5/13/2008

Myth 180

Singaporeans are the richest people in Asia Other than the Japanese, on the average, Singaporeans believe that they are the richest people in Asia. How true is this statement? There are many rich people, true, and many millionaires. But we also have the highest percentage of people having financial difficulties, needing govt handouts. 200,000 households are struggling to make ends meet. That is a huge percentage of people in trouble. Now why is that so? The people with the highest savings needing to go for the dole. What kind of paradise is this? Got flats, got a lot of CPF savings but begging for govt assistance. Tak boleh tahan! So are we the richest people in Asian outside Japan? Or is this a myth?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

200,000 households out of a total of what, 1,000,000 households ? That's only 20%, which can hardly be called 'huge'. That percentage is even less than the percentage of people who did not vote PAP in the last election.

Anonymous said...

Please do not say "tak boleh tahan". That has been used before.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

just an expression. 200,000 households out of 1 mil or 800,000 or even less if we are talking just about singaporeans. ignore the definition of residents. singaporeans must just talk about singaporeans and singaporeans must be first among equals in their homeland.

Anonymous said...

... singaporeans and singaporeans must be first among equals in their homeland.

The reality is quite the opposite. Singaporeans, like it or not, now share their homeland with more than a million non-Singaporeans. The FTs now are as equal in status, if not more, to Singaporeans. That is the cold reality. No such thing as first among equals.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

we must remind the elected representatives that we are the real owners of the island.

Anonymous said...

WHy don't you start ? Put your money where your mouth is instead of just blabbering on the Internet.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

blabbering in cyberspace is only one way to get people to be conscious of what is happening. it is not free. my time is not free. so is my redbeanforum.com.

there are many things that people can do. each one contributing a little in his own way.

Anonymous said...

Why am I not surprised. You are just another bo lam pa Singaporean sheep. With an attitude like that, it is no wonder the PAP are not afraid of being thrown out of office and tramp over you losers with impunity. They know you are all fluff but not substance. Always expecting someone else to take up the challenge but not yourself. Too afraid of getting a all expenses paid holiday at Whitley Rd ?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

you seem quite a gutsy and action fellow. please tell us what you have done. we are all ears to hear from you.

Anonymous said...

Reddy, you should not bother with this one. He is planted here. He is 3 legged. You know what I mean?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

The poorest person in S'pore is still better off than the average villager in say, Myanmar, or Indonesia.

What redbean is complaining about is the (seemingly) lack of "equitable" wealth distribution.

Out od the (purported) 200,000 "struggling" households, I'll bet all of them are terrible money managers and don't have any worthwhile level of financial literacy.

Hardship, does't just "occur overnight" for "no reason". People must think and act in SPECIFIC WAYS in order to guarantee that they'll create a finacial hell for themselves.

Anonymous said...

I am not the one complaining. I am very happy with the way it is in Singapore.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

we have gone past that to use the excuse, 'we are better off than the aborigines.' as we progress, we want to look ahead and continue to progress. if the former excuse is reasonable, than those earning more than $10k a month should be very grateful and should not be harping about not enough and want to be paid more.

i am not even mentioning those who are earning more $1 mil and still greedy for more.

comparing with the less well off is not a reasonable yardstick.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

> comparing with the less well off is not a reasonable yardstick. <

Exactly. The point is can you be happy right now, with what you have... and not whine about what you don't have?

I'm blissfully happy when I'm in Hotel Singapore.

But I do enjoy ranting. Not just about S'pore... S'pore is only a small example of the enormous human potential of self-sabotage, and the suicide of personal responsibility.

I love it!