Population issue
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Unfortunately in SIingapore, it is.Originally posted by laurence82:btw, the word economy shouldnt be put down negatively
economy =/= money alone
when one study economy as a uni module, or when economists make decisions, they consider many other factors..
one thing, which economists understand, is that everything revolves around another..the economy isnt just a bare money making mechanism...
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Seeing too many foreigners nowadays compared to past few years.
Also taking up a lot of vacancies in our local U, end up we having to send our kids overseas. That's another reason why pple not willing to have kids cos of high education costs.
Everywhere crowded, that's why I don't go shopping/ Orchard Rd on weekends.
The present old folks are still ok cos some have pension/ large amt in CPF.
They bought properties very cheaply (My aunty's terr. cost only $22,000 30 yrs ago) & can retire by downgrading. Also they have many kids to help support them (Very common to have 5- 7 kids then).
We, on the other hand are still servicing prop. loans (HDB alone ave $300K), not much left in CPF. Most have 1 - 2 kids.
We cannot depend on our kids cos by the time they graduate, they have high study loans to pay + low pay. That is a worrying trend. -
Its sad that if u r in yr 40s, the opportunity for employment is dwindling day by day....there are plenty of FTs to replace u..cheaper, but no neccesary better, but who cares..
My own opinion is tat we shld be financially free by the time we are in our late 30s..ie with house n car paid 4 in full but it is a dream in S'pore. U have to work till your 60s probably...serving in Mcdonalds...ouch...i really dread the day...when it comes..n yr CPF money tied down as CPF withdrawal age maybe raised....
Big mac, small mac....coffee, tea or me....
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migrate?
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well, you should know by now that economy to lots is measured by tangibles.. intangibles like welfare of the people, their psychic health, their dignity cannot be measured and thus thrown out... they do not feature in the Balance Sheet and Profit/Loss Statements...
add to that, things that is not part of the bottomline, like air pollution, deforestation, increased health expenditure of their staff, are also not their concern...
one only need look at the way the Casino debate seems to be developing... on one side, people looking at the currency that is generated by the casino only, refusing to recognise that studies show that for every dollar generated by the casino, $2 is spent by the community addressing the problems like vice, drugs and crime attracted by the casinos... to them only the bottomline matters...
but in the end, the people will have to become more resilient, tougher, harder.. to pick up the pieces... well, bruise and cut too many times, the wound becomes a callous.. and we become callous too...
alas...Originally posted by laurence82:btw, the word economy shouldnt be put down negatively
economy =/= money alone
when one study economy as a uni module, or when economists make decisions, they consider many other factors..
one thing, which economists understand, is that everything revolves around another..the economy isnt just a bare money making mechanism... -
i think over-pop
already..
considering...the spaces we have
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we have not reach the breaking point... just go hk or tokyo or ny to see....housing and train are alot more pack and expensive there... but is that kind of life what we really one???
working long hrs just to pay all ur installment and living expenses? why must we be the best in everything?? airport, sea port, ?? someone point out here b4... if we cut the population by 50%... demand go down, price go down too... and we will all have time to spend with the family and appreciate arts like what the government is promoting now?
so.... what is the kind of life we want.. that is the bigger question.
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Hi Fling,
Yes, HK n Japan property are more expensive but their pay is also higher..For HK, MTR is cheap n they do not have PTC (Public transport Committee) tat consist of members of SBS Transit, MRT etc...So there are no consumer or very small consumer voice within the PTC. Why have gahment recently set the PTC formula for fare price..in fact, these bus companies, MRT annouces "obscene profits" after the fare increase, as they claimed tat they are answerable to shareholders. A public service becomes a "private entity" whose sole aim is to make profit. What can u say.
Yes, it is also true tat HK, Japan and Shanghai , the MRT are packed like sardines during peak hours. They even have pple employed as "pushers" to push pple into the train.
We need critical mass to succeed in this globalised world n certain types of FTs, not the mediocre engineers, clerks etc tat we often encountered...this policy need to be finetune...
Singapore is only a small city and it is easy to manage. Imagine, chinese government official have to "rule" over 21 million pple in Shanghai, getting the city up n going is much complicated that Singapore dingy 4 million pple.
I think we should moderate our expectations, China is a "awakened giant". We are no longer the No.1 in this or tat, tat our gahment would like us to believe. For years, we have "obscene" surpluses...remember ex-Minister of Finance, Richard Hu. U can bet on it tat there are always "surpluses". Every gahment body is a profit centre, geared for cost recovery...wat do u expect.
Our young are NOT hungry enough...most of our brightest are co-opt into gahment...look...how Sim Hong Woo do we have...n almost all the entrepreneurs are circumstancial millionaires....pay our scholars,S$20k - S$30k a month, n they would nvr make tat kind of money if they are running a business..so why take the risk....
Take a bus if u have too...downgrade if u have to...just live within yr means...dont compare with the Mr Tan or Mr Chan, it will nvr be the same again. Are there anymore good years....hmmm...maybe with the casino...
We really do not have any choice..we need the casino to survive n thrive in this new world order. For now, our aging population is getting more and the ratio is 8 : 1 ie every 8 working person to support 1 elderly..but by 2030, it is 4:1.
So just struggle on till yr retirement at 60 or 65. Then gahment will give u back yr CPF money....Cheers... -
X 2Originally posted by gerrykoh:That's another reason why pple not willing to have kids cos of high education costs.
Everywhere crowded, that's why I don't go shopping/ Orchard Rd on weekends.
We, on the other hand are still servicing prop. loans (HDB alone ave $300K), not much left in CPF. Most have 1 - 2 kids.
We cannot depend on our kids cos by the time they graduate, they have high study loans to pay + low pay. That is a worrying trend.
I shop and watch movies on weekdays. Sometimes I'd just take 1 or half day leave to do that. I like watching movies on weekday mornings when there's practically no one around so I do not have to deal with people yakking away, handphones ringing and the noise generated by a large number of people munching away at popcorn. Weekends I stay at home because the whole purpose of weekends is to take a break and relax, and not go out and jostle with the huge crowds, getting pissed off in the process. I think our living conditions will become near inhumane if the government has its way and our population swells to 8 million.
Dangerous overcrowding, rising cost of living, increasingly bad job market with less benefits and pay, possible tension between locals and "foreign talent" , a government with its head stuck in the sand...etc.
A time bomb is ticking away in Singapore right this very moment, and who knows when it will finally explode? -
i tot the population is decreasing??Originally posted by Kismet:Currently with the population at 4 million, the roads and public transportation are already so packed during peak hours. Imagine in 10 to 20 years time, when the population increases to 5, 6 or 8 million.
Granted the need to increase population for the sake of fueling economic growth, the space in Singapore is way too little. Other countries have the luxury of expanding their cities and towns as they have more land but in Singapore, what you see is what you get, there is only as much land that you can reclaim and high rise buildings you can build. -
Au contraire ...
Our extremely liberal immigration policy ensures that the population (not necessarily Singaporeans) will increase in the years to come ...
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local born population decreasing but steady influx of immigrants from china, india and other countries will more than make up for the shortfall = overall population increasing.Originally posted by shinta:i tot the population is decreasing?? -
Economic growth is not the only reason for increasing population. One can conceivably have a huge population of morons but that would not contribute in any way to economic growth; rather the contrary.
The more important consideration IMO is defence, or in other words, survival. Without a critical mass of people, esp younger people, confidence of our defence and national survival will be shaken.
I believe, it would be better for Spore to have sufficient but not excessive number of good quality people able to sustain both our defence and economic objectives.
This shd be an interesting subject for population study.