I make these suggestions to introduce "common prosperity" in Singapore.
1. Provide an adequate wage for every worker that is sufficient to meet the cost of living. The wage should be guided by national statistics of the supply, demand and average wage for each job category. The wages should not be depressed by unrestricted entry of foreign workers from low cost countries.
2. Keep the cost of living low, by removing levies, GST and price gouging by suppliers.
4. Encourage people to save for the future and provide them with suitable non-speculative investments that offer a fair rate of return. They should get a better return than that offered by private banks or asset managers (who take off a large part of the returns).
5. Adjust the working hours according to the economic cycle to minimize unemployment and allow those who are unemployed to withdraw their retirement savings or access low cost government loans. This is in lieu of providing unemployment benefit.
6. Create suitable employment opportunities for every person who is fit to work until an advanced age, say 75 years. Allow the older workers to work for fewer hours and in non-strenuous jobs.
7. Manage the supply of housing to keep the prices in line with increase in median income, and avoid the excessive prices due to speculation.
8. Encourage a free market for small business, but keep large businesses under public ownership, e.g. energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, public transport, schools and hospitals. The capital cost can be funded by national savings and the operating cost by user fees.
9. Have a fair tax regime to collect tax on high incomes and luxury purchases.
I will elaborate more on this topic in separate articles
Tan Kin Lian
Unless someone is blind, one is able to see through.
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