Well PNGMK may indeed be 'correct' when he stated:
PNGMK wrote:Your perception and experience doesn't matter. What matters is the grassroots feedback and PAP polling.
GE 2016 is not far away.
... in the sense that the gahmen may not care one iota about what we (and the expat / international community at large) think; i.e. they might indeed be taking an exclusively short-term view in the run-up to the next GE. If that's really the case, it would (IMHO) undermine one of the key pillars of Singapore's success to date, namely looking at and planning things over a ~20 year time-frame. In which case SE is correct - they will throw the baby out with the bathwater (I refer the honourable ladies and gentlemen present to my signature below).
Amongst the working population, there are undoubtedly some people who are doing certain lower-paid jobs because they've not been able to find jobs where they can use all their knowledge and experience. I've met a number of older taxi uncles who fall into that category. Obviously they're not included in the unemployment figures, but in a ideal world they should be able find more suitable / rewarding work for their talents (see what I did there?).
I Think zzm has a point about 'residual' unemployment levels - there is a theory that there will always be a certain number of unemployed people who will never find jobs. But those who are willing, able and qualified to fill the job vacancies that come up should be given every opportunity to do so. We've all heard about the existence of business 'enclaves' where people from a particular country only want to recruit others from the same place. That is clearly wrong and companies that do such a thing should be dealt with accordingly. But I can't believe that this is anything other than a small proportion of cases overall - most companies (mine included) will surely prefer to take the easier route of hiring locals whenever possible.
