WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN [till the next boo-boo]
WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN [till the next boo-boo]
Click
here for other "Won't Get Fooled" items
Click
here for the BigO homepage
THE PROMISE
"Members of Parliament yesterday supported the government's promise to put people
first and to promote active citizenship that was laid out in President SR Nathan's
address to Parliament last week." - the nation-builder press, Oct 12 1999.
If you can
remember this headline when the ruling PAP party and their million-dollar ministers
ALL came forward to make this pledge to always have the interests of $ingaporeans
"first", then you qualify to be a unique $ingaporean with a memory.
On that day, one by one, PAP MPs debated for five hours on the President's address
and took "a long and deep view into the kind of society $ingapore wanted to
be". As one MP put it, $ingapore needed to change the emphasis from hardware
to "heartware".
Well, the $ingapore economy is down now. Exports have fallen. Unemployment has
ballooned to more than 100,000 people without jobs. Bankruptcies have gone up
and up. So what did you expect your "people first" government
to do?
Did you expect them to lower income tax to help the rich
pay less?
Did you expect them to raise the GST/sales tax so people have to pay more for
everything they buy?
Did you expect them to raise the bus and MRT/train fares?
Did you expect them to raise the ERP/toll rates?
Did you expect them to raise the parking fees?
Did you expect them to raise the power rates?
Did you expect them to raise rubbish collection fees?
Did you expect them to consider raising telephone rates?
Did
you expect them to raise postage rates?
Did you expect them to consider cutting your CPF (ie your wages) if you are
over 40 years old?
THE REALITY: WAGE CUTS, PAY FREEZES AND RETRENCHMENTS
The nation-builder press, May 11 2003.
http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/story/0,4567,82147-1053547140,00.html?
AND
NOT MUCH HELP
While labour leaders earn big salaries, the PAP government’s policy on aiding workers was spelt out as recently as Aug 20 2001.
The nation-builder
press, Aug 20 2001.
With GST rising to 5 per cent on Jan 1 2004, $ingaporeans have an additional burden to bear of $1.32 billion a year, forever.
The government has also refused to restore CPF cuts. Which means the 1999 CPF cuts, which cost Singapore workers $7.5 billion in earnings a year, remains for a fourth year. That’s a total of $30 billion that workers have sacrificed so far.
Workers wages have also
been frozen by order of the National Wages Council. Living in $ingapore is a
high cost affair. And WORKERS ARE THE ONES ASKED TIME
AND TIME AGAIN TO BEAR THE BURDEN AND MAKE THE SACRIFICE.
THERE ARE ONLY TWO CERTAINTIES FOR 2004
When you wake up on Jan 1 2004, the high cost of living will go up higher with the new 5 per cent GST tax.
The other certainty is that
your million-dollar PAP ministers will have their pay cuts restored in June
2004.
REMEMBER THIS?
"Cabinet ministers
and senior civil servants will see their salary cuts fully restored Jan 1 2000.
Their salaries will also be unfrozen, to keep pace with private sector pay."
- the nation-builder press, Nov 24 1999.
This
isn't the first time PAP ministers have rushed to restore their pay cuts.
HOW
$INGAPORE HELPS THE POOR
The
nation-builder press, May 4 2002.
Seventy percent of Singaporeans do not pay taxes. About 110,000 Singaporeans
are unemployed. With the GST at 5%, $ingaporeans will likely pay $1.32 billion
in GST to the government.
"You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich."
- Both Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher attributed the above quote to Abraham
Lincoln. But there is no evidence in Lincoln's speeches that he ever said that.
"Neither can you help the
poor man by raising the cost of living."
- The Mirror of Opinion, May 4 2002.
HOW
$INGAPORE HELPS THE POOR Pt 2
The nation-builder press, May 6 2002.
The nation-builder press,
April 20 2001.
"The overall amount of remuneration paid to cabinet ministers and ministers
of state in the last financial year was $27.8 million."
- The nation-builder press, Apr 20 2001. $ingapore has 17 ministers + 10 ministers
of state = 27.
"27 ministers continue to be paid $27.8 million a year. Every $ingaporean including
the110,000 unemployed will share $17.6 million in NTUC's GST help package for
one year only."
- The Mirror of Opinion, May 6 2002.
