Let me explain what happens when we make progress. HDB prices go up, private home (prices) go up, all asset prices go up. Everybody finds he owns something more valuable in the house, his shares are worth more and he can live a good life. Of course we have to put up with more crowded trains, more crowded buses, (but) it cannot be helped.
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Why would I want it to go up?
I am ardy 60 plus, my kids are in their late twenties and early thirties and are now planning for their family…..they don’t seem to be able to see their dreams come true…chasing and chasing the price ….but salary remain stagnant…and now possibly job threaten or salaries revised downwards.
I wouldn’t mind if they can find a better place to live elsewhere..if not, then perhaps, the coming down of prices sounds good to me.
Rise in property prices without corresponding rise in income of people will not beneift young people. As far as the old people are concerned, rise in property prices will benefit them if they have more than one property or if they can downgrade their porperty.
More important is the real per capita income growth of Singaporeans, not overall GDP growth. The way to achieve the real per capita income growth of Singaporeans is through increase in productivity of Singaporeans, innovation. Such approach needs not put stress on our infrastructure and social fabric. To choose between real per capita income growth and overall GDP growth I would prefer the former.
“It cannot be helped!!” . Such strong words coming out from LKY is like pronouncing Singaporeans dead, no hope, you die your business. Damned!!
We will get alternative who can help since PAP is so helpless nowadays, except to help themselves with million dollar salaries.
Cannot be help? I guess it is so because in order to reduce crowd in trains and buses, higher frequency is needed and with such frequency, profitability is reduce….and bosses want as much profit as possible…so yah, it cannot be helped….but can he explain why a country such as taiwan whose leaders are not as “great” as him can have such a fine rapid transit system…
and that’s LKY’s perception of progress? woa…great…
“HDB prices go up, private home (prices) go up, all asset prices go up.”
HDB prices go up, so? does it benefit most people? i guess not, since they won’t rip a profit when they have to pay sky rocket price for a new home…they can only pat themselves on the back, self high at the paper gain
but speaking of share….with progress, why ain’t the share TH has worth more?
wealth legitimately created is a good thing especially when the people also possess the discipline and wisdom to manage it. but alas, if the people are foolish with created wealth, the social costs may be worse than not being as rich.
strange to hear such stuff during a LNY dinner…
strange the way how our dear leaders harp on increasing productivity, there is an MM, an SM & a PM. surely they got better (or world class) ideas to bring S’pore to the next level of growth for the benefit of the people.
maybe MM Lee can sell his home & rebuild it to house the foreign workers he seem to care so much about. with the central location, i am sure those workers will not be deemed choosey. in our land scarced city state, it cannot be helped (maybe MM Lee will have to move to JB? dun be choosey, other ol’ folks in other countries dun even have a home). :P
I find Lee’s assumptions flawed and misleading. Either that, or I am missing his point.
Singapore has among the lowest Domestic Purchasing Power among developed nations. That is despite high yty GDP growth, high GDP per capita, HDB prices go up, private home (prices) go up, shares are worth more, all asset prices go up.
So everybody hopes to own something more valuable in the house, and that he can live a good life. But the reality is that our relative purchasing power is weak (among lowest in developed nations). Fact is that while assets and costs (not quality) of living are going up, most people’s income are lagging behind.
IMHO.
yeah right! our assets all goes UP UP UP! including all those ASSETS owned by MM and his familees will goes UP UP UP! so cannot be help. Tell us something WE SINGAPOREANS WANT TO HEAR NOW and not all these BULLS*** when majority of the average singaporeans are now at the verge of ruins by your stupid moron money making policies.
STOP ALL YOUR NONSENSE NOW MR MM, YOU CANNOT GO ON FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS AND HUNGER FOR POWER AND MONEY AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR OWN CITIZENS WHO MANY ARE ALREADY SUFFERING NOW.
I have been jobless for over 2 years. no, i am serious. i do not like what is happening. i know what to do.
Good God… MORE Psycho Babble!
It’s like telling us eating feces is good, but it is bitter and foul smelling, packed with bacteria.. but must swallow!
Most importantly, purchasing power must go up also.
Allow me to add:
While minister’s salaries are hedged against the general economy, hence property prices, general wages are not. It is pointless for prices of all asset classes to go up except our human capital. Foreigners want our land but not our people.
The MM is a very experienced statesman whose views are respected by seasoned politicians all over the world.
What he was saying is sensible and logical. Yes, there is bound to be certain inconvenience in squeezing yourselves into crowded trains and buses, but bear in mind that the values of your properties and shares are rising which means your wealth is increasing. If the government had not brought in these foreign talents, most Singaporeans would have been jobless by now. Your HDB flats would be of no value and your shares would be worthless.
My Views
Feb 20, 2010, 02:18
if MM’s experience don’t really count for much if that does not translate to the advancement of the people (general population).
hmmm, the price of home values going up is one of the major reasons why couples or would-be couples find it so hard to plan for a child or 2. with homes being the major lifetime purchase for most people, the rising cost of homes leave many with little left to save for rainy days in case of another downturn, for retirement, or having kids.
employers are quick to let staff go because our govt have been mollycoddling them with cheap labour, but reality comes back to haunt them when the birthrates plummet.
something’s gotta give, the is the cost of growing at all cost. someone, somewhere, somehow the “bills” will have to be paid. even street Ah Seng’s know a simple rule- O$P$, how come our elder statesmen (not just one) don’t know? too flushed with cash leading people to think that cash will solve everything?
lmao…
My understanding from MM is that when we make progress, cost of living go up. That’s fine but unfortunately, common people salary doesn’t go up, do we still call that progress?
Let’s get this straight for once.
It cannot be helped, or the PAP doesn’t want to do it, or the PAP cannot do it?
Get the hell out of office and let someone else do it, then.
the old f**ker is talking cock.
If every thing goes up is good then why not they up our salaries or fix the housing price at 1 million.
Remember some old buildings already have flats that cost .5 million already.
//My Views
yeah experienced in locking people up for no reason for than 10 years.
respected? I don’t know.
mocked? yes! for losing the equivalent of the wealth of Ng Teng Fong in less than 1 year (twice).
Everything go up except that the MM conveniently stays silent on the one thing that ought to follow the up-swing, the worker’s salary.
Surely the MM knows that the most important value to the common man is cold hard cash that he needs to survive the day.
When this does not go up with the other asset values he mentioned, it cannot be helped that the common man’s middle finger will also go up!
Hi MV,
You should stop insulting the intelligence of your fellow Singaporeans. So what if the MM is respected by seasoned politicians all over the world and losing respect from its own people?
What is the purpose of life, I ask you? You may want to be seen in high places and do not mind crowded buses and trains. You may deceive yourself that your property values are something to shout about and that your wealth on record looks fantastic but please take a moment to reflect if you can whether these are real values and not passing values.
Are all Singaporeans as greedy and self-centered as your good self?
The foreign alien. Have you noticed that the tune has changed? No? First it was foreign talent and how we must have them to help Singaporeans tap on theie talents so that we can depend on our own talents in the future.
Have you been hearing this refrain in recent times? No? Is it not because the tune now is not about the foreign talent but about the foreign worker? Where previously MM and his gang were proclaiming the wisdom of having foreign talents they are now proclaiming the virtue of having foreign workers of a different kind – never mind whether they are talented or not. Worse is they fault Singaporeans for forcing them to look for these cheap labours!
You ought to seek a cure for the illness that is plaguing you. Do not under-estimate the resolve of a hungry people, a people hungry for their welfare to be looked after. We will survive with or without the PAP just as our ancestors survived the separation from Malaysia.
You have exemplified all things PAP in your few comments in the articles published here. You are clouded in your own logic and reason. It is time to shut yourself down a moment to listen, think and ponder the rumblings all around you. If you do not do so, the day will come and you will be the one inconvenienced by change – a change which you won’t be able to accept.
Can PAP supporters (PRs , new citizens, old citizens)please comment on this ranking?
no lah, i dun mean your quality of life. I mean the national quality of life.
Dear MM, times have changed. Instilling fear in a general population no longer works. Please use other scare tactics to keep up with times. Tks.