Cut and paste my reply at another forum to here too, context of response is about setting floor price for govt land sales prices in Singapore.
PAP needs to give other political parties a chance to groom the next Lee Kuan Yew.
About a quota system for work permits, I've always been advocating that all along both to streamline and better transparency/ oversight of the ~S$4billion p.a. revenue worker levy collection system as well as to contribute to an edusave fund which every Singaporean (in this rapidly changing world, especially as a passenger in sampan2.0)- as important as is medisave- everyone should have edusave till they are old (too sick to work).
But unlike car COE which is a smaller issue, I doubt the MOM (on their cushy chairs) have the grumption to implement such far sighted a system (neither have Singaporeans awakened from their slumber to feel need for an adult CPF edusave scheme)
The benefit of labeling the govt land sales programme as a fully market based system is to allow land sales to be priced according to market demand. Unfortunately, as the last MND minister Mah Bow Tan (MBT) decreed: that HDB would be a forever appreciating investment, the PAP govt then has to 'insure' Singaporeans who have taken Mr MBT's words too seriously and borrowed (leveraged) much to invest in property, then a drastic fall in property prices (aka like case of S$1 COE)- this would be extremely disastrous if not destabilizing as the MBT hyper-inflated property bubble suddenly deflates if a property price fall resulted in a greater fall as banks, afraid of unpaid mortgages, either raised interest rates or even fire sold mortgaged properties on the open market.
Guess there are many competing interest/ concerns to be considered- and just like elections in Singapore, there are many other competing concerns that make a totally free system no more than just a pipe dream. What remains important I hope however, is that in every decision, moral concerns are not forgotten.
The bible does after all say ~ Matthew 25:40: "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"- (NIV)- with many other mainstream religions expounding quite the same.
Just as the Singapore govt has the right to decide when to sell a piece of land, the number of COEs to release, the number of PR/ citizenships to release, it too has the right to decide what the minimum price a piece of land should cost (just like any land owner) since any less would be shortchanging the nation's coffers- the concept of market based pricing is in the wider market where there are minimal restrictions on land ownership (unlike say N Korea where there are probably more rules, many premised on one's comnections with the Kim dynasty).
Singapore has come quite far, compared to the economy, political interlectuality and creativity in Singapore is the aspect of life that is today most lacking. The PAP has admitted that it does not have anyone the stature of Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) in cabinet today, the least it should do would be to give other political parties an equal/ fighting chance to groom the next LKY- to me, that would be the professional thing to do- let the fight to be captain of Sampan2.0 be a fair and equal one.
Tks for reading my opinion.
PAP needs to give other political parties a chance to groom the next Lee Kuan Yew.
Jarlaxle said:
Hi Jarl, to ask why market priced land has a floor price to is is like asking why in democratic Singapore, GRC election culture mandates that: big party good, small party bad- the system, is afterall built by persons with the incumbent's political interest in mind- (avoiding property price crashes in the former, defending political partisan interest in the second (GRC system of elections enables gerrymandering and causes unnecessary prejudice against independents and smaller political establishments).Jarlaxle said:
About a quota system for work permits, I've always been advocating that all along both to streamline and better transparency/ oversight of the ~S$4billion p.a. revenue worker levy collection system as well as to contribute to an edusave fund which every Singaporean (in this rapidly changing world, especially as a passenger in sampan2.0)- as important as is medisave- everyone should have edusave till they are old (too sick to work).
But unlike car COE which is a smaller issue, I doubt the MOM (on their cushy chairs) have the grumption to implement such far sighted a system (neither have Singaporeans awakened from their slumber to feel need for an adult CPF edusave scheme)
The benefit of labeling the govt land sales programme as a fully market based system is to allow land sales to be priced according to market demand. Unfortunately, as the last MND minister Mah Bow Tan (MBT) decreed: that HDB would be a forever appreciating investment, the PAP govt then has to 'insure' Singaporeans who have taken Mr MBT's words too seriously and borrowed (leveraged) much to invest in property, then a drastic fall in property prices (aka like case of S$1 COE)- this would be extremely disastrous if not destabilizing as the MBT hyper-inflated property bubble suddenly deflates if a property price fall resulted in a greater fall as banks, afraid of unpaid mortgages, either raised interest rates or even fire sold mortgaged properties on the open market.
Guess there are many competing interest/ concerns to be considered- and just like elections in Singapore, there are many other competing concerns that make a totally free system no more than just a pipe dream. What remains important I hope however, is that in every decision, moral concerns are not forgotten.
The bible does after all say ~ Matthew 25:40: "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"- (NIV)- with many other mainstream religions expounding quite the same.
Just as the Singapore govt has the right to decide when to sell a piece of land, the number of COEs to release, the number of PR/ citizenships to release, it too has the right to decide what the minimum price a piece of land should cost (just like any land owner) since any less would be shortchanging the nation's coffers- the concept of market based pricing is in the wider market where there are minimal restrictions on land ownership (unlike say N Korea where there are probably more rules, many premised on one's comnections with the Kim dynasty).
Singapore has come quite far, compared to the economy, political interlectuality and creativity in Singapore is the aspect of life that is today most lacking. The PAP has admitted that it does not have anyone the stature of Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) in cabinet today, the least it should do would be to give other political parties an equal/ fighting chance to groom the next LKY- to me, that would be the professional thing to do- let the fight to be captain of Sampan2.0 be a fair and equal one.
Tks for reading my opinion.
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