TR EMERITUS

By Hui Weng Tat, For The Straits Times, 2 September 2010 IN A surprising departure from its usual free market orientation, Hong Kong lawmakers recently voted in favour of a minimum wage law for vulnerable low-wage workers. It may be time for Singapore to consider a minimum wage law; such a policy may be preferable to raising the levy on foreign workers to reduce the country's dependence on these workers. A growing influx of low-skilled, low-cost foreign labour has effectively increased Singapore's overall labour supply. There is an ongoing debate as to whether this has depressed domestic wages at the bottom. I believe the available evidence for this link between the influx of foreign labour and depressed wages at the bottom is compelling. Between 1998 and 2008, the number of foreign workers employed, most of them lower-skilled, rose by about 438,000 or 48 per cent of total new employment over the period. Over the same period, real wages of employed residents in the lowest 20 per cent of the wage distribution were virtually stagnant while those in the upper half experienced real growth of at least 20 per cent. If one takes an international perspective, mobility of labour leads to greater efficiency and higher productivity. The national perspective can be different: For example, in response to low wages in certain jobs, some local workers may withdraw from the labour market. Others might prefer to work part-time instead of full-time. In short, the full-time employment rate of local workers may be lower as the result of the influx of foreign labour. This would represent an underutilisation of scarce labour resources, a situation that Singapore can ill afford. Read rest of article here.  Read More →

The population in 1999 was 3,958,700 – with the citizens and PRs numbering 3,229,700. By 2009 it was 4,987,600 – and a resident population of 3,733,900. Over the ten year period, while the total population had exploded by 1,028,900 – the number of citizens and PRs had grown only 504,200. [See Ref #1 below] Resident Live Births in 1998 was 41,636 – and in 2008, it was 37,277 [See Ref #2 below] Resident Total Fertility Rate in 1998 was 1.48 – and in 2008, it was 1.28 [See Ref #2 below] If after 10 years of inflow of migrants that continue relentlessly over ten years, the Total Fertility Rate can decline from 1.48 in 1998 to the present 1.22 for 2009 – as announced by MM LKY – surely the MASSIVE INFLOW OF FOREIGNERS IS NOT WORKING !!! Clearly, the Foreigners becoming New Citizens are NOW BEHAVING LIKE ALL CITIZENS in CONTINUING THE LOW BIRTH RATE TREND. Clearly, MM LKY and his incapable proteges are refusing to look at the cause of the poor fertility rate in Singapore, and are refusing to compare Singapore to Sweden which is having a successful birth rate despite Sweden’s reputed High Taxation and High Cost of Living environment. Clearly, MM LKY has forgotten his own explanation that POLITICS is NOT about WINNING ELECTIONS – as POLITICS IS ALL ABOUT LIFE, which he explained is about putting food on the table, looking for security and shelter for the family, and working for a better future for our successive generations. Clearly, the low birth rates amongst Citizens – both old and new – are largely due to the failed policies of the Pro Alien Party in denying our present HIGH COST OF LIVING without any assistance from the Government, the deliberate suppression of Real Wages, and the deliberate changes to the traditional stable employment contract to one that is short term to allow employers to hire and fire according to the state of the economy. It is obvious that the Pro Alien Party has lost its own directions and kicking the ball into their own goal – even as they keep changing the rules to give themselves the advantage and tie the feet of the Alternative Political Parties, as well as to plaster over the eyes and mouths of Singaporeans. * * Reference 1 Table A5 – Population 1871-2009, Pg 27 or PDF Pg 37/72 http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/population2009.pdf Reference 2 Table A12 – Live Births and Birth Rates, 1980 – 2008, Pg 44 or PDF Pg 54 / 72 http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/popn/population2009.pdf   ATOBE  Read More →

All we need to do is look at the scientific evidence and the outcome of squashing 6.5 MILLION or more bodies into 700 sq. km is frighteningly predictable. The late Dr. John B. Calhoun demonstrated in his famous paper: “Population Density and Social Pathology” that as population density increased, social behaviour degenerated. (original research paper here) Among other findings, he developed the concept of universal autism –in which all members of the last generation of mice in an increasingly crowded environment are INCAPABLE of the social behaviour that would allow them to produce the next generation. In one of Dr. Calhoun’s experiments, a square steel box, nine feet on each side, contained 2,600 mice, about 16 times what would be considered normal density. He determined that rodents rapidly developed a hierarchy when thrown together in such huge numbers, with those closest to the food supply growing most rapidly and, because of their size, assuming higher social status… ‘Calhoun described his experimental universes as “rat utopia,” “mouse paradise.” With all their visible needs met, the animals bred rapidly. The only restriction Calhoun imposed on his population was of SPACE – and as the population grew, this became increasingly problematic. As the pens heaved with animals, one of his assistants described rodent “utopia” as having become “hell” (Marsden 1972). Dominant males became aggressive, some moving in groups, attacking females and the young. Mating behaviours were disrupted. Some became exclusively homosexual. Others became pansexual and hypersexual, attempting to mount any rat they encountered. Mothers neglected their infants, first failing to construct proper nests, and then carelessly abandoning and even attacking their pups. In certain sections of the pens, infant mortality rose as high as 96%, the dead cannibalized by adults. Subordinate animals withdrew psychologically, surviving in a physical sense but at an immense psychological cost. They were the majority in the late phases of growth, existing as a vacant, huddled mass in the centre of the pens. Unable to breed, the population plummeted and did not recover. The crowded rodents had lost the ability to co-exist harmoniously, even after the population numbers once again fell to low levels. At a certain density, they had ceased to act like rats and mice, and the change was permanent’ We are human beings not rats nor mice but nevertheless we are still subject to the laws of natural evolution. Note the parallel with increasing reports of more than 1 suicide per day, animal cruelty, maid abuse, and neglect of children and the elderly as the family unit breaks down under unbearable stress in Singapore. We are now the 3rd most crowded place on earth. Lee & Co. are actually insane enough to try to make us No.1 in pursuit of GDP glory. Imagine that, we are, at this very moment, more overcrowded than any city in India or China or almost anywhere in the world you care to name! There has never been any explanation for how this nightmare 6.5m figure came to become a holy grail. After that then…..what? Unless Singaporeans rouse themselves from their stupor soon, they and their families will find themselves sleepwalking into Calhoun’s macabre rat hell. Becoming a maid in a foreign country will seem like paradise then.   Mycroft * Autism is known as a complex developmental disability. The condition is the result of a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the person's communication and social interaction skills. People with autism have issues with non-verbal communication, a wide range of social interactions, and activities that include an element of play and/or banter.  Read More →