If you look at Singapore's economic environment, you will see
that the majority is government controlled/linked, and in expanding
their empire, starting from their home base, the smaller guys
simply do not have the economies of scale to compete. Case in
point, NTUC. Of course the people also frequent NTUC because they
percieve NTUC to be cheaper, being government linked. So it is a
vicious circle.
Singapore govt is pragmatic because the majority is chinese.
Chinese are pragmatic and that's why they are successful the world
over.
Sometimes it is not that we are afraid to fail, but because the
people here are not receptive to failure. Fail once and you may
never get to try again.
Now look at a guy who gets retrenched. What does he do? He drives a
taxi. Life here is such that while you may never be rich, you will
not starve. And in that I would say the government has done a good
job in providing stability and jobs for everybody. Unless you are
so unlucky as to not be able to drive, no money to learn and nobody
to offer you a job. Which could happen.
Regarding the workfare supplement, why is it that you need to work
before you are entitled to it? What if you really could not find a
job?
Coming back to Singapore capitalist economy, you will see that it
is become quite boring with the same brands being replicated in the
shopping centres. Go to town, go to Ang Mo Kio, you will see the
same brands again and again.
I am not an economist. I cannot back my claims with figures. But my
instincts are strong. And they tell me, Singapore is not a good
place to start a business. I might think differently in Hong Kong,
for example. Especially if my uncle, my cousin, my sister are in
successful businesses themselves. Even in Shanghai you can see the
hope and daring of the people, and feel the vibe, the bustle of the
marketplace there. I have no solution. The market here is really
very small. And if everyone around you have stable jobs in
companies, why should you be any different? People are smart. If it
pays to start businesses, they would have done so already. Why
struggle for something uncertain and unprofitable if you are
already comfortable.
Question is, when foreign investments move to cheaper places, what
will come of people who have been trained to be worker ants
do?
