Hope For Singapore?

[Leongsam]

Seems like you are more concerned with the Indian invasion. These are not Tamils.

Do you not see the ramifications of this seemingly innocuous move?

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

Singapore is pretty much doomed for the following reasons.

2) I see no economic model that can sustain it at the current level of prosperity over the long term. It's not suited for manufacturing because of the lack of land and it has little else to offer the rest of the world that cannot be easily replicated somewhere else.

That's the reason why the pap insists on building so much reserves. The external investment is supposed to provide for both returns and liquidity when SG economic model goes south. Do note that citizens have no say over how the reserves are managed.

 

[Leongsam]

That's the reason why the pap insists on building so much reserves. The external investment is supposed to provide for both returns and liquidity when SG economic model goes south. Do note that citizens have no say over how the reserves are managed.

That would be an excellent strategy. The country could pretty much retire and live off the interest.:p

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

1. Self indulged fear. If you are nice to the 300 million there will be no problem. It is the suspicious mind of our leaders that leads to problems. For example, LKY feared Malaysia will cut our water supply and started to spite them with our Shitt Water. And if our leaders don't like the surrounding...ship Singapore out to US or Antarctic.

3.If the people are intelligent, hard working and respected they will hold power regardless of race or size of population. Fujimori, a Japanese ruled Peru for 10 years. Another example is Penang. The Malaysian government could have stopped the water supply or even poisoned the chinese majority there.

You have international politics all backwards. Being nice on the world stage does not bring you friends. Self interest rules the day, and all political calculations are made on long term economic considerations.

In order to survive in the hostile region, SG needs the USA as a strategic ally. Why do you think we are such a stooge of US foreign policy and not to mention, the liberal use of naval bases, etc? What SG needs is not elimination of threat (which is impossible), but balance of power -- and that is also what the USA seeks to achieve in the Pacific. Since our interests are so much aligned with theirs, is it any wonder we spread legs to let USA screw w/o condom?

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

SG can use deterence and diplomacy to balance our relationship with our neighbours. No need to be too agressive all the time. Give and take may be best and less expensive too.

If we all live harmoniously in the region, the whole place will prosper. Trust and goodwill go a long way to build sound relationships.

Of course sometimes there will be hiccups but built up goodwill will help repair the relationship

Diplomacy is just a facade on the international stage. You do know that Malaysia has always lashed out at us whenever it served their domestic political interest, not necessarily when ties were bad. And you also do know that Indonesia will forever remain a significant security threat because of radical Islamic elements, which no amount of diplomacy can resolve.

The only methods are deterrence and alliance with the USA.

Singapore has no natural resources and the land under our charge is geographically insignificant. There is no way we can pull power on the regional stage apart from being a source of investment. We are not Iran, we cannot block the Strait of Hormuz (or the Strait if Malacca) to threaten people. And diplomacy can only serve to put us in a good light and make the other party look bad for lashing out, buying us a few precious moments, but nothing further. So the best counter is to spread legs to USA.

 

[TracyTan866]

There is hope for Singapore if we stop the greeds.
We have transformed from a swamp to what we are today and the miws still propelling forward for more.
LKY has sucessfully transferred the power to his son and he still wants more.
We have enough water from 3 reservoirs and a Shiit Plant but he blocks the water from discharging to the sea cos' he still wants more.
We have save a gigantic reserves to back up GIC and Temasek in case they fail because he wants more.
We increase the population to enhance the GDP because he wants more.
We are already well known in the world but he still wants more.
We have enough intelligent and hard working ciitizens and he still wants more.

The creator or God if you believe in one, creates enough for everybody but he cannot create enough for the greedy.

WOW!!! You got talent:-)

 

[TracyTan866]

With the old man gone, his son will feel insecure. He is likely going to consolidate power by appointing more cronies to key positions or give the existing ones more perks to strengthen their support for him. The 60% will continue to bend over to be screwed. Same old, same old.

That will be bad and will accelerate the Crumble of Singapore

 

[TracyTan866]

He may also remove the more "progressive" party members to quash potential rebellions. Amendments will be made to the law to prosecute dissenters more effectively. The online media will be more tightly controlled. There will be a sudden spike in the number of "new citizens", which translates to more votes for them in the next GE.

The 60% will continue to bend over to be screwed. Same old, same old.

That will be very bad for Singapore. But I trust Singaporeans have enough wisdom and courage to stop such a situation from occuring

 

[TracyTan866]

With the MIW around,Singaporeans are doomed !No hope!

I agree with you. But Singaporeans can stop the MIW

 

[TracyTan866]

That's the reason why the pap insists on building so much reserves. The external investment is supposed to provide for both returns and liquidity when SG economic model goes south. Do note that citizens have no say over how the reserves are managed.

The reason for having external investment is good. But having the wrong people in charge of the investments is bad.

So, if the pap squeezes Singaporeans and accumulates savings but squanders them away through bad investments, SG is no better off.

 

[TracyTan866]

That would be an excellent strategy. The country could pretty much retire and live off the interest.:p

The plan may be good but if implementation is wrong and PAP puts wrong people to run the investment, we will lose our pants

 

[TracyTan866]

You have international politics all backwards. Being nice on the world stage does not bring you friends. Self interest rules the day, and all political calculations are made on long term economic considerations.

In order to survive in the hostile region, SG needs the USA as a strategic ally. Why do you think we are such a stooge of US foreign policy and not to mention, the liberal use of naval bases, etc? What SG needs is not elimination of threat (which is impossible), but balance of power -- and that is also what the USA seeks to achieve in the Pacific. Since our interests are so much aligned with theirs, is it any wonder we spread legs to let USA screw w/o condom?

That strategy may be applicable in the 1980s when USA was the sole Superpower ...Now USA is in decline ...so how?

It's tantamount to linking SG$ solely to the US$ or linking it to a basket of currencies...which is a wiser strategy?

 

[TracyTan866]

What SG needs is not elimination of threat (which is impossible), but balance of power -- and that is also what the USA seeks to achieve in the Pacific. Since our interests are so much aligned with theirs, is it any wonder we spread legs to let USA screw w/o condom?

SG is like whore to the USA. That may protect us for now..but antagonise our neighbours..our neighbours can have elephant memories and may not forget SG's past sins in future when USA can be focused on SE Asia

 

[TracyTan866]

Diplomacy is just a facade on the international stage. You do know that Malaysia has always lashed out at us whenever it served their domestic political interest, not necessarily when ties were bad. And you also do know that Indonesia will forever remain a significant security threat because of radical Islamic elements, which no amount of diplomacy can resolve.

true..but why do Malaysia lash at us? Because we are not close friends. So we need to have good relationship and deterence

 

[TracyTan866]

The only methods are deterrence and alliance with the USA.

.

For now, that seems a good strategy. But Malaysia and Indonesia will not forget that we whored to the USA to taunt them. What happens when USA can't be in SE Asian in future?

 

[TracyTan866]

Singapore has no natural resources and the land under our charge is geographically insignificant. There is no way we can pull power on the regional stage apart from being a source of investment. We are not Iran, we cannot block the Strait of Hormuz (or the Strait if Malacca) to threaten people. And diplomacy can only serve to put us in a good light and make the other party look bad for lashing out, buying us a few precious moments, but nothing further. So the best counter is to spread legs to USA.

I still see LKY spreading legs for the USA as a short term measure. We need a long term strategy

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

That strategy may be applicable in the 1980s when USA was the sole Superpower ...Now USA is in decline ...so how?

It's tantamount to linking SG$ solely to the US$ or linking it to a basket of currencies...which is a wiser strategy?

The myth of the USA decline has been greatly exaggerated.

When the cold war ended, the USA was left as the sole global superpower, in control of both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. All major international trading routes are policed by US naval forces.

The USA's GDP is 3 times the next contender, which is China (just overtaken Japan - sorry, Irene Yeoh) in 2010. Can China catch up? Sure, by will take a very long time. Many decades. Maybe over a century if Chinese historical cycles are still in play.

The USA does not suffer the same kind of demographic nightmare as the European nations or Japan. It has more arable land per capita than all the European nations and Japan. Its population density even deducting for non-arable land is smaller than all the European nations and Japan. That means the US has potential to grow domestically.

Its military power vastly outstrips all other nations.

The EU is weakening under its own lack of productivity and debt load. China will soon face its own crunch as its 30 year cycle comes to and end. Japan is still mired in deflation and demographic nightmare. Russia will emerge again but never as strong as before.

Tell me how the USA is in decline.

 

[TracyTan866]

The myth of the USA decline has been greatly exaggerated.

When the cold war ended, the USA was left as the sole global superpower, in control of both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. All major international trading routes are policed by US naval forces.

The USA's GDP is 3 times the next contender, which is China (just overtaken Japan - sorry, Irene Yeoh) in 2010. Can China catch up? Sure, by will take a very long time. Many decades. Maybe over a century if Chinese historical cycles are still in play.

The USA does not suffer the same kind of demographic nightmare as the European nations or Japan. It has more arable land per capita than all the European nations and Japan. Its military power vastly outstrips all other nations.

The EU is weakening under its own lack of productivity and debt load. China will soon face its own crunch as its 30 year cycle comes to and end. Japan is still mired in deflation and demographic nightmare. Russia will emerge again but never as strong as before.

Tell me how the USA is in decline.

Only time will tell whether USA can maintain its military superiority. But I still think it is unwise to totally rely on USA and not consider other options nor have contingencies.

We arent going to be very popular with other countries if we are absolutely pro-USA

 

[TracyTan866]

Tell me how the USA is in decline.

1. Economically
a. It's huge debts
b. Is its economy doing well?
c. Its financial institutions are in trouble

2. Militarily -It is no more militarily supreme..even third world countries like Afghanistan can bog USA down for 10yrs

3. Technologically - other countries are catching up fast..eg Boeing vs Aerospatiale

4. Socially - The family as an important institution is being challenged

5. Religiously - It has moved away from being God-centred

6. Politically - The politicians are not as honest and upright as before

Tell me what is USA doing well now that can keep it in the pole position?

 

[Thick Face Black Heart]

Only time will tell whether USA can maintain its military superiority. But I still think it is unwise to totally rely on USA and not consider other options nor have contingencies.

We arent going to be very popular with other countries if we are absolutely pro-USA

We are already very pro USA, and we were never popular to begin with.

Yet today the PAP has 60.14% of the popular vote, the citizen dissent has only translated into 7% of the seats going to the opposition, and we are a small rich nation that likes to be arrogant from time to time just to stroke the ego of the elites.

So what is new?