Lessons from Sri Lanka on bad politics, mismanagement and populism
Good politics, honesty and integrity, and good governance are topics the PAP Government repeatedly remind Singaporeans of, sometimes like a broken record. But the experience of Sir Lanks tells us just how important these are. Sri Lanka is in its worst crisis since its independence in 1948. A severe shortage of foreign currency has left […]
Did Workers’ Party propose more than one way to dip into strategic reserves?
Did Workers’ Party (WP) propose more than one way to dip into Singapore’s strategic reserves? Yes they did. WP in fact, proposed 2 ways to dip into our strategic reserves for recurrent spending: direct use of land sale proceeds and increased use of NIRC. Land sale proceeds Singapore’s reserves include physical assets like land. Currently, […]
Does GST hurt the poor the most? Arguments from PSP and WP.
Despite Finance Minister Lawrence Wong taking great pains and going to great lengths to explain how the government has designed the GST in such a way that it is actually progressive and not regressive, and does not hurt the poorer segment of society, the opposition WP and PSP continue to mislead on the impact of […]
Lessons from WP on how to keep the golden goose lean and thin
The Workers Party (WP) which opposes the GST hike, proposes to raise revenue to fund increased spending in the following ways: Use land sale proceeds to fund budget spending; Increase NIRC ( Net Investment Returns Contribution) from 50% to 60%. Point 1 Currently, proceeds from land sales are already being used – indirectly – for budget […]
Are we rich? We should manage our critical Reserves with a founder’s mindset and be careful not to chip it away.
Our Reserves are a critical resource and society, as a whole, must be wise in how we manage this resource so that it is not eaten away over time. The calls to spend more from our reserves is not a new one. Twenty years ago, there were already calls to stop accumulating reserves and to […]
Do not kill the hen (reserves) that lays golden eggs. Fatten it instead, says Goh Chok Tong
Aesop’s fable on “The Goose that lays the golden eggs” tells the story of a farmer whose goose lays one golden egg a day. Wanting to get all the eggs at once, the farmer kills the goose, only to find that he has lost the source of golden eggs. ‘To kill the goose that lays the […]
The genesis of GIC is part of the larger narrative of how Singapore manages its reserves to benefit Singaporeans
The creation of GIC 40 years ago in 1981 was a far-sighted, original and bold move. At that time, sovereign wealth funds did not exist. GIC was the brainchild of Dr Goh Keng Swee who was at that time Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Central banks seek macroeconomic and […]
We have to manage our finances in a responsible way: Lawrence Wong
In 1959, Singapore won self-governing status from the British, and general elections were held. Dr Goh Keng Swee resigned as a civil servant to contest as a PAP candidate. When the PAP won, Dr Goh became Singapore’s first Finance Minister. He soon discovered that the government was almost broke, and expected a budget deficit of […]
WP irresponsible to mislead on our fiscal position to pursue a populist position on GST
When recurrent or operating expenditure goes up – such as salaries and subsidies – income will have to be increased to meet the increased expenditure so that you do not go into debt. That’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it? This is called living within your means. You can’t sell assets to fund your daily expenditure. It’s […]
Jamus ignores the sufferings of people hurt by currency speculation
Currency speculation, in particular, the speculation of the Singapore dollar, can take place with or without knowing the full size of our reserves. When Jamus called for the revelation of the full size of the Singapore reserves, what he is really asking for is a more ‘efficient’ speculative attack on the Singapore dollar. WP Jamus […]