your grandmother is working at the local McDs or coffee shop to make ends meet, you are below the poverty line; if you are a foreign worker and have 10 people living in a 2 room flat then you are poor; if you are living cheque to cheque hoping that no one falls sick because the hospital bills themselves (even though you have minor cheap insurance) would take your entire live savings, you are poor.
Why doesnt the opposition use the platfrom "citizens of Singapore running for office to make a country for the citizens of Singapore...not for the businesses of Singapore" A country run by the people, of the people, for the people...not a gov't of corporations, for corporations, of corporations.
In the end, no matter what, I am dying to find out where this Minister plans on housing this new million that he wants Singapore to grow by, or is it a case of not his problem. He is in charge of raising the economy and money of Singapore, let the housing minister deal with where he is going to put them all. Do the ministers in Singapore actual talk together for a common goal and aim or are they just looking at 'How do I increase my side of the gov't?' and not care about the rest?
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/326498/1/.html
Singapore must build up critical mass of labour to compete well
By Hasnita Majid, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 02 February 2008 1945 hrs
Singapore needs to build up a critical mass of people in the workforce so that the country can continue to compete for good investments and good jobs.
Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Labour Chief, Lim Swee Say, said this is why Singapore needs to grow its population to 5.5 million.
Mr Lim was one of four ministers who engaged some 900 participants at the plenary session of a conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies on Friday.
Singapore is the only economy in the world with unemployment rate of 1.7 percent yet it is able to grow its economy at 7.9 percent.
And participants at the conference were told that Singapore managed to do this because of a strong workforce.
Mr Lim added: "The point here is this: every economy, if you want to keep growing faster than the rest of the world, have to build a look ahead. Where are the bottlenecks? How we can break the bottleneck and solve that bottleneck before it chokes our growth? Therefore (it) comes back to manpower. I am very sure that for us to continue to compete for good investments, for good jobs, we must have good manpower in sufficient number."
He was replying to a question on why Singapore needs to grow its population to 5.5 million.
Also giving their take on this were three other Cabinet Ministers who explained how this number will affect their respective ministries.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that in attracting such numbers, demand for healthcare services will also go up.
And he has managed to catch a glimpse of what it would be like to cater to such demand.
Mr Khaw says: "Tan Tock Seng Hospital, there was a day, for don't know what reason, January 14, was 98 percent (full) and it's almost like Hotel 81 occupancy rate. The last decade, the entry of foreign population, expats and so on (have resulted in) very sharp growth, very good for the economy."
And also good for Singapore is attracting new residents to ensure that there's enough young people in the labour force.
George Yeo, Foreign Affairs Minister, said: "Is it possible that we may need that many people if we do not want to age too much or if we need suddenly to tap upon new sources of growth. We check all types of constraints - shorelines for the ports, runways for Changi, water resources, car park space, road space - so our department tests all the limits. If we push that, how far can we go, before we become non-linear and the cost becomes too much to bear? As far as we can, do not put artificial constraints on ourselves so that we will have maximum flexibility to grow, and the opportunities to grow will come to us."
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Environment and Water Resources Minister, said with more people in Singapore a balance needs to be found to maintain the environment.
He added: "The environment is an important issue. Clearly providing the necessary resources will become an important issue. But at the same time going forward, I think there will be issues of tradeoffs and compromises because resources are limited. The environment that we have build in the past 14 years painstakingly...has been noticed by international community. (This) is not something that we should give away easily."
It was a lively and candid one and a half hours of discussion with active participation from the audience, who asked questions which range from good governance to what lies ahead for Singapore.
In fact, the session was extended to cater to more questions from the floor.
Questions posed also include the issue of dual citizenship and what the leaders wish to see in 2030. - CNA/ch
I agree with the ministers logic and theory. I mean, what better way to increase economy and have more money flowing around than to have more people (Especially rich expat/millionaires) living in Singapore spending money on necessities like power, health care, mobile phones, food, CPF investments. All fantastic ideas on how to boost the economy and raise Singapore to high heights of the economic power of the world and be noticed.
Only question I have is, where are you going to house these extra million people that you want to bring in through birth or emigration? At the moment I am amazed that when an HDB flat by the gov't goes up for sale there are usually only 800 units for sale and minutes after the bidding for these places open there are already 5,000 names wanting the place. Now whether that means that there are 5000 people at the age of 30 still living at home with their parents that can not afford the resale flats and have to rely on the gov't subsidy of a $95,000 flat for just walls, floors and ceiling; or whether that means that there are at least 5000 people out there in resale flats already that want to sell their flat at a super high price ($200,000), bank the money, move into the cheaper newer flat ($85,000), fill it with appliances ($15,000) and then put their name into the bidding for a new flat and start the cycle all over again (Old flat sold = $200,000, new flat bought with appliances = $90,000, Profit = $110,000). Over in North America we call this 'house flipping' and it is a very good business if you can work it just right though sort of short changes the middle guy by the house flippers taking advantage of the subsidy and gov't generosity.
I guess this might be one thing that the ministers really dont have to consider. I mean, with a million dollar salary from their part time job as policitians and then their real salary from their full time job, not like they have to worry about space. I am sure that when they go home, sit in their spacious million dollar houses, and walk the quiet neighbourhood of the rich they figure that the whole of Singapore is like this and all are living in granduer and wealth. Figure this is the one downside (of possibly many) of Singapore politics that I am so curious as to why Singaporeans dont do anything about, or at least the opposition parties use as a platform during their very brief few days of election time every 4 years. Why have a country run by the rich for the rich when there are so many poor (or at least struggling) in Singapore. I mean, chances are they dont think of themselves as poor, but if you have 4 generations living in the same house and your grandmother is working at the local McDs or coffee shop to make ends meet, you are below the poverty line; if you are a foreign worker and have 10 people living in a 2 room flat then you are poor; if you are living cheque to cheque hoping that no one falls sick because the hospital bills themselves (even though you have minor cheap insurance) would take your entire live savings, you are poor.
Why doesnt the opposition use the platfrom "citizens of Singapore running for office to make a country for the citizens of Singapore...not for the businesses of Singapore" A country run by the people, of the people, for the people...not a gov't of corporations, for corporations, of corporations.
In the end, no matter what, I am dying to find out where this Minister plans on housing this new million that he wants Singapore to grow by, or is it a case of not his problem. He is in charge of raising the economy and money of Singapore, let the housing minister deal with where he is going to put them all. Do the ministers in Singapore actual talk together for a common goal and aim or are they just looking at 'How do I increase my side of the gov't?' and not care about the rest?
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/326498/1/.html
Singapore must build up critical mass of labour to compete well
By Hasnita Majid, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 02 February 2008 1945 hrs
Singapore needs to build up a critical mass of people in the workforce so that the country can continue to compete for good investments and good jobs.
Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Labour Chief, Lim Swee Say, said this is why Singapore needs to grow its population to 5.5 million.
Mr Lim was one of four ministers who engaged some 900 participants at the plenary session of a conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies on Friday.
Singapore is the only economy in the world with unemployment rate of 1.7 percent yet it is able to grow its economy at 7.9 percent.
And participants at the conference were told that Singapore managed to do this because of a strong workforce.
Mr Lim added: "The point here is this: every economy, if you want to keep growing faster than the rest of the world, have to build a look ahead. Where are the bottlenecks? How we can break the bottleneck and solve that bottleneck before it chokes our growth? Therefore (it) comes back to manpower. I am very sure that for us to continue to compete for good investments, for good jobs, we must have good manpower in sufficient number."
He was replying to a question on why Singapore needs to grow its population to 5.5 million.
Also giving their take on this were three other Cabinet Ministers who explained how this number will affect their respective ministries.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that in attracting such numbers, demand for healthcare services will also go up.
And he has managed to catch a glimpse of what it would be like to cater to such demand.
Mr Khaw says: "Tan Tock Seng Hospital, there was a day, for don't know what reason, January 14, was 98 percent (full) and it's almost like Hotel 81 occupancy rate. The last decade, the entry of foreign population, expats and so on (have resulted in) very sharp growth, very good for the economy."
And also good for Singapore is attracting new residents to ensure that there's enough young people in the labour force.
George Yeo, Foreign Affairs Minister, said: "Is it possible that we may need that many people if we do not want to age too much or if we need suddenly to tap upon new sources of growth. We check all types of constraints - shorelines for the ports, runways for Changi, water resources, car park space, road space - so our department tests all the limits. If we push that, how far can we go, before we become non-linear and the cost becomes too much to bear? As far as we can, do not put artificial constraints on ourselves so that we will have maximum flexibility to grow, and the opportunities to grow will come to us."
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Environment and Water Resources Minister, said with more people in Singapore a balance needs to be found to maintain the environment.
He added: "The environment is an important issue. Clearly providing the necessary resources will become an important issue. But at the same time going forward, I think there will be issues of tradeoffs and compromises because resources are limited. The environment that we have build in the past 14 years painstakingly...has been noticed by international community. (This) is not something that we should give away easily."
It was a lively and candid one and a half hours of discussion with active participation from the audience, who asked questions which range from good governance to what lies ahead for Singapore.
In fact, the session was extended to cater to more questions from the floor.
Questions posed also include the issue of dual citizenship and what the leaders wish to see in 2030. - CNA/ch
posted by Capt_Canuck at 7:58 PM
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