S'poreans expect more as Govt is 'not poor': PM

[BuiKia]

I expect more not because government is 'not poor' but because my Ministers are paid world class so I also want to have 'world class' entitlement.

SINGAPORE - Singaporeans think their Government is "not poor" and, thus, expect it to do more for them, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Mr Lee, during a wide-ranging interview with The Australian newspaper that touched on US-China relations and rising Chinese nationalism, was responding to a question on whether he thought the Western world was suffering from "a crisis of entitlement spending" and whether there were lessons for Singapore.

He said: "People are not so poor. They think their Government is not poor so they expect the Government to do more for them.

"They're not poor but they feel less well-off relatively than others they can see in society. There is that relative sense that 'I should get my entitlement'."

The United States, Britain and Europe see a large part of their budget go towards entitlement spending, he noted.

"How do you cut back on spending when benefits, once given, cannot be taken back?" Mr Lee said.

"(Singapore) started with very minimal welfare and we've gone on the basis of growth and high employment and low unemployment. If you're out of a job you can find a new job. You will get help but the help is not something you're absolutely entitled to. We have to adjust that without going overboard and ending up where the Americans are or the Europeans are or where the New Zealanders were."

The interview, published on Saturday, comes ahead of Mr Lee's official visit to Australia this week.

Asked how he felt about the US-China relationship, Mr Lee said: "I think the powers-that-be on both sides, Chinese leaders and the US administration, after they get elected, have shown they don't want to go on the route of confrontation, whatever might be said during presidential elections."

As for the rising Chinese nationalism, he noted the proliferation of "Internet opinion" as well as the new generation of Chinese who grew up during a period of China's rapid emergence and growing self-confidence.

"The younger generation have not seen the horrors of war, or the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, and they just see China getting bigger and stronger every day. They just say the time has come for us to take our rightful place. The Chinese government has to take that into account."

 

[Jlokta]

I expect more not because government is 'not poor' but because my Ministers are paid world class so I also want to have 'world class' entitlement.

Depend's on whether you read pinky's 'not poor' as in grades, or 'not poor' as in $$.

If its in $$, then she's fucking correct. Poor is not a word in her dictionary.

If it's in grades, then she is a fucking epic failure.

 

[halsey02]

sHE is right, we are not POOR, but we are so poor thing!. Most SINgaporeans are rich, their property is worth almost 1million, their savings in CPF , some around $200,000 or so...but they struggle to pay bills, many of which are their own doings but most importantly they pay through their noses for politicians like sHe & their affiliates. Most SINGaporeans, struggle to put food on their table, educate their children, serve the country & pay for an expensive government. On paper, they are not POOR, CPF is not their money..& their flat after selling, part of it have to go back to their CPF...

So sHE is right, we are not POOR, but when we stop paying..sHE is so POOR thing! POOR, nyet! ):-

 

[hairylee]

goh chok tong once said, "shut up and trust the driver".
Now the driver has lost his bearings and tell us not to rely on him.

 

[Equalisation]

The worst thing is that they keep on increasing the CPF withdrawal age until we cannot take out a cent of OUR own money. They expect us to work till death !!!

This is indeed bothering on sadism, if I may say.

 

[streetsmart73]

goh chok tong once said, "shut up and trust the driver".
Now the driver has lost his bearings and tell us not to rely on him.

hi there


1. that is why the useless highly-paid driver always needs thousands of equally useless co-drivers.
2. just another of load of crap!
3. ah pink shows me your mettle.
4. oops! your color too.

 

[Equalisation]

I think the statement is totally ridiculous.

Govt is not poor because they are keeping OUR money to begin with !! What kind of twisted logic is this?

 

[chonburifc]

I think the statement is totally ridiculous.

Govt is not poor because they are keeping OUR money to begin with !! What kind of twisted logic is this?

Abang, suggest you take my advice. Write off the funds in your Citizen Protection Fee. Abang will feel much better. Alternatively, you can look at your monthly statement and 'feel rich'.

 

[Reddog]

The worst thing is that they keep on increasing the CPF withdrawal age until we cannot take out a cent of OUR own money. They expect us to work till death !!!

This is indeed bothering on sadism, if I may say.

The CPF may have no money to pay you. So how to pay? The alternative is to give all sorts of excuses and delay and delay. This is what all debtors do when they cannot pay. So, where's the surprise. Twit.

 

[ginfreely]

I think the statement is totally ridiculous.

Govt is not poor because they are keeping OUR money to begin with !! What kind of twisted logic is this?

Ridiculous indeed, keep all the money for themselves and talk anything he wants. Talking about entitlement, it should be the govt think they are not poor and that is why they expect sky high salaries for themselves.

 

[ChaoKuan]

Alright, we should indeed expect MORE to come from them.

 

[Devil Within]

What the fuck! Government is not a profit center! Government is a COST center!!!! Where does gov gets it's money from???? Taxes!!!! From ordinary citizens and private business!!!! Gov got rich becos they took money from it's citizen!!!!! Of course it is right for it's citizen to expect gov to return their tax money when gov taxed too much!!!! What the fuck is PM thinking??? That gov who took money from it's citizens belongs to his private group and not return to citizen?????

 

[jw5]

What the fuck! Government is not a profit center! Government is a COST center!!!!

They have actually become so deluded that they are the ones who generate revenue.
Vote them out as soon as possible, they have no clue what is the purpose of government.

 

[winnipegjets]

The PAP is so out of touch. If they still got this mindset in 2016, the PAP will lose at least another GRC or be reduced to a slim majority.