paganified
New member
sorrrrrrrry.
Singapore PM To Earn Almost 2 Million Dollars - After Pay Cut
- Thread starter Tribalcast
- Start date
visa
New member
Fair enough. But is the co-relation between pay and quality of work a proven trend? Is the highest paid CEO in the world also the most productive?
But that is not the government's tax revenue- that is money raised from campaigning. People voluntarily give money out of their own pockets to support the political candidate of their choice. For example, I would be willing to contribute $200 to help Barack Obama become president, but I wouldn't contribute it towards his paycheck.
Exactly! But everybody has to pay GST, every single day. This actually allows the government to gain more total revenue than through raising income tax.
It's important to add that increasing government revenue is not intrinsically a good or bad thing- it depends on a country's priorities. You can increase govt revenue to fund schools, hospitals, and so on and everybody will be better off. But this also comes at a higher cost of living for everybody. So there is a balance to be achieved, and determining the ideal level for this is the government's job.
However, I do think high-salaried ministers will not have the best idea of what is the ideal balance of public benefit and cost of living, because they do not suffer as much as the average Joe when our cost of living goes up.
I don't know about other countries but Singapore has proven itself since 1965.
We incure GST only when we buy things. The lesser things we buy, the lesser GST we pay.
I do not have actual demographic statistics of fellow users but for someone who has the means to indulge in musical pursue, the person's financial status could not be too far from the median.
There are many social group and NGOs that are helping those who are really financially in trouble. I don't know how many of us are in direct contact with these less fortunate but from my experience, Singapore have a very good social welfare network.
We incure GST only when we buy things. The lesser things we buy, the lesser GST we pay.
I do not have actual demographic statistics of fellow users but for someone who has the means to indulge in musical pursue, the person's financial status could not be too far from the median.
There are many social group and NGOs that are helping those who are really financially in trouble. I don't know how many of us are in direct contact with these less fortunate but from my experience, Singapore have a very good social welfare network.
visa
New member
Well braww, In case you didn't notice, that was the precise point I was trying to make
I never at any point in time said that it was fair.Singapore consciously chooses to tax the poor more than the rich. It sucks to be poor in Singapore. But if you're an average, everyday citizen, then you will be motivated to earn as much as you possibly can- because you will not have your income taxed too much, and you will be able to tolerate the GST.
I believe that the reasoning behind this is to encourage more foreigners to come to Singapore- people who are intelligent and capable of earning high salaries, but want to avoid high income taxes elsewhere. This perhaps, is Singapore's answer to the brain drain.
In a sense, keeping income taxes low and GST high motivates people to earn more. This is a fundamental principle in Singapore's policies- we keep unemployment and health benefits low (if there are any at all), because we want to strongly discourage people from remaining unemployed.
Again, I am not saying whether this is the right thing to do. Who am I to judge? But it's certainly effective in the context of our country.
visa
New member
brilliant point!
THOA
New member
I don't get it. You lamenting to me about your inability to vote because your constituency went unopposed, and telling me to do research based on that , when I have no idea who you are, what more which constituency you lived in.
Even IF you could vote when you have a chance, can you exactly say that your vote would mirror the hundreds or thousands of residents in your constituency? Enough to have the opposition win in that constituency? And even IF an opposition wins in your constituency, that is just a few seats. Is that really a true reflection of the votes will be for the rest of the country?
Anyway, here are the stats for the years that I was of a legal age to vote:
- In 2001, out of 84 seats contested, 55 seats were unopposed. Out of the 29 contested, 27 seats were won by the PAP.
Ok. So you may say that with 55 seats unopposed, it's pretty much like a pointless thing even if the opposition do win all the 29 seats. But take look at the next election...
- In 2006, out of 84 seats contested, only 37 were unopposed. Out of the 47 that are contested, PAP won 45 of it.
With more seats being challenged by the opposition, and with more chances for the people to vote for a new government, the fact remains that the majority of Singaporeans voted for the ruling government.
Of course I didn't include the year I turned legal to vote: 1997. But the elections happened before my birthday, so I didn't get to vote for this one either.
Anyway...
- Out of 83 seats fielded, 47 are unopposed. Out of the 36 seats contested, PAP won 34 of it.
How else can these seats be won if not for the people votes? Fact remains that for a majority of us, we don't want change THAT badly enough to decide that there should be a new government.
Now tell me, how many elections have you went through without voting? If more than three, you better move out of that constituency, or, if you feel strongly enough about it, consider contesting in the next election as an opposition or independent. You would have been old enough to do so. If you really wanna act on whatever you feel is not right.
Like I said, in a lot of countries, drastic political changes happen by way of the ballot or bullet (the latter can be interpreted literally or metaphorically). If by way of ballot that change you want cannot be achieved because you are not given the right to do so, and you REALLY wanna see change, take on the "bullet".
If you think he's getting paid too much , go earn the title of Prime Minister and do his job . I'm neutral here btw but i mean 60 over countries gained independence in 1965 but only one country to date out of that 60 over has made it to first world . I'm sure the Prime Minister has a very vital role in that and still plays a vital role in keeping this country running .
rottenramone
Active member
eh ministers and ministries have KPIs what. what they do is review it every FY to see whether its in line with their mission statement. let's say for moe:
http://www.moe.edu.sg/education/desired-outcomes/
so they will try their best to quantify into KPIs these outcomes in the form of how many students got awards, results, community svc, etc.
so the ministers all the way down to the schools get graded by their targets set, and also the against the grade/rank that they are at.
http://www.moe.edu.sg/education/desired-outcomes/
so they will try their best to quantify into KPIs these outcomes in the form of how many students got awards, results, community svc, etc.
so the ministers all the way down to the schools get graded by their targets set, and also the against the grade/rank that they are at.
Ized
New member
Its the Minister-Mentor (MM) Lee you are talking about and not the current PM fyi. Lee Hsien Long certainly did not have much part to play in the above...
I have great respect for Lee Kuan Yew...he was really something. Still have yet to be impressed at all by his son other than the fact that he actually decided to carry on with the IR's casino despite the majority of the population polled opposing it.
Totally agree on that, because any "normal" person would rather choose earn $300K a year working in the private sector and enjoy a normal "millionaire" lifestyle than to earn $3m a year as PM of Singapore and lead a very restricted life.
When Chen Shui Bian was still Taiwan President, many Singaporeans were comparing his salary to Singapore ministers. And as it turn out, Chen and his family have quietly transfered 10s of millions in state funds into their private swiss accounts.
When a person (especially Asians) is being entrusted with so much power in their hands, it is very normal that they will abuse it. And if the head is corrupted, the entire system will follow. So instead of leaving it to chance and hoping it will not happen, why not you pay them not to do it?
Some might say that despite the salary, our ministers are still corrupted. And my response to that is, Prove It! post your facts on youtube and share it.
visa
New member
Similarly, instead of leaving it to chance and hoping that thieves don't steal your wallet, why don't you pay them not to do it?
how would you be able to know who are the thieves in your neighbourhood?
visa
New member
suppose it's an inside job! all your friends are tempted to steal your wallet!
but you're missing my point.
Ized
New member
[=Quattro
currently MM Lee is still holding up the last pillar for the visages of Singapore's anti-corruption. My only hope is that the currrent government will be able to keep this up after he is gone...Why do you think he has not retired after all these years?
I think these are some issues we could think about.
currently MM Lee is still holding up the last pillar for the visages of Singapore's anti-corruption. My only hope is that the currrent government will be able to keep this up after he is gone...Why do you think he has not retired after all these years?
I think these are some issues we could think about.
ALL your friends? that mean
a) You must have been showing off your money all the time which forces them to gang up to teach you a lesson
b) You are mixing with the wrong friends
Then again, if you already know your friends are gonna steal from you (because thats the only way you can "pay" a thieve for not stealing from you), then why do you want to carry your wallet or continue to mix around with them?
Whitestrat
New member
Why indeed. When you finally gleam the truth, do share...:mrgreen:
Whitestrat
New member
How is the poor in Singapore taxed more than the Rich? When your income falls below a certain bracket, you get less or no taxes. When your income goes above a certain bracket, you get taxed more than the rest.
If you're poor, you cannot buy much in the first place. You don't pay so much GST. You have welfare benefits. You have education grants. You can buy HDB flats. You can't afford a car, so you take the bus, and you don't pay for ERP, road tax, or vehicle insurance. If you stay in the HDB, your property taxes are not the same amount as those of private housings.
You say that the rich can afford it because it's a small fraction, and a 20% cut is not the same to a poor person than a rich person? Sure. But Imagine if you were rich. You worked HARD for that money. What gives others the right to DEMAND that you give up your hard earned money for poeple who have not done so well?
Yes, many rich people do charity in Singapore. What you hear about NKF, Ren Ci and the likes are those donated by the public, which aren't rolling in money. What you do not hear about are the 3.6 Million Singapore Dollars paid by the rich at ONE dinner for Charity.
Aren't the accusations on this thread a little one-sided?
P.S. I think that we should be thankful we can sit around comfortably and worry about how much someone else is getting. That basically means we have food on our table, and water in our glasses.
Imagine what we'd be thinking about if we were starving instead?
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Whitestrat
New member
You are misunderstanding the purpose of writing this book.
