Death from pneumonia

4,700 people died from pneumonia in Singapore last year. It represents 20.6% of all deaths, second after cancer.

Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs, caused by a virus, bacteria or fungi. If the coronavirus kill a patient, the death is likely to be caused by pneumonia.

If the coronavirus is not around, 4,700 people will still die from pneumonia anyway. So, if the coronavirus is responsible for some of these deaths, it should not come as a big surprise.

Many people die from pneumonia each year, whether caused by the coronavirus or other germs.

I believe that the same statement can be made for deaths in Hubei, China. Without the coronavirus, many people would still die from pneumonia caused by other germs.

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. What will happen when the Malaysian Parliament meet in May?

2. Will Malaysia be peaceful during the next two months.
3. Will PM Muyhidden continue for the rest of the term?

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Wisdom of the Crowd

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Tap Pay card can now use mobile phone

Here is my new video about Tap Pay card. It can now accept a mobile phone, in addition to a card.
https://youtu.be/LP40y0Xfpq8

Wisdom of the Crowd:

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Give a loan to cover loss of income

My friend asked my views about unemployment insurance. Is it useful? Will it help those who are retrenched?

I replied that it is useful, compared to no safety net. But it is very costly. And it needs to be managed well. 

Why? There is a "propensity to claim". The insured person thinks that he or she has paid the premium, and should be entitled to the unemployment benefit. 

There are many situations where the entitlement to the benefit is clear, e.g. when a person who has been employed for several years loses the job for reasons beyond their control. This happens when the company has to cut down on the workforce or close its business.

There will be other occasions when the entitlement is not clear, e.g. when a worker is terminated due to bad performance. There could be a tendency for the employer to address the situation as "retrenchment", so that the worker gets the benefit. 

These grey areas are likely to lead to abuse or disputes. 

A political party has proposed an unemployment insurance scheme and has calculated the cost of the scheme. I suspect that they have under estimated the cost considerably. In many countries, the cost of unemployment insurance is much higher than their figures. 

I prefer a system where the worker is allowed to borrow against his CPF savings to meet loss of income due to unemployment or under employment, e.g. when required to take no-pay leave. This borrowing helps to meet the immediate cash flow but has to be repaid, or will be deducted from the CPF savings at a future date.

This loan is similar to withdrawing savings from CPF. I agree. But the loan can also be granted even when there is no CPF savings that can be withdrawn.

I think that the loan approach is better than unemployment insurance.

Give a meaningful contribution

I put in much effort to think through a problem and to suggest how to improve a situation. I explain my approach.

Here is how you can give a meaningful contribution.

https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2656

Why unemployment insurance may not work

My friend, who is an activist and has been paying attention to policy matters over the years, asked this question - Kin Lian, what are your views about unemployment insurance.
I replied - it has its benefits and it has its problems. On the whole, I prefer to adopt a different approach.
He asked - what is the problem?
https://tklcloud.com/Feedback/feedback2.aspx?id=2655

WOTC - Change to electric cars

Wisdom of the Crowd: 78% of the respondents welcome the change to electric cars. 22% prefer to keep to the traditional cars.
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1871

WOTC - Expiry date for transit card

Wisdom of the Crowd: 89% of the respondents disagree with the current practice of the Land Transport Authority in setting an expiry date on the transit card. 11% agree with this practice.
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1870

Wisdom of the Crowd

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WOTC - CCS speech at SCCCI

Wisdom of the Crowd: 73% of the respondents had a negative view of the speech by minister Chan CS at the SCCCI event. 27% had a positive view.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1869

WOTC - Next president of US

Wisdom of the Crowd: The respondents preferred the following candidates as the next president of the US - Bernie Sanders (38%), Donald Trump (25%), Michael Bloomberg (19%), Elizabeth Warren (10%), Joe Biden (8%).

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1868

My views about Budget 2020

Here are my views about Budget 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ron8QVWD-nA

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Should a MP be allowed to switch parties?

2. Should a sovereign wealth fund be transparent in its investments?

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WOTC - $5 billion for sea wall

Wisdom of the Crowd: 83% of the respondents said that the $5 billion set aside to deal with the rising sea level will not be well spent. 17% are happy with it.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1866

WOTC - Budget 2020

Wisdom of the Crowd: 86% of the respondents said that budget 2020 did not address the real concerns of the people. 14% are satisfied with it.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1866

Wisdom of the Crowd - New Issues

1. Was Dr. Mahathir the master mind behind the coup plot?
2. Who was the biggest traitor to the Pakatan Govt?

3. How do you find the Healthy 365 app

4. Will the opposition be able to bring down the Muhyiddin govt?
5. Will the corruption cases against the Umno leaders be dropped?

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WOTC - Are the people of Singapore patriotic?

Wisdom of the Crowd: 42% of the respondents said that the people of Singapore are patriotic to the country but not the ruling party. 24% said that they were patriotic before but not now. 31% said that they are generally selfish.

https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1865

WOTC - Is President Trump making America great again?

Wisdom of the Crowd: 33% of the respondents said that President Trump has done a good job in making America great again. the other 67% held a negative view of his performance.
https://tklcloud.com/Crowd2/chart.aspx?ID=1864