Fact 1. Singapore do not have fossilized fuels or own any.
Fact 2. Singapore is only one of the major refining centres in
the world.
Clever boy, first score on
accuracy.
Fact 3. Singapore still have to import oil for domestic
consumption.
What happened to accuracy
after only two Facts presented ?
If Singapore is the only one of
the major refining centres in the world, should we be importing
refined oil from other sources for domestic consumption
?
Or has it not been the fact that
the Government and the Oil Companies are in cahoots in raping the
pockets of consumers by fixxing prices ?
With Singapore being one of
the major refining centers in the World, is there no benefits
in the Economies of Scale available to the market closest to this
Center ?
Even if the oil is subjected to
Global Price strictures - no one is asking for special price of the
raw crude oil, but surely the retail price of refined oil is
within our control.
Fact 4. Every major nation on Earth is currently cutting back on
fossilized fuel, to conserve depleting supplies of easy surface oil
as well as harm to our environment.
Clever point made with
available information and posted with factual
accuracy.
Fact 5. Oil is a revenue for govts to use such revenues for
social spending. They export oil at a premium price to other
nations. Such premiums on oil if sold without it to citizens,
the premiums will become subsidies for them. Oil
exporting countries now have to remove such subsidies, for they
need the money for social spending as well as to curb oil
consumption.
What social spending has
this Singapore Government made - when every cent spent is
recovered as revenues from the fees charged for its use, and
the total amount collected will probably be twice the amount
spent.
Oil is exported by Oil Companies -
is it exported by the Singapore Government ?
What are the 'Premiums' you are
referring to - or are you simply beating about the bush hoping some
straws will fly off the bush for you to catch ?
How are the "premiums" become
subsidies from Oil Companies ?
How do you relate the "premiums"
to become Government revenues for social spending ?
The fact is the Singapore
Government do
not export oil.
Oil is exported by the Oil
Companies at prices determined by the global mechanism, with the
Singapore Government imposing annual corporate tax on the annual
profits of the Oil Companies.
Fact 6. Singapore do not have enough land for more roads. Less
roads equates to more congestion. Petrol tax is one way to curb
more cars on the road, ensure citizens use the roads more
efficiently. And petrol tax is also one way for our society to have
more funds for social spending. Petrol tax is based on free will.
You pay only what you need. If you don't need, you don't pay.
Hongkong's area
of 1,104 sq km is not much bigger than Singapore's
707 sq km - with almost 25% of Hongkong territory being
uninhabitable mountain.
Hongkong has a population of 6.93
million {2007 census}, while Singapore has only 4.589 million {2007
census}.
Yet Hongkong has far more
efficient traffic and road managment plans in placed that are
financially less punitive on the residents there compared to
Singapore.
It is sheer nonsense that
Singapore do not have enough land, when one can see large tracts of
land that the Government has repossessed from the Private
Ownership, and waiting for "appropriate" market prices before the
URA release the land for development - {adding fuel to the hot
property market}.
It is disingeniously misleading to
claim that Petrol Tax only affects car owners, as non-car
owners are similarly affected when the commercial sector will pass
on the cost of their business to all consumers - regardless of
car-ownership.
Only a die-hard carpet beggar of
the MIW will insist that social spending is a benefit from high
petrol tax - without admitting that the bulk of the government
surplus will end up with GIC and Temasek for their wild export
adventures.
Fact 7. Domestic use of oil and other fossilized fuels for
energy use, similarly has a tarrif which is a govt tax imposed.
Again it is best on free will. You must use it efficently or if the
demand is allowed to spiral, we will face with high energy costs
due to depleting sources.
What kind of domestic use of oil
and other fossilized fuels are you vaguely referring to in which
you have cleverly classified that it is based on ''free will"
?
If you are referring to
electricity that is powered by oil - do you think that it is not
logical that the Government should provide higher incentives for
alternative energy sources to be installed ?
If you are referring to home
cooking - is there any alternative other then LPG that itself is a
by-product from the gas field, and which the reserves are far
larger than oil.
Fact 8. Not everyone owns a car in Singapore. You own a car,
then you would have to compensate those who owns singapore - our
citizens - too. Those taking public transports, pays add on charges
by transport companies. However, in line with our society's policy
to maximise efficiently on energy use, these transport companies
cannot arbitarily raise prices, and must meet with approval from
MOT and debated in Parliament, not easily obtained as proven the
difficulties over the years.
Only a propagandist will promote
this line that fare increases demanded by transport companies are
not easy to come by.
Have you counted the number of
fare price adjustments since Election 2006 ?
Even the ERP charges have seen its
rates climbing, as well as the number of gantries increased to
cover more entry-exit points, as well as major traffic routes
throughout the island.
Yet, when ERP was introduced -
Minister Mah Bow Tan had stated that when ERP is fully implemented
the 250% Road Tax increases since 1976, will be brought
down.
As matters stand, the Minister was
indulging in half-truths, and lies - as the Road Tax had seen less
then 50% adjustment since the ERP had mushroomed across the island,
with some at the entrance of a Heartland Township.
No one likes the current impasse, but the funds collected from
tax revenues are being channeled to look for alternative energy
resources, and not just anyone, but those that are credible ones so
that our money may effectively be use.
Before anyone acts emotionally , do consider logic please.
Is it now an impasse
?
Are you claiming you have inside
knowledge that this Government will be intransigent in not
responding to the hardship of the larger population of non-car
owners, as well as the car-owners ?
Could there be sufficient funds
left if you claim that the same tax revenues are used for your
supposed social spending, and now also to search for alternative
energy resources ?
Are you suggesting that the
Singapore Government is embarking on some pioneering works - via
the GLCs - to search for alternative energy resources
?
Are the existing resources in
Singapore capable to handle such a search, or are we throwing
monies into foreign companies to latch on to their expertise,
without any certainty of any outcome ?
