Minimum wage: The real work of an opposition

[metalslug]

http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4132-minimum-wage-the-real-work-of-an-opposition

Minimum wage: The real work of an opposition
Friday, 17 September 2010
Singapore Democrats

The debate on minimum wage in Singapore has recently picked with economic professors weighing in and calling for its introduction. Even ambassador Mr Tommy Koh has come out in support of the the idea. Hong Kong recently legislated minimum wage and Malaysia is now considering it.

But before all this came to the fore, even when the idea was not given the time of day, the Singapre Democrats had been calling for such a law to support our workers. As early as 10 years ago, the SDP was already campaigning for minimum wage.

In the 2001 general elections, we called for its introduction. In our election campaign campaign booklet that we had distributed, we wrote:

‘What it means to vote for the SDP...

...To help Singaporeans tide over this recession, and to help Singapore grow economically again, the SDP proposes the following:

Minimum wage of $5 per hour. Under the proposed law, it would be illegal for workers to be paid less than this amount an hour. This will prevent Singaporean workers from being exploited...

But hardly anyone knew about this because it was covered up by the media. Even now when in reports on the subject, it ensures that SDP is not mentioned.

Why is this fact important? Because the people need to know about the work that the opposition is doing and the alternative ideas that enable them to make an informed decision during elections.

The PAP has repeatedly attacked the SDP for being confrontational and not providing alternative ideas. The minimum wage issue is a clear example of how the ruling party has used its control of the media to keep the truth away for the masses.

It is only in recent years with the advent of new Internet tools that these untruths about the SDP has slowly been uncovered.

But this is only on the Internet which still has a limited reach. The PAP is banking on the fact that the majority of the electorate is still dependent on the traditional media for its news and because of this, news about the Singapore Democrats must be censored.

This is where our supporters and friends need to come in. You need to help us spread the word about the work that we are doing and counter the untruths spread by our opponents about us.

We have been the party that have made comprehensive alternative proposals for our economy and society that many experts and analysts have supported - the minumum wage is but only one example.

We work not by jumping in front of a marching crowding and pretending to lead it. We work by studying the situation in Singapore and then making proposals for the good of the people whether these ideas are in fashion or not.

This is what leadership is about: calling the attention of the people to problems before the situation gets out of hand rather than jumping on the bandwagon when people start talking about them.

Such is the real work of the opposition.

 

[Agoraphobic]

A minimum wage law should be considered for those who have served NS, and their immediate kin.

If the employer is unable to provide this, the difference should be made up by the state.

2k?

If this can materialise, the recipient should heed the sacrifice by the other parties and put in his/her value to the job to be above that salary.

This is for my ex-buddies, and I think it's fair.

Cheers!

 

[Cruxx]

Only bleeding hearts want to impose the minimum wage. There's no stronger motivator in life than suffering. If you want people to work and support themselves, you need to remove the artificial safety nets that not only disincentivise work but also distorts the supply-side of the economy.

 

[Agoraphobic]

Only bleeding hearts want to impose the minimum wage. There's no stronger motivator in life than suffering. If you want people to work and support themselves, you need to remove the artificial safety nets that not only disincentivise work but also distorts the supply-side of the economy.

That's if you want people to only work. Suffering is not the only motivator, more so at the creative level.

Let you pick: -

1. Because I have suffered, others too must suffer.

2. Because I hafe suffered, others must not.

Bleeding hearts? You mean conscience don't you?

Cheers!

 

[Cruxx]

I didn't claim that suffering is the only motivator. I said that it is the strongest of the lot. And can you please tell me how does the minimum wage give workers the freedom to not work? Minimum wage or not, those without work would still need to work. But what you're advocating is that the PAPpies adopt a less effective motivator while discouraging business owners from hiring just to gratify your "conscience". The free market does not preclude charity. If you have a conscience, do what Bill Gates did: donate to charity. Anything but screwing the economy for your flights of fancy.

 

[ChaoPappyPoodle]

I didn't claim that suffering is the only motivator. I said that it is the strongest of the lot. And can you please tell me how does the minimum wage give workers the freedom to not work? Minimum wage or not, those without work would still need to work. But what you're advocating is that the PAPpies adopt a less effective motivator while discouraging business owners from hiring just to gratify your "conscience". The free market does not preclude charity. If you have a conscience, do what Bill Gates did: donate to charity. Anything but screwing the economy for your flights of fancy.

Spoken like a true PAPy fascist dog!

Eh scum! Take your freaking fascist ideals and go fuck off to another country!

But before you fuck off. Let us know how do we make ministers, land owners, business owners suffer? Afterall we need to motivate them too. :oIo:

You bloody pathetic scum! :oIo: :oIo: :oIo:

 

[Cruxx]

By all means make them suffer. But is there a greater purpose for it besides your sadism?

 

[ChaoPappyPoodle]

By all means make them suffer. But is there a greater purpose for it besides your sadism?

Do you now see the fallacy and idiocy of your ideals? In your ideal world, everyone should suffer, not just employees or low waged workers.

You are a typical PAPy dog tyrant always looking for a handout or a cheaper way to get things done. Scums like you and your ideals are what made the PAP what it is today.

Tome to vote scums like you out of government.

 

[Cruxx]

You call it "ideal world", I prefer "reality". If you've a grand plan to eliminate all suffering, do explain. But until then, everyone has to suffer, in one way or another. You could either gloss over the suffering with artificial mechanisms like welfare benefits and minimum wages and incur huge public debts and decreasing the competitiveness of the economy or you could embrace the comparative advantage of having people working in low-paid jobs than to not work at all whilst maintaining the attractiveness of the country to foreign investors. That's how China elevated millions out of poverty. It wasn't Maoism or Socialism that did it. It was capitalism. I'm not a PAPpy btw. I'm an anarcho-capitalist, the exact opposite of the authoritarian PAP.

 

[batman1]

I didn't claim that suffering is the only motivator. I said that it is the strongest of the lot. And can you please tell me how does the minimum wage give workers the freedom to not work? Minimum wage or not, those without work would still need to work. But what you're advocating is that the PAPpies adopt a less effective motivator while discouraging business owners from hiring just to gratify your "conscience". The free market does not preclude charity. If you have a conscience, do what Bill Gates did: donate to charity. Anything but screwing the economy for your flights of fancy.

Do MIW Ministers donate 99% of their wealth to charities ???

 

[Wang Ye]

I rather that they try and bring down the prices of flats (to lesser mortal levels) which are in actually fact nothing more than leases.

 

[Agoraphobic]

I didn't claim that suffering is the only motivator. I said that it is the strongest of the lot. And can you please tell me how does the minimum wage give workers the freedom to not work? Minimum wage or not, those without work would still need to work. But what you're advocating is that the PAPpies adopt a less effective motivator while discouraging business owners from hiring just to gratify your "conscience". The free market does not preclude charity. If you have a conscience, do what Bill Gates did: donate to charity. Anything but screwing the economy for your flights of fancy.

Hi again Cruxx:

Let's start with - "Your Freedom is your freedom to work." Freedom is not about lying around doing nothing.

At work, it is hoped that there is sense of pride - a good quality product, good service, satisfied customer. If the working person cannot feed his/her family and/or maintain the basics (rent, bills, food, clothing) - how is that person giong to put in all s/he has into that job? Perhaps even having to take a second job just to make ends meet?

Motivation towards excellence, perfection, innovativeness is not driven by hunger or other suffering, but by those goals (excellence, perfection ..) themselves.

I didn't intend for this to steer towards gov't or opposition policies, this to me is a basic social consideration.

Demand-supply may be the driving force of market prices, however somewhere along those crossing-lines, society needs to put in living standards relevant to that society; else it'll be like a colony of ants, doing the same thing for millions of years.

Cheers!

 

[CCBcsj]

Spoken like a true PAPy fascist dog!

Eh scum! Take your freaking fascist ideals and go fuck off to another country!

But before you fuck off. Let us know how do we make ministers, land owners, business owners suffer? Afterall we need to motivate them too. :oIo:

You bloody pathetic scum! :oIo: :oIo: :oIo:

Spoken like the true dog of the dog himself, the MONGREL who bit his masters' hands LOUDHAILER chee soon juan.

66.6% don't agree with you. And it is actually more than 66.6% because the percentage would have been higher in the constituencies the opposition were too chicken to contest. We all know that minimum wage only protects the useless and makes Singapore less productive and less efficient as a whole. GDP for sure will fall.

So take your bleeding heart liberal socialist and communist ideals for fuck off to another country.

 

[Cruxx]

Do MIW Ministers donate 99% of their wealth to charities ???

Do we have the indiscriminate obligation to help one another? Did you donate 99% of your wealth to charity? Or at least devote 99% of your time to helping others?

 

[Ramseth]

Got say like no say. What's S$5 per hour nowadays? Assuming an 8-hour work-day and a 20-day work-month, that's S$800 per month. Isn't that what the lowest paid Singaporean workers are already getting now. Below that, collecting cans and cardboards, camping at beaches, jumped HDB or MRT already.

 

[Cruxx]

Hi again Cruxx:

Let's start with - "Your Freedom is your freedom to work." Freedom is not about lying around doing nothing.

At work, it is hoped that there is sense of pride - a good quality product, good service, satisfied customer. If the working person cannot feed his/her family and/or maintain the basics (rent, bills, food, clothing) - how is that person giong to put in all s/he has into that job? Perhaps even having to take a second job just to make ends meet?

Motivation towards excellence, perfection, innovativeness is not driven by hunger or other suffering, but by those goals (excellence, perfection ..) themselves.

I didn't intend for this to steer towards gov't or opposition policies, this to me is a basic social consideration.

Demand-supply may be the driving force of market prices, however somewhere along those crossing-lines, society needs to put in living standards relevant to that society; else it'll be like a colony of ants, doing the same thing for millions of years.

Cheers!

Try convincing a toilet cleaner on a $800/mth salary to innovate, perfect and excel. Or better, take a cut from their salary in order to send them for skills upgrading courses and tell them not to be hung up over money but instead aspire towards job satisfaction. Truth is your grandiloquence is typical of opposition-sympathizers: a lot of idealism, little relevance to reality. Which is why as loathsome as the PAPpies are, Singaporeans will always be the proverbial turkeys voting for Christmas, if you know what I mean.

 

[Cruxx]

Right now, welfare states in Europe are all cutting their public expenditure. Even those countries without significant debt. In years to come, historians and economists will look back and realise that welfarism is a failed policy.

 

[Perspective]

Got say like no say. What's S$5 per hour nowadays? Assuming an 8-hour work-day and a 20-day work-month, that's S$800 per month. Isn't that what the lowest paid Singaporean workers are already getting now. Below that, collecting cans and cardboards, camping at beaches, jumped HDB or MRT already.

No. There are people still earning $500 per month.

Anyway, minimum wage is rather pointless in Singapore. When Singaporeans see a job that is paid very low, most will not want to take it up. The real controversial issue in Singapore is dole a.k.a. unemployment benefits.

 

[Ramseth]

No. There are people still earning $500 per month.

Anyway, minimum wage is rather pointless in Singapore. When Singaporeans see a job that is paid very low, most will not want to take it up. The real controversial issue in Singapore is dole a.k.a. unemployment benefits.

I know of aunties earning about S$500 p.m. as cashiers at NTUC supermarkets. However, they're part-timers, on various rotating shifts of 4 hours per day only, averaging out S$500 +/- p.m. They choose that and accept that because they need time for their housewife duties.

I agree with you on the dole point. The problem is unemployment of PMET Singaporeans when Singapore keeps importing so-called FTs.

 

[Perspective]

I know of aunties earning about S$500 p.m. as cashiers at NTUC supermarkets. However, they're part-timers, on various rotating shifts of 4 hours per day only, averaging out S$500 +/- p.m. They choose that and accept that because they need time for their housewife duties.

I'm referring to full time. Such as full time cleaners.

I agree with you on the dole point. The problem is unemployment of PMET Singaporeans when Singapore keeps importing so-called FTs.

I'm wondering if FTs taking away jobs have been grossly over-exaggerated. Before Singapore imported FTs, we had 3 million and 3% unemployment. Given that another 2 million have joined Singapore (40% increase) unemployment is at most 6% to 7% and not like 43%.

However I agree FTs suppressed wages, increased top earners wages, hence creating income gap.