Every time someone starts a discussion on inequality, there is some one who will think to himself lets not be jealous of the rich. ...well of course not, we are here to talk about INEQUALITY what has got to do with jealousy of the rich. Nothing.
Widening inequality is an unsustainable and intolerable trajectory that will always lead to a breakdown either of society or economy or political system. In China, an authoritarian state, there is immense inequality...in fact, exploitation of workers, land grab from farmers, a crazy amount of poverty along side corrupt officials who enrich themselves with state resources. Inequality is a measure of how meritocracy has failed....because true meritocracy does not result is such a high level of inequality ...such inequality is a function of lopsided unequal systems, corruption and what chinese call Guan-Xi....
One example is the inheritance of wealth without taxation. A feature in the Singapore system - a person does well simply because his father accumulated wealth. This undermines meritocracy. But not just in inheritance but the handing over of businesses from father to son, is a practice frowned upon the ethical rich who pledge never to do this.
Because the PAP claims that the Singapore system is meritocratic, those who are oppose to it and made to appear they are against meritocracy. Nothing is further from the truth. The truth is Singapore practices elitism not meritocracy in which selected few are given unusual opportunities to excel so long as they do not oppose the ideology of the state. These opportunities are in concentrations of wealth and power in the Singapore structure. ...in organisations linked to the PAP govt like the civil service, SAF, NTUC. Ask yourself where did Tan Chuan Jin and Chan Chun Sing come from ? Chan Chun Sing was a 2-star general and now in the running to be the next PM - elitism, where opportunities and selection narrows down to the few select who are there through a virtuous cycle of receiving special educational opportunities and job opportunities to produce exceptional qualifications. Such a system will weaken Singapore over time as it cuts down on the breath of competition - if such a system is good, old Soviet Union which practices similar select and groom method of leadership would have thrived....it did for 7 decades before it decayed to weakness.
Along side elitism, is this large and growing inequality. A growing mass of people pushed down the ladder through a selection process condemning them to low income, long life of struggle and lack of opportunities. Through a system of extraction brought about by policies that created this inequality, Singapore evolved a 3rd world wage structure. If there is an approach that trades off people at the bottom to benefit those on top, the PAP always takes using a pretext of being pro-business. Such policies are rarely needed as none of our competitors have them - lack of minimum wages, lack of independent unions, low corporate taxation, high regressive taxation, minimal worker protection, lack of comprehensive social safety nets, import of cheap labor. The inequality in Singapore society is created by policy and not by meritocracy.
At the end of the day, how do you expect workers at the losing end of these policies to react? See in China, they use a police state to suppress the problems as they arise. In Singapore our draconian laws will take care of those workers who do more than speaking up. So what is left is the ballot box. So the PAP resort to a form of blatant pork barrel politics that is illegal in other countries called estate upgrading which uses billions of tax dollars to gain support for their politicians. They also go after opposition politicians who are forced to be cautious...and they use a heavy dose of state propaganda to shape public opinion and reality distortion. At the end they are able to stay in power by using every means possible to force them masses to choose policies unfavorable to them.
But this cannot go on forever. The ordinary Singaporean, as he experiences higher and higher stress and strain, will stop responding to the propaganda and pork barrel incentives. The inequality in society will produce an unmistakable contrast that lets him measure the extent and outcomes of unfavorable decisions that undermines him and his family. It will push him to force a change by whatever means still open to him.
Widening inequality is an unsustainable and intolerable trajectory that will always lead to a breakdown either of society or economy or political system. In China, an authoritarian state, there is immense inequality...in fact, exploitation of workers, land grab from farmers, a crazy amount of poverty along side corrupt officials who enrich themselves with state resources. Inequality is a measure of how meritocracy has failed....because true meritocracy does not result is such a high level of inequality ...such inequality is a function of lopsided unequal systems, corruption and what chinese call Guan-Xi....
One example is the inheritance of wealth without taxation. A feature in the Singapore system - a person does well simply because his father accumulated wealth. This undermines meritocracy. But not just in inheritance but the handing over of businesses from father to son, is a practice frowned upon the ethical rich who pledge never to do this.
Because the PAP claims that the Singapore system is meritocratic, those who are oppose to it and made to appear they are against meritocracy. Nothing is further from the truth. The truth is Singapore practices elitism not meritocracy in which selected few are given unusual opportunities to excel so long as they do not oppose the ideology of the state. These opportunities are in concentrations of wealth and power in the Singapore structure. ...in organisations linked to the PAP govt like the civil service, SAF, NTUC. Ask yourself where did Tan Chuan Jin and Chan Chun Sing come from ? Chan Chun Sing was a 2-star general and now in the running to be the next PM - elitism, where opportunities and selection narrows down to the few select who are there through a virtuous cycle of receiving special educational opportunities and job opportunities to produce exceptional qualifications. Such a system will weaken Singapore over time as it cuts down on the breath of competition - if such a system is good, old Soviet Union which practices similar select and groom method of leadership would have thrived....it did for 7 decades before it decayed to weakness.
Along side elitism, is this large and growing inequality. A growing mass of people pushed down the ladder through a selection process condemning them to low income, long life of struggle and lack of opportunities. Through a system of extraction brought about by policies that created this inequality, Singapore evolved a 3rd world wage structure. If there is an approach that trades off people at the bottom to benefit those on top, the PAP always takes using a pretext of being pro-business. Such policies are rarely needed as none of our competitors have them - lack of minimum wages, lack of independent unions, low corporate taxation, high regressive taxation, minimal worker protection, lack of comprehensive social safety nets, import of cheap labor. The inequality in Singapore society is created by policy and not by meritocracy.
At the end of the day, how do you expect workers at the losing end of these policies to react? See in China, they use a police state to suppress the problems as they arise. In Singapore our draconian laws will take care of those workers who do more than speaking up. So what is left is the ballot box. So the PAP resort to a form of blatant pork barrel politics that is illegal in other countries called estate upgrading which uses billions of tax dollars to gain support for their politicians. They also go after opposition politicians who are forced to be cautious...and they use a heavy dose of state propaganda to shape public opinion and reality distortion. At the end they are able to stay in power by using every means possible to force them masses to choose policies unfavorable to them.
But this cannot go on forever. The ordinary Singaporean, as he experiences higher and higher stress and strain, will stop responding to the propaganda and pork barrel incentives. The inequality in society will produce an unmistakable contrast that lets him measure the extent and outcomes of unfavorable decisions that undermines him and his family. It will push him to force a change by whatever means still open to him.
