Greedy Singaporeans
I just heard over radio today that some Singaporeans are grumbling that the government is giving out only $1.8 billion dollars back to Singaporeans, considering that the budget surplus was $6.4 billion last year.
Sometimes, my fellow countrymen just annoy the life out of me. Give them money, they complain it’s too little. However, if they are not given money, they complain that the government is squeezing them dry. *shakes head*
Overall, I don’t think there’s much to complain about the budget in 2008. The Singapore government has shown that good times, the government will share some surplus with Singaporeans. I’m sure the skeptics will have something to say but I think that Singaporeans should be fair to the government and give them credit for this Growth Dividend.
While the distribution of some surplus back to ordinary folks is a good thing in principle, I believe more can be done in reality when times are good. I’m not as greedy as some of my countrymen. All I ask for is that employer CPF rates be further increased. I’m sure that this can be done since the economy is doing well. I can accept that we need to cut employer CPF contribution rates to keep business costs down to save jobs when times are bad. However, this should be matched with a corresponding restoration when times are good.
If we can react quickly to cut CPF contribution rates to save jobs when times are bad, I sure we can react with the same speed when times are good. If the government wants to pursue the principle of sharing growth with Singaporeans, I think there’s more that can be done other than a one-time handout.
To all comments on this blog:
this IS Aaron’s blog, and isn’t the reason he started it was to pen down his thoughts and opinions? Look, if he wants to call Singaporeans greedy, who are WE to judge him or ask him to apologize? Remember, the Internet is a FREE domain, where a moderator should be allowed to voice himself FREELY.
Aaron, kudos to you for having to support your blog and such comments, sometimes it amazes me that people can take such dim-witted views on life. Also, it’s hilarious when someone like Ah Kow, comments on your English, and then proceeds to make horrendous spelling errors in his comments.
Take care…
So are all of us at fault to debate on whether Singaporeans are greedy or not? if the Internet is a FREE domain, then naturally there will be people who are just here to abuse it. And yes, who are WE to judge him, perhaps I try not to judge him, but can you really NOT judge?
I don’t think discourse is based on pure subjectivity, we can only approach objectivity by having a broad spectrum of opinions – yes, even those of the disgruntled and those who are just here to stir up trouble. Because you can’t ever be rid of such folks.
eeliza and guojun,
Thanks for the support but I think that as a free speech advocate, I will defend their right to judge me or ask me to apologize. However, I didn’t like that the discussion got personal at times and I don’t like to engage when the discussion gets personal because it’s not contributing to the discussion. It’s one thing to have an opinion of people in general but it’s another thing to specifically label people as XYZ. Also, I didn’t like the fact that there are people who disagree and insist that they are right. If things were so straightforward, we won’t even need to discuss in the first place. Of course, when there’s free speech, there are bound to be some nasties. They have a right to speak too but if we don’t like what they say, just exercise your right not to engage. There are alot more people who are worthy of your time to engage in a discussion with, and it’s because of these folks that I can put up with the nasties.
Singaporeans are becoming more and more complacent. They think that the government will take care of them. They are unable to go through hardship and are unwilling to work 18 hours a day. They are so greedy that they think they are entitled to overtime pay when workers are supposed to do work and not suck money from employers who are kind enough to give them work to do. Yeah!!! send those greed bastards to us and we’ll exploit them! http://www.greedypeople.com