Towards Extinction

So much head and heart expressions on the White Paper. Now I think the best reads are those coming from NMPs who do not need to pledge allegiance to either party, or even better any MP who does not share the same opinion with that of his or her party. I think their view will be objective and worthy.

Again I am impressed with Lawrence Lien's take, who proposes a cap on 6 million (well a middle way approach of course but his rhetoric is sound). He casts doubts on the government's promise to increase productivity citing the same promise 10 years ago. What turned out in the end was just the import of low cost labour to spur the growth.

He also suggests that the government draws on its reserve to invest in strategic industries. Temasek can also invest and help local companies that depend on cheap labour to restructure and "rehabilitate" instead of continuing the feed of "drugs". I also share his sentiments that we have to increase the minimum wage to draw our own citizens to blue collar jobs, thus upgrading their status. (hmm... I think I like this guy because he uses a lot of metaphors). He also supports the moving of lower-skilled companies out of Singapore.

You know I was thinking about this for awhile, all these talk about how so few young people supporting old people. (Makes you feel that the baby boomers are really a nuisance). No I was just wondering whether the government can enter into a long term lease with Johor or Indonesia for a piece of land to build retirement villages and export us there. We can then tap their cheap labour to provide elderly care. Yes, drastic, pragmatic and soulless, but hasn't that been its approach for the past decades, resulting in the words of Low Thia Kiang " a social and physical environment that is not conducive to family life".

This guy Walter Lee who wrote to the forum provided a good analysis. He thinks that unlike London, New York and HK which are regional cities which need an open door policy, Singapore is not a regional city but a city-state ie. a nation and a country as well. At such unlike the other cities we have to uphold a national identity and an "active citizenry". A regional city on the other hand can afford a populace that is "inherently mobile and highly transient". In short what he was pointing out in his article is that whilst we have to keep up with economic growth for survival we have to watch out whether we will lose our identity that will result in emigration and low birth rate.

At the end of day we need to make sure our short term economic survival instinct do not lead us down a long path, toward extinction.