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America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

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Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#411

Post by manwds »

peruvian wrote: post #274
mark_l_watson wrote: post #21

I had the privilege of getting a working gig in Singapore for a small AI startup: such a well run country! There is a sense of community for helping by employing people who need jobs, the police were friendly and I felt very safe there (I like to take long walks either early in the morning or late at night and I felt very secure.) Amazing what the people and government have achieved since the end of WW2. 100% respect…

Singapore is an effective slave/permanent underclass state with few personal freedoms that is ethnically and culturally homogeneous (in each class). Not trying to do a "who's the bad/good country" but nothing about it really applies to the US or should.

It appears you've never visited Singapore let alone lived there. While you cannot protest or call the government a bad name, you're free to live your life, people in Singapore do not feel caged in anyway, or underclassed, nor do they feel like they lack any personal freedoms. Cheap to travel around most of Asia. Food and cost of living is cheap. Super safe.

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#412

Post by zorked »

joe_mamba wrote: post #11
mothballed wrote: post #4

Singapore has a regressive shock absorber model where something like half the country are immigrants that are ineligible for, say, public housing which even the better off citizens take advantage of in Singapore (maybe even disproportionately so since there can be a long wait to get in, you are older and more settled at that point). Immigrants that get milked dry and go broke and jobless during a shock are booted fro…

>Singapore has a regressive shock absorber model where something like half the country are immigrants that are ineligible for, say, public housing which even the better off citizens take advantage of in Singapore It's similar in Vienna where only native Viennese are immediately eligible for social housing, but outsiders will end up paying into the system without being eligible.

This is a common arrangement in Europe. Ex-Europe foreigners contribute to, for example, unemployment insurance, but are generally not able to use it because they get their work licenses revoked if they become unemployed.

They still have to contribute though.

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#413

Post by joe_mamba »

zorked wrote: post #412
joe_mamba wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Singapore has a regressive shock absorber model where something like half the country are immigrants that are ineligible for, say, public housing which even the better off citizens take advantage of in Singapore It's similar in Vienna where only native Viennese are immediately eligible for social housing, but outsiders will end up paying into the system without being eligible.

This is a common arrangement in Europe. Ex-Europe foreigners contribute to, for example, unemployment insurance, but are generally not able to use it because they get their work licenses revoked if they become unemployed. They still have to contribute though.

>but are generally not able to use it because they get their work licenses revoked if they become unemployed

Not true for unemployment. Your unemployment benefits is based on how many years you contributed into the system, just as the locals.

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#414

Post by initramfs2 »

ww520 wrote: post #44
ecshafer wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The CPF sounds pretty clever. It covers a major individual cost and need (retirement, medical, housing) instead of just throwing it into a tax. It makes the government money. This sounds like a win win kind of policy.

It’s not a win win policy. The citizens lose massive amount of their money to government on the bond yield delta. It preys on people not knowing the effect of long term compound interest. Edit: in fact interest delta is how banks make their huge profits except the government here does it by force.

What's your source on the yield delta? In fact if you bought regular Singapore government t bills you will actually get a lower rate than the CPF rate. And neither do banks and saving plans give higher rates.

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#415

Post by initramfs2 »

Aurornis wrote: post #54
ecshafer wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The CPF sounds pretty clever. It covers a major individual cost and need (retirement, medical, housing) instead of just throwing it into a tax. It makes the government money. This sounds like a win win kind of policy.

> instead of just throwing it into a tax. It makes the government money It is a tax, but with extra steps. The reason it makes the government money is because they’re collecting the extra interest that citizens would have earned if they were free to invest it on their own.

The CPF funds actually remain in your account, and the interest goes back to you. 1. The interest is guaranteed unlike a regular investment, and 2. I'm interested to know what to invest in to get better interest than CPF, because that's a very legit benchmark here, so please tell me if you find something that has guaranteed returns + higher interest.

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#416

Post by ap99 »

michaelteter wrote: post #397
thesmtsolver2 wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Singapore is a dictatorship wearing a democracy's outfit. One party has been ruling continuously since its formation and you can't go against its ideas. There is no real competition for ideas like we have in the US. So, yeah, the "discussion/debates" will be high quality when it is one sided. Just like North Korea is free from low quality debates, Singapore too is free from that. https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/a…

Have you not been observing what is happening in the US right now? Any dissension is labeled as "domestic terrorism" - this is coming from the highest levels in US government. So is the facade of democracy much different from a dictatorship? I'm not here saying that Singapore is doing everything right. I'm just noting that public political presentations from Singapore seem vastly better than watching Trump, Leavitt,…

Domestic terrorism has been labeled as domestic terrorism.

Tell me what you would consider dissent that's been incorrectly labeled as terrorism?

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#417

Post by ap99 »

michaelteter wrote: post #375
api wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s true across much of the world. It’s also true past vs present. Listen to US politicians even as recently as the 1980s vs now. Our political class today is justifiably a pathetic laughing stock.

I saw an interview with Trump in the 80s. He was remarkably clear and articulate. He stayed on topic, he used multi-syllable words, and he generally sounded like someone worth listening to. The comparison of today vs then is frankly shocking.

Simpler, but more powerful words.

I think the "nerd" stereotypes that HN is full of could learn from him in that respect.

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#418

Post by [deleted] »

djtango wrote: post #364
ggm wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like Dubai, many of the migrant workers are ineligible for post retirement life in Singapore and so despite any mandatory savings will not represent any kind of burden on the state compared to delivery of health and housing and care costs. So they are functionally productive and net positive to any scheme about post work funding for the community.

You don't pay CPF unless you have Permanent Residence/Citizenship so there isn't any mandatory saving for migrant workers (both low income unskilled and high income skilled labour) AFAIK?

[deleted]

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#419

Post by michaelteter »

ap99 wrote: post #416
michaelteter wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you not been observing what is happening in the US right now? Any dissension is labeled as "domestic terrorism" - this is coming from the highest levels in US government. So is the facade of democracy much different from a dictatorship? I'm not here saying that Singapore is doing everything right. I'm just noting that public political presentations from Singapore seem vastly better than watching Trump, Leavitt,…

Domestic terrorism has been labeled as domestic terrorism. Tell me what you would consider dissent that's been incorrectly labeled as terrorism?

It really doesn't matter what I say or what evidence I present to you.

There is ample... overwhelming numbers of on the ground video of non-violent protestors being assaulted by armed, masked men who are jacked up on false authority. They harm people, they even shoot people, and they lie about it.

The upper administration responds to these events within minutes, naming the harmed citizens as "domestic terrorists". Later, when bodycam and bystander videos are released, this is disproven. Time and time again.

To be very, very clear: anyone not physically attacking an authority figure but who may be protesting, making videos, or yelling, is not a terrorist. That is an observer or a protester.

Re: America vs. Singapore: You can't save your way out of economic shocks

#420

Post by michaelteter »

ap99 wrote: post #417
michaelteter wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw an interview with Trump in the 80s. He was remarkably clear and articulate. He stayed on topic, he used multi-syllable words, and he generally sounded like someone worth listening to. The comparison of today vs then is frankly shocking.

Simpler, but more powerful words. I think the "nerd" stereotypes that HN is full of could learn from him in that respect.

Learn from him in what way? He communicated articulately in grammatically correct, full sentences in the past. Now he rambles nearly incoherently.

What are we to learn from this? That his mental state has deteriorated? That much is obvious. Even ignoring all other evidence, it is utterly clear that he is a fraction of the communicator that he once was.

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