Why we have to abolish GST totally

I gave a speech at Hong Lim Park on 3 March. 2018. My key point was that GST should be abolished to reduce the cost of living by up to 10%.

Some people commented that there is no need to abolish GST totally. We only need to abolish GST on the essential items, like food and medicine.

Many countries, such as UK and Malaysia, exclude GST on essential items. I agree that it is possible to take a step to abolish GST on essential items.

However, I still hold the view that GST should be abolished totally. Here are my reasons:

a) We can afford to abolish GST totally. It reduces the government revenue by $11 billion a year. But the real surplus is $20 to $30 billion a year, including government land sale. If GST is abolished totally, we will still have a budget surplus.

b) If we abolish GST only for essential items, we still have to identify what are essential and what are not essential items. The cost of administering GST will continue to be high. We will not achieve any significant reduction in the cost of living.

We need to be bold. We have to abolish GST totally to achieve a significant reduction in the cost of living.

The problem with our high cost of living and the high cost of doing business, and the insecurity of jobs for locals, are really serious. We cannot afford to take half measures.

Watch my video in full to understand the key points that I put forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vCRavQFYHw&t=1616s

Attractive prizes when you vote

You can win these attractive prizes when you vote on the issues in the Wisdom of the Crowd. It is easy, right?

http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/page/115

Does the Marina Barrage help to reduce flooding in Singapore?

I posted this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Does the Marina Barrage help to reduce flooding in Singapore?

65% of the votes indicate that Marina Barrage is responsible for the serious flooding in recent years.

26% said that the low lying areas have been flooded even before Marina Barrage was built.

9% said that Marina Barrage helped to reduce flooding.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=546

Is the Singapore economy in good shape?

I asked this question in the Wisdom of the Crowd - Is the Singapore economy in good shape?

52% of the votes indicate that the economy is already in serious trouble.

44% said that the economy will be impacted by the slowdown in global trade.

4% said that the economy is doing well.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=547

Should the deductible under basic Medishield be removed?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the deductible under basic Medishield be removed?

48% voted for it to be offered as an option under Medishield Life.

29% voted that the rider should be offered by a private insurance company.

23% said that the rider should be banned.

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=548

Be respectful when giving an alternative view

It is all right for a person to disagree with another person's view, but he or she should do it respectively.

He should not give the impression that the other person's view is wrong and his view is right. This arrogance can be detected in the manner in which the comment is expressed.

A worse form of arrogance is to state that the other person's view is wrong, without stating the alternative view.

I have seen many instances of rude comments. It reflects poorly on the maturity of the person who gives the comments.

Equalisation wage between locals and foreigners.

In my video, Jobs for Singaporeans, I introduced the concept of equalisation wage between locals and foreigners. This should apply to all levels, including PMET jobs. If employers have to meet the same cost, they are more likely to employ locals, instead of foreigners.

This equalisation is achieved by introducing a levy for jobs taken by foreigners and giving a subsidy for jobs taken by locals. It will address the gap between the wage that a foreigner is willing to accept (because they feed their family in a low cost country) and the wage that a local is willing to accept (because they feed their family in Singapore).

If this gap between the wages is $1,000, the equalisation can be achieved by introducing a levy of $500 for each foreign worker and a wage subsidy of $500 for each local.

This equalisation should be made only for the jobs where it is difficult to find locals, such as cleaners, security guards, bus drivers and construction workers.

For jobs where the wages are sufficient to attract locals, there is no need to give work pass for foreigners.

Here is my video;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8_CLCYH85I&t=48s

Brainwash through slogans

Many Singaporeans believe that capitalism is good and socialism is bad.

This belief, which is the outcome of ignorance and brainwashing over the decades, reminds me of the sheep in the novel titled "Animal Farm".

In that novel, the sheep represented the ordinary people. At the beginning, they were told by their animal leaders that the anmials (with four legs) were better than humans (with two legs). They were taught to repeat the slogan "four legs good, two legs bad". They were brainwashed and believed in the slogan.

Many years later, the leaders started to follow the ways of the humans. They changed their teaching and told the sheep to chant the new slogan "four legs good, two legs better".

Being ignorant, the sheep believed and followed the teachings of their leaders.

Now, I ask you. What are the color of the sheep. Most of them are white, right? Have you ever seen a blue sheep?

Back to capitalism and socialism. Many Singaporeans are ignorant about the real difference between capitalism and socialism. They only believe that the propaganda that capitalism is good, that it creates wealth and that socialism is bad, that it destroys wealth.

They follow the brainwashing of the American media. The Americans also also brainwashed. They believe that capitalism is good and that low tax regime is good.

But they also want to have their socal security, unemployment benefit and Medicare. They do not realize that these social programs are produced by socialist policies enacted a few decades ago.

We can continue to be ignorant and follow the slogans taught by the leaders. Alternatively, we can start thinking for ourselves.

Giving lower than projected return

Kum Weng Lai said:
(The policholders) can calculate their own return and arrive at the 4% conclusion. The real question is what recourse do policyholders have went they are told that this is the amount they will get after 21 years and the amount ends up being substantially less?

The insurance company has wildly exaggerated its claims, or it could have less competent fund managers, but the end result is they did not deliver on their projections and ended up giving a lower benefit for the client. Since the client depended on this money promised by the insurer, they are now facing a substantial shortfall. U do not address this issue at all.

Is there a complaint process through MAS? Is there a legal recourse through a lawsuit? I am sure this policyholder is not the only one that suffered. MAS takes a dim view of financial companies who promise one return and give deliver another. That's called fraud.

I am sure that all policies have a boiler plate caveat that returns are not guaranteed. But in this case, its not even close.

Seems to be a case of gross misrepresentation. If the client can find other insurers that manage to give a return of 6% or more during this 21 year time period, then it makes a much stronger case for them against their insurer.

At the very least, an ethical and moral insurance company should have informed all its clients years ago that their endowment policy will not be able to meet their initial stated target, so that they can make alternate plans to make up the difference.

REPLY
The complaint process is through Fidrec. Many policyholders have probably made their complaints to Fidrec, but they received the same reply - the insurance company did state that their projections are not guaranteed.

The insurance company did tell the policyholder each year about the bonus that were declared. The policyholder could have known that the actual bonus were lower than projection. But they did not realize it.

Even if the policyholder realized that the bonuses have been cut, they would be unable to cut their losses. The surrender values are very low. In most cases, it is better for them to stick to the policies to the maturity date.

Consumers can learn about a better way to invest their savings. I asked them to enrol for my talk, but they do not have the time. Who should be blamed?

Here is my next talk.
http://www.fisca.sg/event_det.aspx?id=18

Do not insult snakes

It is not proper to call a minister a snake.

This is not only rude to the minister; it is an insult to all snakes.

The snakes had nothing to do with our quarrel. Why should they be brought into this argument? This kind of animal profiling is unacceptable in the modern day world.

We claim in Singapore to be a society that is equal, regardless of race, language or religion. Surely we can extend this concept of harmony to other members of the animal world?

If we really dislike the minister, can we just call him a person? Surely, there are people who are quite despicable, especially if they wear a certain color. Right?

Watch a country go down the drain

Mr. Tan,

Most people cannot imagine how a country, that used to be great, can go down the drain.

There is no need to use their imagination. They only need to open their eyes. It is happening right in front of us.

Like
Increase GST
Pass law on fake news.

The unimaginable is possible.

My reply:
Right!

Cruise ship - Genting Dream

I am taking a cruise on Genting Dream. I just watched a video about this cruise ship.

The ship was built in Germany. (Here, what happened to our shipyards in Singapore?)

The service staff was recruited from Shanghai. What happened to our unemployed graduates?

Here is the wiki report:

And the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=526b_qUx4Jg

Lee HL can collect his million dollar salary. But he is not doing his job to make Singapore competitive and get generate more employment for our people.

What is the title of GCMG?

I saw that Mr Lee Kuan Yew had the title GCMG.

Twenty years ago, I was met an Englishman with a similar title. He explained the significance of the title to me.

This title is given to people who have served a long time and with distinction in the public service, i.e.  civil servants and political leaders.

The rationale was that public service paid a low salary compared to the private sector and those in the public service need to be separately recognized for their sacrifice to serve the people.

Of course, it does not apply to Singapore today as our public servants are political leaders are paid quite handsome salaries compared to the private sector. However, Singapore is probably an exception.

Back to the title GCMG. It is the highest among the three titles in the same series - CMG, KCMG and GCMG.

When you have served the country loyally and with distinction in the public service for many years, the Queen award you the title of CMG - Companion of St Michael and St George. I have checked and confirm that carries the title of "Sir".

After many more years of distinguished service, you may be awarded KCMG - Knight Commander of St Michael and St George.

After many more years, you get the title of GCMC - which is Grand Cross of St Michael and St George. This is the top honor in that series.

The Englishman told me that it is general public had created a new description for these titles.

If you are awarded CMG - you tell your friend that they can "Call Me God".

If you get KCMG - you can tell your fiends - the King (or Queen) calls me God.

If you get GMCG - guess who has to call you God?

I hope that Mr. LKY is now in heaven with God and he can tell God that he has the title GCMG.

I hope you enjoy the joke. Only broad minded people enjoy jokes. Others may find it offensive.

Tan Kin Lian

Venture out of comfort zone

I have two rabbits. They are kept in two separate cages and are sheltered from the rain. They receive their food three times a day.

I let them out once in a while to roam freely in the garden. If both are out together, they are likely to fight.

Do these rabbits prefer the comfort of the cages or to roam freely in the garden?

I reflect on this choice and think about the ordinary Singaporeans. If they have a job, they can live comfortably in their HDB flats and work hard every day. They don't want to venture out of their comfort zone and into the unknown.

When they lose their jobs and have no money to feed their family, they go out to fight each other for the limited jobs as Uber or Grab drivers.

But this opportunity will soon be bleak. There is an over supply of taxis and private hire cars. The high demand, which is generated by promotions has already started to reverse. Times will get very tough for them, unless they have a new government.

Back to my rabbits. When I open the door of their cage, they hesitate to come out. After a while, they leave their cage and enjoy the freedom, but still in the garden. They don't want to come back, even for food.

Is there a lesson for Singaporeans? Is it worth venturing out for some freedom? Can we move out of the comfort zone? Are they more tame than the rabbits?

Capitalism and socialism

Many Singaporeans believe that capitalism is good and socialism is bad.

This belief, which is the outcome of ignorance and brainwashing over the decades, reminds me of the sheep in the novel titled "Animal Farm".

In that novel, the sheep represented the ordinary people. At the beginning, they were told by their animal leaders that the anmials (with four legs) were better than humans (with two legs). They were taught to repeat the slogan "four legs good, two legs bad". They were brainwashed and believed in the slogan.

Many years later, the leaders started to follow the ways of the humans. They changed their teaching and told the sheep to chant the new slogan "four legs good, two legs better".

Being ignorant, the sheep believed and followed the teachings of their leaders.

Now, I ask you. What are the color of the sheep. Most of them are white, right? Have you ever seen a blue sheep?

Back to capalism and socialism. Many Singaporeans are ignorant about the real difference between capitalism and socialism. They only believe that the propaganda that capitalism is good, that it creates wealth and that socialism is bad, that it destroys wealth.

They follow the brainwashing of the American media. The Americans also also brainwashed. They believe that capitalism is good and that low tax regime is good.

But they also want to have their socal security, unemployment benefit and Medicare. They do not realize that these social programs are produced by socialist policies enacted a few decades ago.

We can continue to be ignorant and follow the slogans taught by the leaders. Alternatively, we can start thinking for ourselves.

Should the Deductible be removed from the Medishield and integrated plans?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Should the Deductible be removed from the Medishield and integrated plans?

55% said that this should be made optional.
36% said that the increase in premium is lower than the cost of the rider (taken with a private insurer) to cover the co-payment.
10% like to keep the status quo;

See the breakdown of the votes in
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=544

Is the government spending the tax revenue prudently and wisely?

I asked this question in The Wisdom of the Crowd - Is the government spending the tax revenue prudently and wisely?

56% said that they are not spending enough to help the people cope with the high cost of living.

40% said that they spend too much on defense.

None said that they spend too much on infrastructure.

See the breakdown of the votes at
http://www.wisdomofthecrowd.sg/chart.aspx?ID=545

Simulation of general election 2020

Mr. Tan,
I have looked at your simulation of the general election due on 2020. I do not believe the results. I think they simulations are incredible. Are they fake news?

Reply
I agree with you.
They are as incredible as Donald Trump being elected as President of the United States. Right?

Here are the simulated results.
If you do not agree with the extreme simulations, you can select and view the more moderate simulation with swing less than 25%.
http://tklcloud.com/Election/const2.aspx

If you are still not happy, you can do you own simulation and choose the factors that are not so bad for the PAP. Here is the link:
http://tklcloud.com/Election/const.aspx

How to deal with "deliberate fake news"

I will now give my views about the current attempt by the government to pass legislation to deal with "deliberate fake news". I understand that the government wish to pass a law to impose penalties on the people involved.

I will deal with these questions:

a) What is real news and what is fake news?
b) How to identify a malicious intent from a mistake, a joke or just an opinion?
c) Should the culpability be extended to the platform or website owner?

The large social media owners have testified to the select parliamentary committee that they do not have the ability to judge what is real news and what is fake news.

I agree with their view. It is impossible for them to deal with this matter when there are millions of posts that are put up each day on their platform.

A practical approach is for them to act when a party, who is affected by the fake news, raises an objection. The platform owner can remove the posting, if they agree that the objection is legitimate.

The aggrieved party can also ask the platform owner to post a correction to the fake news. This is the approach taken by Mr. Lee Kuan Yew one or two decade earlier. It is a fair and practical approach.

To be fair, the correction should not be longer than the original post. Exceptions can be made.

I will now deal with another matter. Suppose someone puts up a fake news. So what?

Why do I say so? Common sense will tell us about the following:

a) Not many people read the fake news.
b) Even if it is circulated virally, not many people will believe it.

There is therefore no need for the government to deal with this matter by passing any law, especially a law that may be ambigious and cause other problems, such as the curtailment of free speech or the right to express an opinon, or even to criticise the government for an unjust or dishonest act.

The best way to deal with fake news is to put up the real facts and let the people judge for themselves. We have to trust that most people have common sense and are decent people. They do not believe in any untruths or half truths that are pushed to them. Some of these half truths are put up by the government itself.

If we look at what is happening in America, we will realise the magnitude of the problem. President Trump makes statements that are considered outrageous by many people with common sense. But he believed in these statements. He is also the most powerful person in America and maybe the whole world. If there is a law against deliberate fake news, how will President Trump be judged and who will judge him?

Mental block with the name "Lee"

I may be getting dementia. I had a very good friend. His name is Kum Tatt. He was a great scientist. But I forgot his surname. Was it Chan, Wong or Tan?

After raking my memory, I remembered. It was Lee Kum Tatt. He passed away about 10 years ago.

Next. the prime minister of Singapore. I know that his initial is LHL. I also remember his name as Hsien Loong. But I forgot his surname.

Is it Lim, Low or Loo?

After much effort, I remembered that it was a Lee.

It seemed that I faced a mental block when it comes to a "Lee". I don't know why.

OK, this is just a joke. It is not fake news, OK?

Here is the link to tell you more about my friend, Lee Kum Tatt

http://leekumtatt.blogspot.sg/