I used to live in Singapore. I’m particularly familiar with how they do things.
> No minimum wage
> As a matter of national policy, MOM does not prescribe minimum wages for all workers in Singapore, whether local or foreign. Whether wages should increase or decrease is best determined by market demand and supply for labour.
Singapore doesn’t have an unemployment benefit. You can get a few months worth of assistance if you lose your job. The closest it has is ComCare, which is mostly reserved for invalids.
I have extended family in Singapore. I can assure you that the approach is not some libertarian utopia and neither is it some oligarchic capitalistic system sucker.
It is designed to be practical and constantly adapt to reality.
Today, that means a mixed economy. That means basic human decency will be taken care of by government, the remaining is market driven.
This means housing, food subsidies, education and healthcare is readily made available by the government, not just through price controls. Look up property rights there.
That means high taxes on vehicles, use it to develop a world class mass transit system.
That means, lower taxes on foreign businesses to come operate in Singapore, no xenophobia shown to skilled workers (barring their geographic limitations). This has the consequence of raising high value domestic activity, thus providing locals jobs.
They cannot accept refugees because of size.
That means they absolutely want to be integrated with the outside world, because they realize they absolutely cannot produce everything. Again, can't have xenophobia.
That means lower income taxes because the government doesn't need more money. They have already ensured that cost of living (housing and healthcare) is so low that no one will be bankrupt with routine medical procedures or no insurance scams and medical codes that will suddenly no the covered.
Frankly, sometimes people forget how much work the government has put in there to actually make life so easy that the government doesn't need to be the frankenstein like US govt is.
It's a matter of approach. The government wants to take care of people, not leave them wondering if they will be covered in the next crisis.
This comment reads half like PAP propaganda, and half simply uninformed.
> the approach is not some libertarian utopia
Well there’s no such thing as a real-world utopia. But Singapore, having the free-est market in the world is about as close as you could get.
> no xenophobia
Hmmmm... Chinese racism against pretty much everybody else has been a long standing issue in Singapore. Just go on any Singaporean job listing site and search for “must speak mandarin”.
> basic human decency will be taken care of by government
You can just look at the PAP’s website to see the mental gymnastics in this comment. Here are two of their four core values:
> Meritocratic
> A system that provides citizens with equal opportunities to progress, and for a person's contributions to be recognised and appreciated on the basis of merit.
> Self-reliant
> No one owes us a living. We will avoid creating the dependency syndrome a welfare state generates.
> Hmmmm... Chinese racism against pretty much everybody else has been a long standing issue in Singapore. Just go on any Singaporean job listing site and search for “must speak mandarin”.
What are we talking about? Xenophobia or racism?
Xenophobia is very low in SG. People expect to know foreigners and want foreigners to bring business or capital or skills.
And since you are using PAP values to inform yourself, please read their pledge:
"We, the members of the PAP,
Pledge ourselves to build a strong
United Party, to create a vibrant,
just and equal society,
through achieving excellence by all, so that
every citizen, regardless of race,
language or religion, can enjoy a
full and happy life."
This is from wikipedia:
The PAP symbol (which is red and blue on white) stands for action inside interracial unity. PAP members at party rallies have sometimes worn a uniform of white shirts and white trousers which symbolises purity of the party's ideologies of the government. The party also reminded that once the uniform is sullied, it would be difficult to make clean again.
> No one owes us a living. We will avoid creating the dependency syndrome a welfare state generates.
Do you know what this means in the Asian lens?
It means that they will collectively work to build their living because no other country will help them. It doesn't mean that they are going to leave their citizens homeless on the streets. It doesn't mean that they will let insurance companies shark out the lives out of citizens. They want to build a society where the basics are covered.
About 80% of housing in Singapore is mixed socialized (not the same as handouts or welfare) but a collective system that does things with goals in mind
Maybe it's really hard for people to even imagine how such a government could possibly work. Rest assured that the heavy hand of government takes care of basics so people can use their creativity to thrive on the free market built atop the safety.
Your comments are so easily falsifiable, I hope nobody is taking them seriously.
> Xenophobia is very low in SG. People expect to know foreigners and want foreigners to bring business or capital or skills.
An incredibly consistent social problem Singapore has had is dealing with the fact that Singapore is essentially run by Han Chinese, for the benefit of Han Chinese. Despite the governments best rhetoric, ethnic minorities and foreigners are still widely discriminated against.
> It means that they will collectively work to build their living because no other country will help them.
I really find it hard to believe that you’re actually trying to say LKY was an advocate for collectivism.
> "Cradle-to-grave welfarism blunted the ambition of many budding entrepreneurs. Worse, high personal taxes dampened the desire of many to achieve wealth and success." - LKY
> "the folly of populist politicians who win elections playing the politics of equal rewards or egalitarianism: squeeze the successful to pay for the welfare of the poor, and end up with the equalisation of poverty" - LKY
> About 80% of housing in Singapore is mixed socialized
The HDB scheme does in fact provide a lot of housing. But more specifically, what it does is provide affordable housing for the middle class professionals to buy. If you’re too poor to afford rent, you’re not going to be getting any benefit from the HDB.
I’ve posted reliable sources for every claim I’ve made in this thread. You’re just posting incredibly liberal reinterpretations of reality.
It appears that you have quite a few concepts completely mixed up.
I'm just going to leave it at collectivism != welfare state and xenophobia != racism. I'll allow you to do research on how such societies work.
Further, since you already color me liberal (which is incorrect), I can tell you are extremely biased in your perception of words. So feel free to take some classes in removing bias. It'll help.
The use of "liberal" in that last sentence has a different meaning. In that instance it means "to take liberties with regards to...". I was saying that I think you're "taking the liberty" of infusing your own ideas with what the actual reality of the situation is. Not that your ideas were liberal as in liberal/conservative.
Ah yes. This is correct. That became mandatory after I left.
MedShield Life is still quite restrictive in what it covers though. Even with half the population having additional private insurance, about a third of medical expenditure is out of pocket.
A consistent point of controversy in Singapore is how much MediShield funds the government keeps in surplus reserve.
Total medical expenditure in Singapore is also suppressed somewhat by people choosing not to have treatment.
> No minimum wage
> As a matter of national policy, MOM does not prescribe minimum wages for all workers in Singapore, whether local or foreign. Whether wages should increase or decrease is best determined by market demand and supply for labour.
https://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/work-permit-for-foreign-worker/is...
> User pays healthcare
Government offers a partially subsidised health insurance plan. But you have to apply and pay for it yourself.
https://www.sgmoneymatters.com/medishield-life/
> restrictive welfare entitlements
Singapore doesn’t have an unemployment benefit. You can get a few months worth of assistance if you lose your job. The closest it has is ComCare, which is mostly reserved for invalids.
https://www.msf.gov.sg/Comcare/Pages/Public-Assistance.aspx
> restrictive immigration
Singapore immigration policy has always focused on maximizing employment for Singaporeans
https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/singapores-ministry-manpo...
Probably also worth noting, they don’t accept refugees:
https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5a12da0a2.pdf
> low taxes
Singapore is considered a tax haven by many people.
https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Individuals/Locals/Working-...
> Free market economics
It is considered to have the highest economic freedom in the world
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom
Singapore is basically an economic libertarian utopia. It is a case study in the effect of uncompromising free market economics.