Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore • Hacker News Board

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#171

Post by srtjstjsj » Sat, Sep 05, 2020, 11:43 PM UTC

leafboi wrote: post #112

ergocoder wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. It's one flaw of democracy. In a dictatorship, if the leader is great, it will grow like crazy... It's like a startup with great founders. On the other hand, the problem will come when a hand-off needs to happen. Singapore is clever enough to keep the democratic process, so it has some decent hand-off process.

Don't think that the democratic process guarantees a good hand off... it's still a crap shoot and a lucky draw. See current President Camacho of the United States. Unlike a dictator, the aggregate will of the people never serves the self interest of a single individual. The issue with majority rule is that the aggregate intelligence/judgement of the people is likely not matched with what is required to select a good…

Did you watch the whole movie? President Camacho was a good leader.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#172

Post by srtjstjsj » Sat, Sep 05, 2020, 11:45 PM UTC

bllguo wrote: post #147

hellofunk wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is somewhat of a naive view -- the risks of any kind of dictatorship far outweigh any slight chance of good.

Hand-waving things away with your absolutist statement is what truly seems naive. IMO there is far more nuance than you suggest. Democracy seems to work well for some types of problems but not others. What happens to democracies when faced with threats that manifest over very short timescales? They aren't nimble enough to respond in time. This is most evident in larger democracies; look at US/India responses to COVID…

Covid-19 has harmed fewer people worldwide than the Chinese government has murdered of its own citizen.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#173

Post by CyberDildonics » Sat, Sep 05, 2020, 11:50 PM UTC

xuki wrote: post #19

The article failed to mention 1 important thing: LKY built an incorruptible government. With all the power he had, he could have done so much better for his family if he just tried, but that wouldn't necessarily be good for the country. A lot of countries want to be Singapore, but few have a leader of his caliber.

He lives in a giant mansion surrounded by armed guards in the middle of the city. Any criticism of him is illegal and can land you in prison.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#174

Post by ZephyrP » Sat, Sep 05, 2020, 11:55 PM UTC

CyberDildonics wrote: post #170

nicholasluimy wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if that's a fair judgement - It seems particularly endemic that it's almost a meme/stereotype in itself in Singapore; that all cab drivers are discontent with the government

Singapore is not a democracy. They have sham elections where the opposition party is only allowed to have media coverage by the single state run media channel for three weeks before the election. If your neighborhood votes for the opposition party you lose funding for things like public transportation. Lee Kuan Yew lives in a giant, gated, guarded compound in the middle of the most valuable real estate in the city. A…

>> Lee Kuan Yew lives in a giant, gated, guarded compound in the middle of the most valuable real estate in the city

Didn't he die the better part of a decade ago?

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#175

Post by CyberDildonics » Sat, Sep 05, 2020, 11:57 PM UTC

jjcc wrote: post #99

xuki wrote: post #19

The article failed to mention 1 important thing: LKY built an incorruptible government. With all the power he had, he could have done so much better for his family if he just tried, but that wouldn't necessarily be good for the country. A lot of countries want to be Singapore, but few have a leader of his caliber.

That's because LKY himself is an incorrptible person. Here you can have an insight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=142FbTYeK7k

He controls a 313 billion dollar fund that includes the country's internet access, cell phones access, the state run broadcasting and the banks. What would corruption look like when you already control everything? Putting people in prison for criticizing you, because they do that.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#176

Post by apsec112 » Sat, Sep 05, 2020, 11:58 PM UTC

CyberDildonics wrote: post #173

xuki wrote: post #19

The article failed to mention 1 important thing: LKY built an incorruptible government. With all the power he had, he could have done so much better for his family if he just tried, but that wouldn't necessarily be good for the country. A lot of countries want to be Singapore, but few have a leader of his caliber.

He lives in a giant mansion surrounded by armed guards in the middle of the city. Any criticism of him is illegal and can land you in prison.

Lee Kuan Yew died in 2015.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#177

Post by ValentineC » Sun, Sep 06, 2020, 12:04 AM UTC

CyberDildonics wrote: post #170

nicholasluimy wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if that's a fair judgement - It seems particularly endemic that it's almost a meme/stereotype in itself in Singapore; that all cab drivers are discontent with the government

Singapore is not a democracy. They have sham elections where the opposition party is only allowed to have media coverage by the single state run media channel for three weeks before the election. If your neighborhood votes for the opposition party you lose funding for things like public transportation. Lee Kuan Yew lives in a giant, gated, guarded compound in the middle of the most valuable real estate in the city. A…

> If your neighborhood votes for the opposition party you lose funding for things like public transportation.

Not for public transportation, but yes, it's not a secret that opposition-held constituencies get substantially less public funding: https://www.ourclassnotes.com/post/cipc-funds-which-town-cou...

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#178

Post by ponker » Sun, Sep 06, 2020, 12:09 AM UTC

CyberDildonics wrote: post #170

nicholasluimy wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if that's a fair judgement - It seems particularly endemic that it's almost a meme/stereotype in itself in Singapore; that all cab drivers are discontent with the government

Singapore is not a democracy. They have sham elections where the opposition party is only allowed to have media coverage by the single state run media channel for three weeks before the election. If your neighborhood votes for the opposition party you lose funding for things like public transportation. Lee Kuan Yew lives in a giant, gated, guarded compound in the middle of the most valuable real estate in the city. A…

Not that different than the Republicans passing a tax bill in 2017 specifically designed to increase taxes on Democratic constituencies.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#179

Post by ValentineC » Sun, Sep 06, 2020, 12:09 AM UTC

AmericanChopper wrote: post #166

nine_zeros wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Free market economics, low taxation, user pays healthcare, restrictive welfare entitlements, restrictive immigration, and no minimum wage. Did you just pull this out of your arse? I don't know if you need training in google fu or just plain ol calling out on bullshit. At least google what they do with healthcare and immigration (for a country smaller than nyc)

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. https://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/work-permit-for-foreign-worker/is... > User pays healthcare Governm…

> Government offers a partially subsidised health insurance plan. But you have to apply and pay for it yourself.

Small correction: MediShield Life is compulsory and automatic for Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

#180

Post by Aperocky » Sun, Sep 06, 2020, 12:11 AM UTC

wonnage wrote: post #125

barry-cotter wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The population of Tokyo has grown 50% over the last two decades while house prices and rents have stayed flat. The reason housing prices go up is almost always because zoning makes building more housing illegal. See San Francisco. Contrast with Seattle and Houston. When more housing is built prices go down, or at least go up slower.

There are cultural differences here. Japanese houses are seen as depreciating assets, as nobody wants to live in an old house. See https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2018/03/15/w... As a result, the phenomenon of hoarding real estate for profit simply doesn’t exist. And the regular tear down of old houses allows density to increase rapidly, at the expense of building waste.

This might just be the psychological aftermath of the Japanese bubble.

Land prices in Japan was insane in early 1990s, and then it burst, losing almost 60% of the value. it doesn't get that high without people believing it will appreciate - and now they don't.