Singapore Matters

2022-06-18 04:49:17 ​​Chicken farmers in Malaysia face rising costs due to steep rises in the cost of chicken feed. This, in turn, results in rises in the price of chickens. Imagine the impact of raising the minimum wage on farmers already struggling with rising costs.

Raising the minimum wage to cope with inflation is more a political solution than a practical one. It's easy to do and good for politicians seen as having heart. But does it solve any problem? Global inflation affects everyone, from businesses to consumers.

Wages must be pecked to productivity.

Some gave the counter argument that the Progressive Wage Model also has a minimum wage feature in it.

The differences, friends, are many.

There is really nothing wrong with the minimum wage per se. Indeed, there is a place for a minimum wage to prevent exploitation of workers. But how it is being achieved is important.

The PWM is sector-specific. The min wage of a sector-specific wage model is not arbitrarily set. This is important. It is carefully negotiated between stakeholders - employers and unions - and set at a sustainable level. This is very important. It was not done in a day. Much effort is put into it to find an optimal wage level. The PWM is therefore hard work. The min wage in a PWM is also pecked to productivity with progressive steps. This is why it works.

The Opposition has often complained that it takes so long for a PWM to be introduced. It is precisely because of the aforementioned points that getting a PWM done takes time. It is certainly not a lazy solution. Open / Comment

2022-06-17 09:59:53 After working so hard with many sleepless nights to keep Singapore and Singaporeans safe in this pandemic, the Government still has to face this sort of thing.

Apart from Ms Han, the other five applicants named in the judgement were Sng Su Hui, Yeo Sheau Yuen, Lim Beng Kwang, Lawrence Simon Anthony and Muhammad Faizal Mustafa.

Guess who their lawyer is? Lim Tean.

Our civil servants are kept extra busy and resources needlessly spent because of them. Open / Comment

2022-06-17 06:11:51 Raise minimum wage to help with inflation? If only the solution is so simple.

We all know that consumers will bear the bulk of the cost of increasing the minimum wage. Just ask Jamus.

Stirrers are everywhere offering simplistic and appealing solutions that are no solutions at all. Not only that, they also put words in the mouth of the minister.

There are 500,000 pioneers and 450,000 Mederka generation Singaporeans. Together, they form almost 1 million of the 3.6 million Singaporeans. When more of them go into retirement, there will be less revenue from income taxes as our workforce shrinks. Meanwhile, spending in healthcare will go up steeply.

The government is not raising GST to help you with inflation. What a blatant lie. The government is raising GST to ensure that spending is sustainable. It matters to YOU and to everyone that spending must be sustainable. Open / Comment

2022-06-16 05:51:12 Not possible to please everyone!

When SERS was first announced for the 4 blocks in AMK, some were quick to ask: why AMK? Why not elsewhere where the flats are just as old or older?

Then it became an issue with compensation. Maybe some expect to get a one-for-one free exchange. But that cannot be the way. It should be a fair exchange and not free exchange as not all flat owners have the same financial situation. Some flats are fully paid up, some are not. Some are bought directly from HDB and some are bought on the resale market. Some spent a bomb renovating their flats, some just renovate simply. So the circumstances are all different.

𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐎𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐇𝐃𝐁 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐒. Open / Comment

2022-06-16 04:30:57 4 people were admitted to hospitals for cannibis overdose, 1 later died.

After decriminalising cannabis, Bangkok governor Chadchart said his administration would 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐬 and 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐬-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞.

What a way.

Rasmon Kalayasiri, director of the Centre for Addiction Study at Chulalongkorn University, said she has not seen any measures to help prevent cannabis abuse or control cannabis use in food. Excessive amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis, mixed in ordinary food can make people intoxicated.

"What I am concerned about the most is cannabis use among adolescents as it is toxic and could damage brain cells," she said.

She said her team found that the government's cannabis policy has encouraged youths to use cannabis.

Now, you've got to be careful when you eat in Thailand because you don't know if the substance is used in cooking. Open / Comment

2022-06-15 06:14:33 If you care, you will take time to explain to the elderly affected what this all means.

The flat in question has an existing loan of $258k. It is not fully paid-up.

The replacement flat will need a $187k cash payment after all factors taken into consideration.

In other words, the owners concerned are exchanging their old flat with 56 years of lease left and a loan repayment of $258k for a brand new flat with a 99-year lease and a loan repayment of $187k.

One must also take into account that the total cost of the new flat include an additional 43-year lease compared to the old flat.

A point to note is that it is unlikely that this home owner (photo) is a senior as he has a high outstanding loan of $258k AS WELL AS $186k available savings in his CPF. Open / Comment

2022-06-14 09:44:11 Honestly speaking, it takes discipline to exercise. Without discipline, even if you work just 4 days a week, you will still find reasons not to exercise. What do you think? Open / Comment

2022-06-14 04:49:12 Thankful for a government that works for the people.

#overheard

Here it comes, good quality chicken from Australia. The agriculture authorities in Australia are very strict on how farming and rearing of meat and poultry is carried out which means we will be having better quality and healthier chickens in Singapore soon. Thankful that we have very hardworking and resourceful people in our government and nation who are able to turn round any adversity we face and come out even stronger. And once again, we have proven again that Singapore have a 'never die' attitude, we will face every adversity and quickly turn things around in our favor, that we are a nation not to messed about with. Open / Comment

2022-06-13 05:01:01 Wealth tax? The question has never been one of whether to tax wealth but how to do it effectively: Indranee

Europe's experiment with wealth tax failed. For Singapore, it's never a question of whether to tax wealth but how to do it effectively so that it works and is sustainable, says Second Minister for Finance Indranee.

WP Jamus cited Switzerland as an example of a country that has succeeded with wealth tax. But even with its 'success', the amount of revenue they collected from net wealth tax, estate duty and property-related tax is 1.9% of GDP. This is comparable to Singapore’s wealth tax revenue at about 1.8% of our GDP.

#competitive #Inequality #revenue #Sustainability #Switzerland #Taxes #wealthtax

https://sgmatters.com/wealth-tax-the-question-has-never-been-one-of-whether-to-tax-wealth-but-how-to-do-it-effectively-indranee/ Open / Comment

2022-06-13 04:01:13 The Asian way, says Indonesia's Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on Saturday (June 11).

He stressed Asian nations' prerogative to use their own brand of diplomacy to resolve the geopolitical challenges that come their way, as he expounded on the rationale behind his country's choice not to take sides in international conflicts.

"We are the most affected by big-power competition, and therefore… we have come to our own - the Asian way - of resolving these challenges. Our common experience of being dominated, enslaved, exploited, has forced us now to strive to create a peaceful environment, one of friendship.

"We have our differences, we have competing territorial claims… but our view is that we must strive for understanding, for communication, and we are proud that we have… achieved nearly 50 years of peace, friendly cooperation and prosperity."

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesia-stresses-asian-way-for-resolving-challenges-in-a-multipolar-region Open / Comment