Discussion Session on Singapore's Economy.

[streetcry]

Saturday, 05 December 2009

The Reform Party Secretary General, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, is hosting a discussion session on Singapore's economy. Specifically, Kenneth will discuss our proposal for a minimum wage and other measures advocated by the Reform Party to improve the living standards of the majority of ordinary Singaporeans.

Join us on 5th Dec 2009, Sat @ 1:30pm at RELC hotel, 30 Orange Grove Road
Location : RELC hotel, 30 Orange Grove Road
http://www.relcih.com.sg/location.html

http://www.thereformparty.net/index...&uid=43b12af22bce9da070412ae6ca512eec&lang=en

 

[leetahbar]

if sdppies infiltrate the talk, then i m afraid the whole session is being kelonged

 

[exSINgaporean]

Saturday, 05 December 2009

The Reform Party Secretary General, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, is hosting a discussion session on Singapore's economy. Specifically, Kenneth will discuss our proposal for a minimum wage and other measures advocated by the Reform Party to improve the living standards of the majority of ordinary Singaporeans.

Join us on 5th Dec 2009, Sat @ 1:30pm at RELC hotel, 30 Orange Grove Road
Location : RELC hotel, 30 Orange Grove Road
http://www.relcih.com.sg/location.html

http://www.thereformparty.net/index...&uid=43b12af22bce9da070412ae6ca512eec&lang=en

Singapore is getting from bad to worse.



Now even one person is "too many" and can be arrested fro protesting or just seen to "promote a cause" or worse...oppose the government.



What the hell is going on in Singapore?



When the caSINos open up next year there will be lots of broken homes and murder sucides bec. there is not much way for Singapore to escape and now the casinos serve as a convenient conduit for them to espace from reality for a little while. However it will cost them their bank account, car, house and eventually family.



It has proven that the gambling addiction of the population increases with the promixity of the casinos. And it is a fact that Chinese gambles the most and among the Chinese, Singapore Chinese top the list. It is because they are the most suppressed and has the least number of ways to release or escape.



Couple to that, the element of FEAR (fear of the government, the authority, the management, the army officers etc) and their

low self-esteem would convince them that gambling in the high class air-conditioned casinos, which are now approved by the righteous PAP government (never-can-do-wrong-type) looks relatively less evil and convenient. In other words, they find freedom and even "safety" in gambling.



it would not take long...the most 6 months...many Singaporean families will be destroyed by this government's about-turn policy in casino. What's worse is that they are here to stay and after visiting the casinos in Les Vegas, LKY even hinted SINgapore could have "MORE THAN TWO"...just like the current population slogan.



The WORST is yet to come....very soon.

 

[streetcry]

The Reform Party's Photos - Walk About Session

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=4&aid=172695&id=178607321109

 

[scroobal]

Here is a tip to Reform Party or anyonne else who want to raise this issue of minimum wages.


Don't base having min wages legislation on better living standards. It can be easily countered by stating that Singapore has one of the highest standards of living, certainly in the 3rd world. Singapore data covers all nationalities including foreign workers.

The argument should be that min wage legislation is required to protect jobs of Singaporeans and therefore livelihood of Singaporeans. The trend in Singapore has been to counter increasing business cost mainly rentals by undercutting wages. In 1995, a cleaner with experience can easily draw $1,200 and this task were mainly done by the elderly. They looked after themselves with such earnings in country that does not have a welfare safety net.

Now cleaners are lucky to cross $600 to $800 bracket. And its no cleaners alone, we are talking about cashiers, programmers, receptionists etc whose base salary has plunged drammatically.

Either Govt steps in stop Temasek and its subsidaries like Mapletree, Capitaland charging high rentals to bring down cost or they have min wage legislation that will force it down. $20M bonus to Liew of Capitaland while Singaporeans lose their jobs is a joke and disaster.

Furthermore, min wage legislation will force employers to be more productive. Instead of having 5 workers digging a trench, more automation and better use of labour should be the norm.

Saturday, 05 December 2009

The Reform Party Secretary General, Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, is hosting a discussion session on Singapore's economy. Specifically, Kenneth will discuss our proposal for a minimum wage and other measures advocated by the Reform Party to improve the living standards of the majority of ordinary Singaporeans.

Join us on 5th Dec 2009, Sat @ 1:30pm at RELC hotel, 30 Orange Grove Road
Location : RELC hotel, 30 Orange Grove Road
http://www.relcih.com.sg/location.html

http://www.thereformparty.net/index...&uid=43b12af22bce9da070412ae6ca512eec&lang=en

 

[streetcry]

The Reform Party Economic Policy Proposals

Extracted from The Reform Party economic policy discussion session on 5 Dec 09 at RELC hotel.

Minimum Wage

• Real earnings for less‐skilled workers falling because of competition from foreign workers. Average monthly income of bottom 20% of households fell from $1,309 in 1997/98 to $1,274 in 2007/08. Over this period the CPI rose by 15%.

• In absence of minimum wage with current liberal foreign worker policy no reason why ultimately the real wages of those in the bottom 20% should not fall to levels of India, the Philippines, Burma and China.

• Suggested level of minimum wage around $5 per hour to provide minimum income of $1,000 per month for 200 hours.

• Exemptions for older workers and lower minimum for young workers below the age of 25

• Sectors in which Singaporeans do not work, e.g. domestic workers and construction, to be exempted from minimum wage

Productivity

• Singapore has poor record on productivity which has been falling since 2007. In 2008 labour productivity fell by 8% and continued to decline in 2009.

• Productivity record particularly poor in comparison with other countries such as the USA where labour productivity has continued to rise strongly even during recession.

• Companies have no incentive to raise productivity when they can bring in foreign workers at lower wage rates than they are currently paying their Singapore workforce.

• GDP growth of poor quality because wholly achieved by increasing the workforce rather than producing more with same workforce.

• Ultimately Singaporean living standards can only rise if we increase the productivity of Singaporean workers.

• Reform Party will focus on raising investment in education and training as best way to improve quality of our own people rather than rely so much on skilled foreign labour.

Education and Training

• Our government currently spends only about 2.8% of GDP on education which is very low compared to other developed countries. Both UK and US spend over 5% each while Sweden spends 8%.

• The Reform Party will raise spending on education to improve the quality of teaching and reduce class sizes. This will be funded by savings in other areas or by a smaller surplus or borrowing from reserves.

• Current favourable international comparisons largely due to exclusion from sample of pupils performing less well, e.g. ITE stream and children with disabilities.

• Expand tertiary education in Singapore and increase loan schemes for
Singaporeans

• Foreign students to pay the full cost of their education unless they do National Service.

• Mothers back to work specific training scheme for women away from the work place in excess of two years. Free or means tested after school care in after school and homework clubs to help working mothers in recognition of the decline of the extended family network.

Immigration and Foreign Workers

• Conduct a transparent cost‐benefit analysis of current government policy of allowing liberal use of foreign labour at all levels focusing on impact on average Singaporean

• No change in current policies for sectors where Singaporeans do not work, e.g. Domestic workers and construction.

• Move to points‐based system so we give priority to workers with special skills the economy needs

• Place obligation on employers to demonstrate positions cannot be filled locally first.

• Bar employers from being able to sack their Singaporean workers to bring in cheaper workers from overseas except in failing business cases.

• Level the playing field by bringing foreign workers within the CPF scheme and taxing them at a higher rate to compensate for the fact that they are not required to do NS or reservist training.

Privatisation of SWFs

• Increased disclosure and transparency of the accounts of GIC and Temasek.

• The Reform Party would set up a committee to examine possible privatisation of GIC and Temasek with distribution of shares to Singapore citizens as one option. Alternatively direct linkage between returns on investments and CPF returns.

• No convincing economic reason for government to continue to hold controlling stakes in most of the major Singaporean companies as these are now largely mature and slow‐growing.

• The Reform Party would the size of the state sector by selling off or privatizing the GLCs and focus on the private sector as the engine of growth and wealth creation

• This can be coupled with the retention of a “golden share” in government hands if necessary to prevent foreign takeovers that are deemed not to be in the national interest.

Increasing Domestic Consumption

• Currently Singapore has one of the lowest shares of employment income and also of domestic consumption in GDP at around 40%.

• Our external savings in the form of our current account surplus is also one of the highest in the world at around 20% of GDP.

• Singaporeans are foregoing consumption and living in poverty so that we can accumulate unproductive overseas assets far beyond what is required for exchange rate stabilisation or prudent reserve management

• The Reform Party would increase domestic investment and consumption by increasing government spending in areas with a high social rate of return, such as education and health while cueng taxes and fees on the less well‐off, e.g. GST reductions or exemptions, reduction in HDB fees, abolition of school fees etc.

• The Reform Party would also maintain or increase infrastructure spending so as to ensure that Singapore maintains its attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment while at the same time conducting a more rigorous cost‐benefit analysis to ensure money is spent effectively.

Liberal Tax and Investment Regime

• The Reform Party would maintain the current liberal foreign investment and trade regime in line with its emphasis on liberal free‐market policies.

• Burden of corporate and personal taxation to be kept low so as to maintain Singapore’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment.

• Focus on nurturing and supporting domestic entrepreneurs through tax breaks and subsidies rather than on government control of economic activity through GLCs

• The Reform Party will place particular emphasis on green and energy‐saving technologies going beyond the present government’s efforts and aim to help local SMEs take advantage of opportunities arising from current global carbon reduction efforts

• The Reform Party will examine competition policy with a view to strengthening it and making it more pro‐consumer if necessary. Increased regulatory scrutiny or introduction of greater competition into sectors, such as public transport, currently excluded from the Competition Act.

Housing Policy

• The Reform Party will focus on improving the affordability of housing particularly for first‐time buyers and those on low incomes.

• It will push for increased transparency of the HDB’s accounts and examine the conflict of interest and anti‐competitive nature of the government’s position as a major landowner and its position as a property developer through the HDB.

• The Reform Party will examine why HDB building programme has slowed right down since 2000 and the effect this and the failure to build cheaper units is having in pushing up property prices at the lower end.

• Require HDB to build more of the cheaper 2 and 3 room units or for URA to release more land to private developers of low‐cost housing.

• The Reform Party will seek to introduce greater competition from the private sector into the provision of low‐cost public housing.

CPF and Healthcare

• The Reform Party will push for privatization of CPF after part has been used to fund a genuine public health insurance scheme and to fund a basic pension for all Singaporeans who have paid CPF for a certain number of years.

• All Singaporeans should be covered for basic health care and hospitalization expenses, not only for catastrophic illnesses, without regard to the ability to pay and without being excluded for pre‐existing conditions.

• After these expenses are met, it will be up to the individual to decide how much they wish to save (up to the current CPF limits) but they will lose tax exemption if money is withdrawn early. CPF can continue to be used for housing.

 

[scroobal]

Excellent. Real good and practical stuff. Clearly these have been well thought through and singaporean in context unlike some that tend to be generic and politically correct.

Now the need to break it down to HDBspeak. Concentrate on the key issues and leave out the rest.

A very good example of something to take out

"The Reform Party will place particular emphasis on green and energy‐saving technologies going beyond the present government’s efforts and aim to help local SMEs take advantage of opportunities arising from current global carbon reduction efforts"

Sheer waste of time and space. HDB land not interested in green and energy savings when jobs and lack of welfare net is an issue. SMEs are firmly in PAP's court and they have been drip fed for decades. They also form the backbone of grassroots leadership. They also know that RP is unlikely to form Govt or speak about the subject in parliament. The govt has also invested heavily in this sector. Unless the point was the address the bourgeois members.

On the topic of bourgeois, looks like the members drive their own cars to meetings. Take a stab at Transportation issues for Singaporeans. ERP, crowded but highly profitable MRT, blatant drop in bus service standards, unclear and roller coaster ride of taxi pricing over the last decade. By the sheer number of letters to the press on this subject, common sense would have said that it is a hot button subject to the man on th street.

Will add more later.

ps. I am all for you guys to make a huge dent on the PAP, so the critique is meant well.

 

[streetcry]

Reform Party is continuing its programme of walkabouts this Sunday (13th December 2009) and will be targeting Hong Kah and Chua Chu Kang, among other constituencies. This is despite not knowing whether they will disappear or be drastically altered as a result of the planned changes. We will be visiting Block 143, Teck Whye Lane starting from 8am. We will be covering the food centre, market and shops. The primary purpose of the walkabout is to introduce the Reform Party and its leadership to the Chua Chu Kang electorate. We look forward to meeting you and extending our grassroots reach. Please click on this link for a map of the area:

Released by the Reform Party’s CEC:

Kenneth Jeyaretnam

Edmund Ng

James Teo

Tony Tan

Justin Ong

Amy Lui

Mohammed Affendy

Quek Teow Chuan

Tan Tee Seng