The only way he could prove the government’s commitment would be to use a formula similar to this: Take Low Thia Kiang’s suggestion that top ministerial salaries pegged to a MULTIPLE of the lowest income bracket salary, and add another peg to the 80th percentile of Singaporean salaries, whichever is LOWER. Understand the difference between satisfaction and passion: High pay may amount to higher satisfaction, but makes little difference in motivation and passion. My formula has a three-pronged approach: First, weed out those who are purely in government for the money. Second, give a cash incentive for the government as a whole to close the income gap. Third, keeps them more in touch with the average Singaporean: I mean when is the last time a minister took a bus/train, tried to get a cab or drove his own car down the CTE at rush hour?

So why do I think that ministers should not be paid top dollar? Well, imagine the day when parents everywhere tell their kids, “I don’t want you to be a doctor, scientist, engineer etc… I want you to grow up to be an administrator. Start pushing paper and creating red tape once you can read!” I’m not trying to be unreasonable. I understand the need for leaders, especially in our competitive region. But all studies show that income gap actually widens more acutely at the top tier, and guess where our ministers’ choose to peg themselves to?

That’s exactly right, they choose to elevate themselves to the elite level and can choose to simply give themselves a raise unilaterally, no vote required. Isn’t that in fact, PM actively choosing to widen the income gap further? Earning more than 80% of the population should mean that one is by no means poorly paid, right? If these “talents” we choose to retain need more money, then they should by all means join the private sector where they can easily be retrenched based on performance. My mom told me he mentioned Tiger Woods: Come on lah… worst example ever, as his earning are directly pegged to his performance. His shelf life is based on when his muscles/skills give way and a newer, stronger model replaces him. He proves he is the best every single day, to all challengers, no excuses/exceptions. Where is the PAP versus rest of the world’s governments? Number 1 in pay by far, at best top 5 in any other real world benchmark (that I can find).

Talking about performance, they burden us with higher taxes, and then say they are doing a good job? Well done. I see the government’s moves as very anti-competitive, the antithesis of everything they say. You pay top dollar to retain “talent”, effectively excluding these doctors, scientists, engineers from the private sector where they can put their talent and passion to good use. Who knows, the next big innovation could have come from one of them, instead we stick them behind a desk and ask that they run a country. If money is all that is needed to attract the right brains, maybe less of it is needed to see who has the right hearts.

So don’t talk of lessening the income gap, then take action to widen it. Actions speak louder than words. What about quality of life and work/life balance? Keeping retirees in the workforce artificially means fewer jobs/promotions for the younger generation, and leaves older workers no choice but to keep working. Very unhealthy. Can you blog about that? How their overall actions rarely benefit the people; one step forward, 2 steps back…

Thanks for the comment, especially the part on the failure of the CPF scheme. I will think about it and comment in another entry.

1) Look into expanding your horizons overseas. Getting overseas/international work experience will do wonders for your resume. The decision to return to Singapore after your overseas stint will be up to you but you will gain a lot from it. Working overseas might make you more money, get your more work connections/opportunities and maybe even give you an exit strategy from this island if you choose to. You can also return to the island as a “foreign talent” and be treated in a different light compared to locals. That’s how Singapore inc. works.

2) Remain on the island, live the normal Singapore grad life and suck it up. Dump a huge amount of your CPF on a HDB flat, slave for the rest of your life worrying about job security, a government that is gradually degrading overtime due to increasing incompetence and finally lack of funds when you want to retire but can’t.

You are still young and it’s not too late to make a choice. Don’t do it when you hit the late 30s or early 40s and are bogged down with a house and kids. If you realise it only by then, you are truly fucked.