Professor Lim Chong Yah: Singapore’s income gap approaching dangerous levels

[rusty]

Doing so will devalue property prices and cause mass inflow of foreign purchase of property causing huge problems down the line.
Besides, it does not increase real productivity which comes from higher work rates.
It also reduces state coffers and assets and therefore reserves.


Not feasible cos all businesses will be affected. Plus it still doesn't solve the problem of inflation due to greater money supply for those who will still hold jobs.
Besides, Singapore already has one of teh lowest corp taxes in the world, less corporate taxes will mean more income tax. Are you willing to pay more income tax?

And increase pollution? Besides, our transport cost is already very low compared to other countries.

Thats will mean low wage industries get subsidised and have no incentive to upgrade. Singapore will be condemned to competing with low wage jobs from overseas and becomes a vicious cycle.


You see, all your suggestions taxes on the state and is lopsided.

Here is a better solution.
Help workers upgrade so they can get paid more. Skill development are already heavily funded.
Direct subsidy of housing for the lower income group. This was not accounted for in the Gini index. Note that home ownership is higher than 90% for singaporeans. Had these things been added, the index would be much lower and become a non issue.
Direct subsidy for this housing sector will not depress pricing for higher end homes so much so its good.

How do you know it will devalue the property when they have not tried? Will the PAP gov be so stupid to let mass purchases of property by foreigners when they can invent COE and ERP, an astonishing invention leaving other parts of the world wondering why Sinkies are so obedient.

Who is the biggest employer in Singapore including all the GLCs? How do you know greater money supply will not solve the problem when they have not tried? What’s the problem in keeping our corp tax lowest in the world when we have the highest vehicle tax in the world? Raising income tax will defeat the purpose of higher wage and our reserves can afford it.

What has the 40% tax gotta do with pollution? You mean corruption is it?

Who cares whether the low wage industries want to upgrade themselves or not when the gov doesn't care about the pride of the lower rung citizens? How do you know Singapore will not be able to compete when they have not tried?

Open your eyes wider and you will also see that the PAP gov is very lopsided in taking care of the rich and the foreigners.
They have been doing upgrading for many decade and what's the result?

Direct subsidy and wage increase should go hand in hand otherwise it won't work.
Who cares about Gini Index when one don't even know it was there?

 

[Bigfuck]

There are many who upgraded themselves and earned better wages as a result too.

How many? Can you count without drugs? Above 1% 5% or 50%.

The better skill and more productive you are, the more negotiating power, thats the point.
Why are you against up grading and govt subsidy for housing?

Why must people upgrade but lose more money? Why must people change trade? How is subsidies for overprice housing great?

Actually this Gini index thing is a non issue.
The lower income are heavily subsidised in housing and most of them own homes.
You want to earn more? Work harder and upgrade, then you deserve more.

Why is Gini index non issue? Why bother to create the statistics and submit to UN and Worldbank and IMF? Why follow angmoh and internationally
accepted figures if it is nonsense? Why bother about international rankings? Who says Singaporeans are not working hard and not upgrading?
Who says they do not deserve more in the first place? Who says our MPs deserve millions? Are our MPs better than US politicians? If so, why are they in Singapore?

 

[Kinana]

How many? Can you count without drugs? Above 1% 5% or 50%.

Could be 30%, could be 70%. I have met so many who are happy to upgrade and went on to do well.

Why must people upgrade but lose more money? Why must people change trade? How is subsidies for overprice housing great?

Upgrade to get better pay, why not?

Why is Gini index non issue? Why bother to create the statistics and submit to UN and Worldbank and IMF? Why follow angmoh and internationally
accepted figures if it is nonsense? Why bother about international rankings? Who says Singaporeans are not working hard and not upgrading?
Who says they do not deserve more in the first place? Who says our MPs deserve millions? Are our MPs better than US politicians? If so, why are they in Singapore?

It is a non issue because even the poor own homes here. Thansk to PAP. PAP is the best.

 

[rusty]

Thansk to PAP. PAP is the best.

One man's meat is another's man poison
Maybe you have benefited directly or indirectly but that doesn't mean PAP is good for everybody. Remember 40% are against them and more are arriving in 2016.

 

[Kinana]

We do benefit from PAP's great governance of Singapore whether you realise it or not.

 

[rusty]

We do benefit from PAP's great governance of Singapore whether you realise it or not.

Yes 60% but 40 % felt neglected.

 

[Kinana]

Yes 60% but 40 % felt neglected.

How do you define neglected? Neglected by you?

 

[rusty]

How do you define neglected? Neglected by you?

That's the problem... there is no such word in PAP's dictionary...how to define?

 

[Kinana]

You used that word right? You define la.

 

[rusty]

You used that word right? You define la.

I doubt you will understand with your brain is in such bad conditions.

 

[Simbian]

Doing so will devalue property prices and cause mass inflow of foreign purchase of property causing huge problems down the line.
Besides, it does not increase real productivity which comes from higher work rates.
It also reduces state coffers and assets and therefore reserves.

To be frank, every economics degree wielding graduate who is still using that knowledge in his day job will realize that the main part of our economic problem is land valuation - or to put it bluntly, how SLA goes about doing its business. It is well known how SLA does its land valuation with a large part of it being the equivalent prices in cities like Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc and will not hesitate if the auction does not meet some hidden reserve price.

For a variety of reasons, they think we are comparable to Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc - which is rather amusing since the subtle differences make all the difference.

Note at least the private real estate developers can jolly well walk away. HDB cannot. And then they say it market subsidized prices.

In this case, I do not fault SLA's behaviour. People in the finance sector and who are traders will recognize this as the trader-mindset where your client - even if that person is the retiring couple in their 90's or that import/export towkay you have known for twenty years - is just another counter-party and another potential person you make your money off.

But in this case, the externalities are actually borne by people living in Singapore in terms of high cost of living due to economic rents. Of course, the hardest hit will be low wage earners.

So, frankly, it is rather tiring to see the PAP junior ministers and backbenchers come out and rehash all the old arguments. But you have sinked lower than them, since none of them has even dared to repeat the "robbing-the-reserves" argument used by Mah.

 

[Kinana]

We have got to price our real estate competitive or we will sink into low productivity industries and be trapped in the vicious web of low cost production.

Does in devalue our reserves if SLA lease out land below market rate? Absolutely because our reserves are tied to our land prices. Ever wondered whybthe HK govt don't release land all at one go? Its the same reason. If they do, the territory will go bankrupt in no time. who suffers then? Mah is correct.

 

[Fook Seng]

Please give back dignity to the lowest strata of our society by not making their income so low that the only way to eke out a living is to depend on subsidies. Please don't allow them to beg by submitting appeal after appeal to get that additional couple of hundred dollars to enable them to receive their 3 square meals. If their salaries are not so low, they won't have to lower themselves to this beggar-like existence and lick the feet of people who have been given the privilege to provide the handouts as if they really are the donors of these charities. May the rich among us for once open wide our unshaded eyes to appreciate the blight of the unfortunate instead of only through rosy glasses.

 

[Kinana]

Please give back dignity to the lowest strata of our society by not making their income so low that the only way to eke out a living is to depend on subsidies. Please don't allow them to beg by submitting appeal after appeal to get that additional couple of hundred dollars to enable them to receive their 3 square meals. If their salaries are not so low, they won't have to lower themselves to this beggar-like existence and lick the feet of people who have been given the privilege to provide the handouts as if they really are the donors of these charities. May the rich among us for once open wide our unshaded eyes to appreciate the blight of the unfortunate instead of only through rosy glasses.

There is no shame in being poor my friend, there are billions of poor people all over the world, so don't look down on the poor and say they have no dignity.
There is also no shame in helping the poor by subsidising their housing.

What is stopping you from donating your money to the poor if you really care for them?

 

[Fook Seng]

There is no shame in being poor my friend, there are billions of poor people all over the world, so don't look down on the poor and say they have no dignity.
There is also no shame in helping the poor by subsidising their housing.

What is stopping you from donating your money to the poor if you really care for them?

Since the government has taken care of the poor so well, why don't you swap your high income with that of a cleaner?

 

[rusty]

There is also no shame in helping the poor by subsidising their housing.

Are you sure their houses are subsidized? What is the cost of a 3 and 4 room HDB flat?

 

[Kinana]

Are you sure their houses are subsidized? What is the cost of a 3 and 4 room HDB flat?

what is the market price? What is the subsidised price?

 

[rusty]

what is the market price? What is the subsidised price?

Answer my question first, what is the cost for constructing a 4-rm flat in say Tampines.

 

[Kinana]

Answer my question first, what is the cost for constructing a 4-rm flat in say Tampines.

I don't know. You know?

 

[BIGGERFUCK]

I don't know. You know?

Did you take your medicine? Now you are a mortal rather than pretending to be immortal. We know you know nothing. Finally, you admitted you don't know.
So why are you talking about things you don't know? This is not a question.