Programme:
'Golden Horizons Expansion' Proposal.
Background
Information:-
As our nation goes into a 'technical recession', we realized how
deep our economy is linked to economic conditions of US. Thus, we
have to lessen our dependency and decouple ourselves from US, as
much as we can.
The solutions
are:-
1. Investments
in R&D for improvements and innovation for
better products that can be appreciated and purchased by the
international masses, for tech and health products. This is already
done and pursued.
2. Language
education refinement:- To access markets, native
languages is the best penetration point for success, which China
and US now realized and is making up for lost grounds to Singapore
by educating their young.
Thus, we too must move a few steps ahead - by learning emerging
markets' native tongues, such as Russia, the Slavic states, African
dialects, Myanmar, Vietnamese, etc.
Out of an est 35,000 school leavers each year, they must
learn at least 3 languages - English, Chinese, and a foreign
tongue. Rather than to learn every international language, they
could be divided into language streams and be market ready to tap
emerging markets that had been identified at national level,
regardless of they are to be NUS grads or ITE supervisors,
technicians.
Our malays will fit comfortably with Arabic states. Our other
ethnic groups will swiftly fill in the gaps with Russian, African
and other Asian states.
This will ensure our society will have ready members to
exploit the opportunities other countries have rather than to just
rely on US or China for growth. With their remittances and taxes,
our GDP will grow, not to mention the benefit they can bring to
their host country as well as the experiences they will gain
to help our country grow socially.
3. Jobs for
Older Workers.
As much as our society can cajole employers to take on
older workers, the Singapore market is too small and competitive
for them to be employed, but nevertheless, we will never give
up.
One other solution would be for our society - the State- to
create jobs for them.
NTUC tried to set up shop in Myanmar. It doesnt make sense for a
national corporation, selling cheap goods and using public funds to
operate in another country to benefit workers there.
Instead, we can set a string of 'mom and pop' shops in the
foreign country, using $1.99 shop biz model.
$1.99 biz model is a very good model but failed in Spore
because of 2 critical reasons - overextended credit and
an affluent population who wouldnt want to be seen inside. But it
will work in countries that has strong desires for
cheap accessible essential goods - Myanmar and
African states.
While capitalist democrats strongly encourage entreprenuership
and disdain govt intervention, nothing can match the
sheer economy of scale a govt can provide, as well as the
business connections to protect the biz.
Thus, using society funds and NTUC purchasing expertise,
we can send responsible mom and pops, after a few months of
language and accounting courses, to manage state own cottage
industry biz- either co funded using their CPF or
outright grants. They will only pay taxes and any profits they make
are their own for retirement and medical fees.
Such remittances will in return boost our GDP and national
treasuries to provide for future generations in social
spending and healthcare.
They will lead meaningful and better potential lives there
rather than to be dishwashers or cleaners.
They would be our ambassadors, as well as help the citizens
there with concepts of our way of life here. When they retire, our
growing elders will go take over their operations.
Possible cottage
industry biz:-
Russia and Slavic cold states - spicy asian food
US, Japan and Europe - nursing care and language
centres
Asia and African states - cheap international essential goods,
provide 'macro loans'
This programme will need more bureacrats, but they will be
revenue earners and not social funding dispensers. We will need
more of them as senior managers overseaing our operations overseas.
It is not one shop per country we are looking at, but hundreds of
thousands string across the world - as each country is divided into
states, provinces, districts and towns. One shop per 50,000
people.