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The worst thing is that they almost always fall for it.
The practise of creating a bubble just before an election has been a common phenomenon in Singapore's politics.
Its an old PAP trick of giving its citizens a sense of inflating wealth and thus a 'feel-good' factor before and during elections, which in the past has helped PAP win elections resoundingly.
I have to disagree with you on this one.
When elections are near, PAP machinery goes on auto mode independently and its functions go on overdrive identifying areas that psychologically affect decision making among the population.
One of the most recent ones I can point out is the COE debacle. Its almost similar to the present housing bubble. Before the previous election, many households were griping on the high cost of COEs which makes it out of reach of many families. PAP had an open policy of declaring 3% vehicle population growth then. But upon rumblings from the ground that basically says "We the citizens (>70%) don't even get to drive in our own country when the govt keeps harping on how much we have progressed...its a farce", PAP threw out the 3% cap and released copiuos amount of COEs to satiate the demand, generate feel-good(having a car in the family does make you feel good....make you feel you've gone somewhere in life) and obviously help a great deal in the elections.
But citizens were warning the govt then that by releasing too much will cause terrible congestion (bubble...remember?) but as usual the minister swept all concerns aside. And now all of us suffer for it in the mornings and evenings at traffic.
Many more examples abound only if we only make the effort to remember and catalogue them in our minds. And you reminder to read more is timely. Citizens should dig up old news to relearn the mistakes they've heaped upon us.
I have to disagree with you on this one.
When elections are near, PAP machinery goes on auto mode independently and its functions go on overdrive identifying areas that psychologically affect decision making among the population.
One of the most recent ones I can point out is the COE debacle. Its almost similar to the present housing bubble. Before the previous election, many households were griping on the high cost of COEs which makes it out of reach of many families. PAP had an open policy of declaring 3% vehicle population growth then. But upon rumblings from the ground that basically says "We the citizens (>70%) don't even get to drive in our own country when the govt keeps harping on how much we have progressed...its a farce", PAP threw out the 3% cap and released copiuos amount of COEs to satiate the demand, generate feel-good(having a car in the family does make you feel good....make you feel you've gone somewhere in life) and obviously help a great deal in the elections.
But citizens were warning the govt then that by releasing too much will cause terrible congestion (bubble...remember?) but as usual the minister swept all concerns aside. And now all of us suffer for it in the mornings and evenings at traffic.
Many more examples abound only if we only make the effort to remember and catalogue them in our minds. And you reminder to read more is timely. Citizens should dig up old news to relearn the mistakes they've heaped upon us.
Singaporeans' attachment to cars is astounding. Many people who cannot afford cars get sucked into no-money down and work like slaves to pay off the loan plus all the other charges
I think there should be a minimum of $100,000 for each COE to put an end to all the clogging of roads. The money collected should be used to subsidise or improve public transport
Before the previous election, many households were griping on the high cost of COEs which makes it out of reach of many families. PAP had an open policy of declaring 3% vehicle population growth then. But upon rumblings from the ground that basically says "We the citizens (>70%) don't even get to drive in our own country when the govt keeps harping on how much we have progressed...its a farce", PAP threw out the 3% cap and released copiuos amount of COEs to satiate the demand, .
Singaporeans' attachment to cars is astounding. Many people who cannot afford cars get sucked into no-money down and work like slaves to pay off the loan plus all the other charges
I think there should be a minimum of $100,000 for each COE to put an end to all the clogging of roads. The money collected should be used to subsidise or improve public transport
I would in the near future see a frenzy of block sprucing and paintings, less traffic summonses and more propaganda in the media for the coming GE.