Can we trust leader who says GST will be used to close gaps?
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The recent events in parliament has proven one undeniable fact with human nature - no matter how talented a person is almost always affected by power, greed, hypocrisy and self-centredness.
So soon after the Asian Financial crisis leaders have forgotten that self-centredness was found to be the root cause of all the wrong doings and malpractices as exposed by the crisis. All the pretences and hypocrisy about the virtue of Asian societies due to practice of Asian or Family values were merely shams cooked up to assume leaders' legitimacy or outward success.
Again no matter how talented is an individual, he was put to the test during the recent last two recession when they were seen to be denying problems and responsibilities for unemployments or loss of economic competitiveness.
So history has proven that at the end it will be self-centredness which eventually cause downfalls of empires.
Now the same helpless people who could not solve problems suddenly try to ride on a wave of world recovery and claim credit for every thing and try to squeeze more taxes for self-centredness and hypocrisy. There is no sign that surpluses or taxes if collected will be put to good use but everything is up to them like the estate upgrading decisions. Judging from past experiences of surpluses being splashed on Souzhou or seven wonders how to trust leaders that increased GST this time will really go towards helping the people to tie over people in crisis.
If the leaders do not keep increasing rentals through creative accounting next year citizens will be more than grateful already. So forget about more promises like helping the people to overcome problems.
Citizens will be wise in expecting more fee increases and salary increases for ministers after this round of GST increases. Look at their promises, and the way various schemes are actually implemented one has practically be obliged to vote the MPs before one can get any assistance. Otherwise Mr. Tan would not have jumped the MRT track on being told that "sorry your family income exceeds the limit so we could not help you".
Many people jumped the MRT tracks not because of the lack of efforts or choosiness about jobs but because of uncaring government who keeps taxing and recovering all costs against them until they have to jump.
Today, bus fares and utilities in a lower income family can take up 40-60% of the take home pay. How can the leaders keep one eye closed on such fee increases which only resulted in more million-dollar pays and 6-month bonuses and share options to directors of public transport companies who are actually doing nothing much except in sitting pretty to collect fees.
By all these real-life experienes all can see that leaders cannot be trusted to be free from corruption and self-centredness. They should be checked by a more objective and powerful Ombudsman and be continuously subjected to accountability or due process.
After 41 years, sad to say one thing is proven - leadership and talent is a make-belief concept or theory. Singapore today has witnessed leadership as consisting of only showmanship, hypocrisy, greed and self-interest. -
i dont believe it one bit.
arent our reserves of more than US$100 billion enough to close the gaps?
i really dont see the need to increase the gst!!!
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From the NKF incident, it is clear that if government does not help citizens in medicare at least do not use their public charity donations to stuff their favored elites with peanut salaries and golden taps.Originally posted by dragg:i dont believe it one bit.
arent our reserves of more than US$100 billion enough to close the gaps?
i really dont see the need to increase the gst!!!
People have shown that they were not happy with government policy of hoarding large reserves only for them to claim as their governing success or paying millions to their ministers or favored elites or civil servants.
So people have their own thinking on this matter of reserve. For now they are probably thinking that if government does not help people with the reserves then their ministers should not be enjoying millions from these reserves as there will be no free lunches too for the ministers or anyone else.
All must follow the same rule. So if they want to try touching people's reserves and losing them on shin corp or optus more sentiments will surely come from the people. -
Money not enough mah.
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heck, you never know what reasons those leaders can come up with.
e.g. increasing the MP's salary will not allow corruption. -
who are you kidding -
I see a change in their policy. It seems that they have given up on asking us to make more babies and concentrate on luring FT.
If you read the Straits Time today, in the main section of the front page there was one whole big section just to justify the 2% raise saying that it will be used to help the lower income group. On the bottom right, there is a small section saying corperate tax might be raisen so as to lure more investments etc etc.
I feel that the taking about raising GST to help the lower income group is just a smokescreen to lower corperate tax so that SG can attract more investments. In a few months or so, i believe they will announce the cut in corperate tax. -
They might come up with ideas to use our tax to hire more foreign companies to fund their government owned industries , then do away with local competitions as their usual 20 year old practices.
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The proposed GST will be used to close the gap of the mouth of those super rich people and open the gap for the poorer people of Singapore....
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tan1de2wu2yan4!!!
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sigh.....post election nightmare....Tpt hike increase, GST, whats next?
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Don worry endure all this shit for 4 more yrs..Originally posted by darknessfall:sigh.....post election nightmare....Tpt hike increase, GST, whats next?
Then showtime!! We let them know what is the Peoples' power........ -
100billion = 100,000,000,000 right?
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CB!!Originally posted by sans-culotte:Don worry endure all this shit for 4 more yrs..
Then showtime!! We let them know what is the Peoples' power........
Still have to wait four years har!? -
I oso cannot understand the govt's rationale in this whole thingy. I think that they owe us the obligation to explain it properly...... So let's wait and see lor.
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KNN, sad leh.
The budget will pass with no opposition..... -
Can somebody please explain what they mean by closing the gap? GST is a tax that everybody pays. If the government wants to close the gap, shouldn't they be increasing the income tax of the rich and decreasing that of the poor?
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don't worry my dear fellow Singaporeans, all these should stop within the next 2 years. by then, they will halt all the increment and let us get used to it before throwing out goodies before the next GE.
after that, it's all over again. -
The rationale is that the rich spend more so they get taxed more due to GST. Plus the PM mentioned measures to offset this GST increase for the poor. The exact implementation will be explained soon.Originally posted by ^spidee^:Can somebody please explain what they mean by closing the gap? GST is a tax that everybody pays. If the government wants to close the gap, shouldn't they be increasing the income tax of the rich and decreasing that of the poor?
To me, it's not a matter of whether I trust the government to use this to help the poor. I wanna see the exact full implementation and then I'll analyse and decide whether the plan sucks or not. Shouting "Guilty!" relying purely on gut instinct, emotional feelings such as trust, without examining the full facts of the case is lame. -
I see..Originally posted by kheldorin:The rationale is that the rich spend more so they get taxed more due to GST. Plus the PM mentioned measures to offset this GST increase for the poor. The exact implementation will be explained soon.
To me, it's not a matter of whether I trust the government to use this to help the poor. I wanna see the exact full implementation and then I'll analyse and decide whether the plan sucks or not. Shouting "Guilty!" relying purely on gut instinct, emotional feelings such as trust, without examining the full facts of the case is lame. -
Great post !!! Why Li Ka Shing did not tax the people by taking monies from them. He did it by marketing his own skills and abilities through the market place in a fair deal.Originally posted by ^spidee^:Can somebody please explain what they mean by closing the gap? GST is a tax that everybody pays. If the government wants to close the gap, shouldn't they be increasing the income tax of the rich and decreasing that of the poor?
Yet he has decided to give back 75% of his wealth to charity? Because he realizes that people have supported him and he has made monies from them and he cannot finish using all his monies in his lifetime no matter how he tries.
Why do Bill Gate and Warren Buffet decide to donate a great part of their wealth to good causes like researches for new cures probably for the same reason. Again they also realize that he cannot use up all his monies for his physical enjoyment in his lifetime.
Compare these people with our ministers and many MPs and many more in GLCs who have not yet done as much in creating jobs or restructuring the economy talked about for years but who have been paid millions and large bonuses without answering for bottom line for doing bill collection jobs, are they just people who are given opportunities to serve the country and prove their worth.
Can they measure up to people like Li Ka Shing and Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.
Think of the fellow citizens who are crying out loud for their help because something has gone wrong with the economy.
For many years the economy is in a doldrum so many of them have become unemployed or unemployable.
Without them giving you the opportunity to serve them do you think you elites will be earning your millions and enjoy your glories.
So spend time to ponder over this - if these citizens who gave you many years of opportunities to perch on high pedestals and claim leadership talents would you let them down and continue to slam another fee increases or GST on them which might force them to jump the MRT track.
Do you have the heart to bear their silent cries night after nights and still force them down the MRT track. -
Individuals are indivudals. Government are governments. You're comparing apples to oranges. What you should be asking is why the richer Singaporeans don't donate more.Originally posted by robertteh:Great post !!! Why Li Ka Shing did not tax the people by taking monies from them. He did it by marketing his own skills and abilities through the market place in a fair deal.
Yet he has decided to give back 75% of his wealth to charity? Because he realizes that people have supported him and he has made monies from them and he cannot finish using all his monies in his lifetime no matter how he tries.
Why do Bill Gate and Warren Buffet decide to donate a great part of their wealth to good causes like researches for new cures probably for the same reason. Again they also realize that he cannot use up all his monies for his physical enjoyment in his lifetime.
Compare these people with our ministers and many MPs and many more in GLCs who have not yet done as much in creating jobs or restructuring the economy talked about for years but who have been paid millions and large bonuses without answering for bottom line for doing bill collection jobs, are they just people who are given opportunities to serve the country and prove their worth.
Can they measure up to people like Li Ka Shing and Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.
Think of the fellow citizens who are crying out loud for their help because something has gone wrong with the economy.
For many years the economy is in a doldrum so many of them have become unemployed or unemployable.
Without them giving you the opportunity to serve them do you think you elites will be earning your millions and enjoy your glories.
So spend time to ponder over this - if these citizens who gave you many years of opportunities to perch on high pedestals and claim leadership talents would you let them down and continue to slam another fee increases or GST on them which might force them to jump the MRT track.
Do you have the heart to bear their silent cries night after nights and still force them down the MRT track. -
The principle is the same - what one takes from society he eventually should return what he takes. The rich should return the favors back to society as Li Ka Shing, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have done.Originally posted by kheldorin:Individuals are indivudals. Government are governments. You're comparing apples to oranges. What you should be asking is why the richer Singaporeans don't donate more.
Those who are given opportunities by society to serve people and earn over-generous rewards should give back more.
Do we have leaders as ex-chief minister David Marshal once lamented about their open worship of monies and asked whether they still care for service of the people with humility ? -
sadly, many would've forgotten by then....and will probably be smiling due to "progre$$ package$" they're receiving.Originally posted by sans-culotte:Don worry endure all this shit for 4 more yrs..
Then showtime!! We let them know what is the Peoples' power........ -
wasnt those 65% of the losers who voted for the PAP the culprits? thinking that YES they are building a better tomorow for us...
