Sunday, April 15, 2012

Set a long term target

It is a good idea to set a long term target, such as the target to achieve an inclusive society in 10 years time, as suggested by DPM Tharman,
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120415-0000012/An-inclusive-society-in-the-next-10-years

The advantages of a long term target are:

  • The person who sets the target may not be around to account for any failure to achieve the target
  • It is possible to give the reason that the situation has changed since the target was set
  • The target could be re-defined along the way, so that it is not the same as the original target.
We had an example earlier of the target to achieve the Swiss standard of living within 15 years. We did manage to achieve the high cost of living in Switzerland and nowhere near the standard in quality of life.

I find the target to achieve "an inclusive society" to be in contradiction to the current practice of "differentiating" access to primary schools and public health care. I do not understand how a society can be inclusive and differentiated at the same time. I am not convinced that it is possible to be inclusive among the citizens, while differentiating the non-citizens living in our community. As far as possible, we should treat people equally in their daily lives - if we really aim to build an inclusive society.





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