Why do we need CPF?
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Why CPF? Because I cannot be trusted to take care of myself?
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Originally posted by huzane89:
Why do we need CPF?
I dunno about other towns, but in our Joo Chiat and Geyland here, CPF stand for China Provident Funds, alots of old uncles and ah pek are contributing to China gals this fund.And when i asked uncles and ah peks why give yr fund to china, they told me LHL said that we must build good relationship with China as they are the next economy powerhouse. OMG!
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Originally posted by ArtBoon:
Why CPF? Because I cannot be trusted to take care of myself?
CPF so the employer will give you more salary.
the Foreign worker all no CPF woah, and have to pay levy somemore... the money not goes to them, but go back to singapore.
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Cos the gahmen say we do not know how to save but plot to detain our money as long as they can, in fact, wanna take our "savings" from us.
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Why CPF? Because I cannot be trusted to take care of myself?
I don't think the point is you can't be trusted to take care of yourself. The point is humans aren't exactly built to plan long term, the more money we have the more we're likely to spend more.
Hell, i don't even trust myself to spend responsibly if i got more money. Once i got the money in the bank it's hard to avoid mixing up my needs and wants.
I won't deny that the CPF is a pretty ingenious idea of the government to have a easy source of income. But it's not like we're banned from touching the money in it, we can still use it to pay off housing loans, use a portion of it for investments and paying our medical bills.
I rather like the idea that i have money being saved and i'm restricted from touching it.
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Originally posted by Stevenson101:
I don't think the point is you can't be trusted to take care of yourself. The point is humans aren't exactly built to plan long term, the more money we have the more we're likely to spend more.
Hell, i don't even trust myself to spend responsibly if i got more money. Once i got the money in the bank it's hard to avoid mixing up my needs and wants.
It's a matter of discipline. Must be strong willed. Put in 2 seperate accts. -
I think i'll put my money under my pillow.
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- It's a matter of discipline. Must be strong willed. Put in 2 seperate accts.
Surely it's unpractical to expect the entire population to exercise this sort of discipline?
And what happens to those who do not exercise this sort of discipline and lose all their money? Is society expected to take care of them?
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Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Surely it's unpractical to expect the entire population to exercise this sort of discipline?
And what happens to those who do not exercise this sort of discipline and lose all their money? Is society expected to take care of them?
Banzai banzai -
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Surely it's unpractical to expect the entire population to exercise this sort of discipline?
And what happens to those who do not exercise this sort of discipline and lose all their money? Is society expected to take care of them?
The the garmen also cannot suka suka take money from CPF acct. when they need it lor.Majority of sg-rean cant do that. So CPF acct. should be made that NO ONE incl. garmen can take any small % away, even for garmen use. Thats why we have taxes.
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CPF is a good thing for people who are responsible with their finances, as it means they will not need to subsidise (as much), those who have been irresponsible once they are no longer able to provide for themselves.
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Originally posted by Jason:
CPF is a good thing for people who are responsible with their finances, as it means they will not need to subsidise (as much), those who have been irresponsible once they are no longer able to provide for themselves.
I think you got it the wrong way around. CPF is a good thing for financially irresponsible people as it helps them save for retirement. For those who are financially responsible, it will be a bane instead as they can use their savings to do investments with better returns.
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The the garmen also cannot suka suka take money from CPF acct. when they need it lor.
Majority of sg-rean cant do that. So CPF acct. should be made that NO ONE incl. garmen can take any small % away, even for garmen use. Thats why we have taxes.
I don't like it as much as you do that someone besides me can touch my money and use it for god knows what projects.
But i accept that Singapore has no natural resources, and thus cannot generate revenue by virtue of nature. We can say that oh Singapore sustains itself on port duties but we're only attractive as long as our infrastructure is advanced enough to refuel/resupply/reprocess at a reasonable speed.
Where would the money for all this come from? We have uninterrupted power and water supply, a reasonable public transport system and education for all. I have rushed twice to SGH in the middle of the night and both times were attended to promptly.
The PAP may laud that they have excellent talents in the government, but these talents are useless without the resources. They may handle the resources efficiently, but cannot create them out of nothing.
At the core of this, is the CPF.
It's to me, a milder form of communism. But i definitely feel more comfortable with it, then consider the possibility of what would happen if the Singapore government borrowed from foreign banks to pay for all that we enjoy now.
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Originally posted by Stevenson101:
I don't like it as much as you do that someone besides me can touch my money and use it for god knows what projects.
But i accept that Singapore has no natural resources, and thus cannot generate revenue by virtue of nature. We can say that oh Singapore sustains itself on port duties but we're only attractive as long as our infrastructure is advanced enough to refuel/resupply/reprocess at a reasonable speed.
Why would the money for all this come from? We have uninterrupted power and water supply, a reasonable public transport system and education for all. I have rushed twice to SGH in the middle of the night and both times were attended to promptly.
The PAP may laud that they have excellent talents in the government, but these talents are useless without the resources. They may handle the resources efficiently, but cannot create them out of nothing.
At the core of this, is the CPF.
It's to me, a milder form of communism. But i definitely feel more comfortable with it, then consider the possibility of what would happen if the Singapore government borrowed from foreign banks to pay for all that we enjoy now.
Its uncomfortable for everyone to allow others to manage their finances. But if you don't want it to stagnate, it must be invested in some areas. Personally, i don't mind who touches my CPF savings if the interest rates are reasonable and guaranteed.
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CPF is not an ingenious idea of the PAP govt but an institutionalised social security system implemented the world over. Some governments (like in India) also offer life insurance as a similar long-term, rainyday financial protection. And in the US you have pension funds and 401 plans.
And the money is invariably invested in various instruments - where do you think the interest comes from?
CPF is a very useful cushion and could be seen as one way of the government giving money back to its citizens (because you can use it to pay bills, mortgages). Of course, like all sectors it could do with some reform.
We could start with fixed-term CPF schemes, wherein you have the option of signing up for a 20-year or 30-year tenure, albeit at a lower rate of interest or lower percentage of contribution. Imagine you start working at 22, with you and your employer contributing $300 a month - when you are 42, it would add up to more than 150K, which you can encash.
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Originally posted by crimsontactics:
I think you got it the wrong way around. CPF is a good thing for financially irresponsible people as it helps them save for retirement. For those who are financially responsible, it will be a bane instead as they can use their savings to do investments with better returns.
Not in my opinion. If there was no CPF or similar system, people who did not save for their retirement (and there will be many) will need to be supported by the state, and it will be the tax payers that pay for this.
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wah Jason open golden mouth here
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Originally posted by eagle:
wah Jason open golden mouth here
aahhhhhh
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Originally posted by eagle:
wah Jason open golden mouth here
Long live the king
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I see,... I suppose if I have say over my own money and I sqaunder all of it away before I get old and die, it is a pain to people around me....
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humans aren't exactly built to plan long term, the more money we have the more we're likely to spend more.
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Originally posted by ArtBoon:
I see,... I suppose if I have say over my own money and I sqaunder all of it away before I get old and die, it is a pain to people around me....
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humans aren't exactly built to plan long term, the more money we have the more we're likely to spend more.
As the chinese say, "today got wine, today get drunk.' Let tomorrow worry by themselve. That is what i said to my customers in my pub, so they drink and drink...and i save and save. -
I see,... I suppose if I have say over my own money and I sqaunder all of it away before I get old and die, it is a pain to people around me....
Of course.
You want the freedom of doing what you want in a society and then you expect society to be responsible for when you're irresponsible? How long can we sustain ourselves like that?
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Originally posted by Jason:
aahhhhhh
*throw c0ckroach in*
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It was based on good intentions but the agenda kind of got skewed and abused, it is now a cheap source of funds for GICs, GLCs and Temasek.
Someone once suggested (on Sintercom) that the CPF funds should be given directly to Temasek so that CPF members can get the 10%-20% returns that Temasek is generating. Think again, the government generates these returns from inflated prices it charges for basic necessities, if they use Temasek as an investment vehicle for CPF funds, then hefty electricity prices increases would make no sense; because after such price increases the money goes back to CPF members instead of to the government, which is the case with Singapore Power right now.