Stupid news articles

[Lisafuller]

Every publication in this country twists and inflates details for views.

No, the reason they do it - directly or indirectly - is to keep the PAP in power.

Doesn't help that the PAP has the power to sue anybody who goes against them to death.

[tiktok]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/comment ... ns-4006646

No discussion of the real concerns that people have about vaccines - excess deaths from myocarditis for example. Just be a good sheep, follow the MOH advice because they are are smart and you are stupid.

[tiktok]

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ ... from-jan-3

Congrats for completely avoiding mention of the GST increase, which will suck multitudes more money out of people's pockets than any vouchers can replace.

[Strong Eagle]

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ ... from-jan-3

Congrats for completely avoiding mention of the GST increase, which will suck multitudes more money out of people's pockets than any vouchers can replace.

But they have mentioned the GST increase, in multiple other articles in the paper. Your gripe against the bird cage liner doesn't seem to be well founded.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ ... g-increase

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ ... n-gst-hike

https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/ ... l-spending

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ ... ergy-costs

[tiktok]

Of course it's mentioned in order articles, what the ST is attempting to do in this one is make the sheeple feel happy about these insignificant vouchers and put the GST increase out of mind.

[Strong Eagle]

Of course it's mentioned in order articles, what the ST is attempting to do in this one is make the sheeple feel happy about these insignificant vouchers and put the GST increase out of mind.

Projecting, are you?

PS: It looks like a 1 percent increase will generate about $1.8 billion in additional revenue in 2024.

[tiktok]

It's just one of countless ways the government brainwashes and manipulates people here. Obviously most of them are ok with that.

[Strong Eagle]

It's just one of countless ways the government brainwashes and manipulates people here. Obviously most of them are ok with that.

Really? What do you suppose the gahmen ought to be doing when faced with increased costs, particularly in healthcare coverage? Raise income taxes? COE and ARF?

[tiktok]

A good start would be revealing the true size of government reserves, and the amount of the budget that goes into them annually. Then reducing ministerial salaries to sensible levels. Not bamboozling the public with $500 vouchers.

[Strong Eagle]

A good start would be revealing the true size of government reserves, and the amount of the budget that goes into them annually. Then reducing ministerial salaries to sensible levels. Not bamboozling the public with $500 vouchers.

Ya know, there are two ways of looking at things. There's yours, where everyone is "sheeple", and dumb as hammered dog shit, and are being manipulated by malevolent overlords, whose sole intention is to keep the rubes down while availing themselves to the riches of the island... or...

You discard such simplistic views and realize that Singapore has a complex economy, and like many countries, has hard choices to make, COMPROMISES to make, in order to create a working budget that addresses as many of the issues as possible. Not perfect by any means but certainly not the malevolent overlords that you love to rail on about.

Having said that, I'm a proponent of a mixture of taxes to finance government, and given that GST is a rather regressive tax, I think it would be more appropriate to increase tax rates for high earners or perhaps increase property tax rates to generate an equivalent amount of revenue that was generated by the GST increase. I am sure there were some that supported this but not enough to see it pass. That doesn't make government officials malevolent.

As for reserves, they are estimated at $S2.2 trillion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserves_ ... _Singapore), and I really must ask, "How the hell would you know what the 'correct' size of the reserves ought to be?" Are you a trained international economist, familiar with the ins and outs of the Singapore economy in an international setting, or are you an arm chair observer who just likes to gripe even though he doesn't know shit from shinola when it comes to the topic at hand?

The gahmen has something to say about why they don't publish reserves... see below (open the image in a new window if you can't read it). Is this a lie as well?

[malcontent]

Singapore has always done a great job on the financially. Conservative, yes… almost to a fault. Before I moved here in 1996, I noted that Singapore’s reserves (previously shown in the back pages of the Economist magazine) were among the highest in the world, and if you calculate it on a per capita basis, it was (and probably still is) the highest in the world. Could they afford to loosen their purse strings a little? They could, but a sustainable budget is one that can survive on current revenues. If the US could do even half as good a job Singapore does, the world would be far more economically stable.

[Strong Eagle]

If you're into such things, this Singapore budget document makes for fascinating reading.

Worth noting that investment income in 2022 was $21.6 billion (revenue summaries start on page 35). Total revised 2022 receipts were $122.7 billion.

Page 27 shows the revenue/expenditure summary and appears to show a budget deficit for 2022 of about $2 billion, with the inclusion of investment income.

https://www.mof.gov.sg/docs/librariespr ... fy2024.pdf

There is a similar document at:

https://www.mof.gov.sg/docs/librariespr ... diture.pdf

[tiktok]

As for reserves, they are estimated at $S2.2 trillion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserves_ ... _Singapore), and I really must ask, "How the hell would you know what the 'correct' size of the reserves ought to be?"

And my answer would be, I have no idea and never pretended to have one. I just think they should be transparent like must other countries. Public interest trumps the (debatable) reason they give for keeping it secret.

Are you a trained international economist, familiar with the ins and outs of the Singapore economy in an international setting, or are you an arm chair observer who just likes to gripe even though he doesn't know shit from shinola when it comes to the topic at hand?

May I remind you the "topic at hand" is stupid news articles.

You brought up the justification for the GST increase, all I pointed out is the article failed to mention it at all.

[tiktok]

If you're into such things, this "trained economist" has a lot of interesting articles about how the PAP manages the economy. E.g

https://kenjeyaretnam.com/2023/06/18/de ... -reserves/

https://kenjeyaretnam.com/2023/08/11/si ... -you-more/

[tiktok]

Man places feet on table in SilverKris Lounge at Changi Airport -- and goes to sleep

https://stomp.straitstimes.com/singapor ... s-to-sleep

Journalism at it's finest.