Time is ticking, GE (General Election) 2015 is only 3 days away. Have you decided who you would give your vote to?
I see more and more divided views from fellow netizens of the electing parties on media. Since I'm a first time voter, I would like to share my views too. I am not someone that is very into politics but I do read up on them from the papers and have some sharing with S occasionally.
Here it is...
Back then in 1965, Singapore was ousted by our current neighboring country. We became an independent republic but we had almost nothing. Our founding father, together with his team tackled major problems such as mass unemployment, housing shortages and the lack of natural resources. Singapore became how it is now. We are self sufficient. As a matter of fact, we have become the leading global city-state and island country in Southeast Asia, comparable to even European countries. So.. looking back at the past and the tremendous transformation of our home, isn't this something we should be proud of? And isn't this something a leader should lead us to?
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| Image credits to en.wikipedia.org |
Our living costs are said to be high. In fact, I think we can keep it managable. Instead of an Apple or Samsung phone, you can use some other more affordable ones. Instead of steak, you can eat chicken rice. Instead of Starbucks coffee, you can drink kopitiam kopi. It's by choice, our choice.
One of the electing parties proposed to give cash handouts for families with children below the age of 18 and basic pension for all senior citizens. By drawing the nation's reserve fund to please people and win votes? In my point of view, that's not the way it should be done. This will result in inflation. As we have that "extra" cash, we will spend more naturally. thus demand higher, prices higher. Our currencies will become smaller against the world's currencies too. Imported goods and traveling will become expensive.
As the value of our money decline, we might not be able to afford housing. When people stop buying houses, property prices fall. people without a house might think it is good. But how about the 90.3% of resident households that own a home? YOUR PROPERTY WILL DEVALUE.
If we are to use the Government reserve to handout "free" money, this will definitely help almost instantly. Money pocketed every month into almost every households as long as they have the young and the old. Where does the money come from? When the reserve dries up or not much left, Singapore will not be able to sustain in times of economy crisis. Till then, taxpayers will have to pay even more. And who are the taxpayers? The middle income and the rich. They might feel unfair and probably might find all sorts of ways to avoid taxes. Middle income group is largely made up of the SMEs. If they are make to pay heavier taxes then, they will not be able to give the employees salary. Are the "help" from the cash handouts really help for us?
Quoted from a member of an electing party, "There are Singaporeans who know how to invest money, and this group of people, at age 55, should have the choice to take that money out and make their own investments, which may give them better returns than the small CPF returns we are getting.
"Let us have the choice. If people say 'I need the money', maybe let him withdraw half and keep the other half as earning interest. At 55, we want the right to have our money back."
Oh yes, there sure are Singaporeans who know how to invest money. But how many are there? And are the investments safe proof? Feels like gambling to me. Lets say one is allow to withdraw CPF for investment and it didn't go well, should he seek assistance from the government or social welfare? What if more of us make a wrong move in our investments? All fellow taxpayers ready to help these misfortunate people? I would say current system is on a safer side, making sure we are self sufficient for basic living.
In my opinion, I think foreign talents and immigrants are needed in our country too. For example, the 2 casinos in Singapore are owned by foreigners. Yes, some netizens gambled all their savings. Addicted gamblers will find every possible way to gamble even without casinos in Singapore. Think about it, more of us actually benefited from them. They help to boost the Singapore economy by bringing up the international visitors rate and most importantly, created many job opportunities for us. .Netizens assume foreign workers continue to fill jobs that they believe should be theirs. Are we ready to build homes with bricks and cement at construction sites? Are we ready to work long hours in our service industry (eg. restaurants) everyday? Can we not take sick leave or leave a day before/after a PH? Can we not report sick when we have what it seems like just a morning sinus (late night partying last night actually)?
All in all, a revolutionary change in government can possibly result in the fall of our gross domestic product (GDP). Big MNCs and foreign companies will withdraw from our country when they see no potential growth in our economy. We will be left with local SMEs which might not have sufficient funds to keep their businesses running and contribute to most of our citizens' salaries.
I wouldn't say current situation is the best. I think they can do more by reducing the earnings from Singaporeans through. Lesser taxes payable (ERP, Income Tax, GST etc). I agree that higher paid government jobs will mean transparency in the country, corruption free and talented people. But I feel that the figures on their payrolls are quite steep.
No one is perfect, we should always remember to look at the bigger picture and not just merely magnifying some of the flaws. In my opinion, they have done more good than bad for us through all these years.
A popular youtube music video has been circulating online, "the train broke down, we must walk home". If I'm not wrong, we have to walk home everyday if we didn't have the train.
"squeeze bus, squeeze MRT". Here's a photo of the subway in New York:
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image credits to http://cce-wakata.blogspot.sg/
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If cars are made very affordable in Singapore by reducing/abolishing COE for Singaporeans as what many want, we will never have to squeeze in the train. Because we will have in the cars, squeezing on the road.
"When one drinks water, one must not forget where it comes from."
I shall end here before I think of more and start ranting on and on..
Last of all...
BE CAREFUL, VOTE WISELY.
