tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post4586158006520170234..comments2024-03-19T18:44:15.041+08:00Comments on Little Stories: More on the 9th QuestionGilbert Koh aka Mr Wanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01027678080233274309noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-5385544414060988282009-08-18T17:45:17.513+08:002009-08-18T17:45:17.513+08:00Onlooker,
Here is a fact on tax comparisons betwe...Onlooker,<br /><br />Here is a fact on tax comparisons between countries like Australia, NZ, UK, US, Singapore and Hong Kong. Its done by University of Melbourne. <br /><br />It was presented in a tax conference in Australia. <br /><br />I think I didn't make up any of the information in the comments I made. <br /><br />Read for yourself. <br /><br />http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1164&context=rljAnti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-66336646161836187832009-08-18T17:32:35.351+08:002009-08-18T17:32:35.351+08:00Onlooker,
Before you are thinking of migrating to...Onlooker,<br /><br />Before you are thinking of migrating to Australia, you may want to read this article:-<br /><br />Graeme Hugo, ‘A New Paradigm of International Migration: Implications for Migration<br />Policy and Planning in Australia’ (Research Paper No. 10 2003‐04, prepared for general<br />distribution to Senators and Members of the Australian Parliament, 2004) 16‐7.<br /><br />From the article:-<br /><br />"In 2002‐3, permanent departures as a percentage of permanent arrivals was 53.7%, compared to 43.3% in 2000 and only 23% in 1990. <br /><br />With nearly 5% of the population living overseas permanently, this is one of the world’s major diasporas in relation to the resident population.<br /><br />You may want to pick another country.Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-78553329671174011692009-08-18T10:54:10.490+08:002009-08-18T10:54:10.490+08:00For those who wants to know about some facts on Si...For those who wants to know about some facts on Singaporeans versus Australians emigrating to another country.<br /><br />Singapore may not publish emigration numbers, but it is not difficult to work out. <br /><br />Citizens growth (30,600) = Births - deaths + new citizens - emigration.<br /><br />For example, the citizen population increased from 3.1338m (2007) to 3.1644 m in 2008, a net increase of 30,600. Citizen births contributed 32,400, (2)citizen death was 14,500, and in 2007, there were 17,300 new citizens. This implies emigration was 4,600, at 1.5 citizens per 1000 per year. <br /><br />Citizens leaving Singapore cannot be that high.<br /><br />I know a country with a higher emigration rate - Australia. <br /><br />In Australia, emigration is about 70,000 per year out of a population of 21 million. <br /><br />This works out to 3.3 per 1000.<br /><br />If Australia is so good, why so are people emigrating to another country?Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-86590329643560155022009-08-17T18:01:06.508+08:002009-08-17T18:01:06.508+08:00Hi Onlooker,
I still have the 2007 numbers from D...Hi Onlooker,<br /><br />I still have the 2007 numbers from Department of Statistics, which still seperates PRs and Citizens. Happy to send to anyone who would leave your contact email here. <br /><br />Anyways, its not difficult to break the numbers down even if they combine both now. One could go to Elections Department website and you could get total number of Citizens, age 21 and above by constituencies. Just minus this number for current Department of Stats (combined number Citizens and PRs) and you get number of Singapore Citizens. (Please bear in mind that those who converted to Singapore Citizens would be included too.)<br /><br />I would urge you to work and live in Australia or the US for a year of two. Go to NY and Sydney and see how many homeless are there. <br /><br />For that article, its just a stimulus for thinking. Whether its Yankee Land or not, perhaps you or someone else would do a similar on Singapore.<br /><br />Anyways, is in several overseas forums, many foreigners are discussing the Singapore model of success. <br /><br />Perhaps they have never lived here, we may say. <br /><br />I am not saying our Govt or PAP are the best. They are not perfect. I know there are people who associated Govt to just PAP and because PAP dominates the Parliament, they simply dislike PAP and Government. <br /><br />H/w, let's look at the pros and cons. There are always cracks on a wall and some are bigger than others. <br /><br />I think for the fact that Mr Wang brought up regarding the scholarships to Non Singapore Citizens, perhaps someone would be bold enough to write to Education Minister, etc. At least make that person respond to you. His email is also easily available on Government Directory.<br /><br />If you feel so strongly about an issue and it affects you, why don't take some action? <br /><br />Once you have done that and you don't get a satisfied response, you could think of other options e.g. like migrating, etc.Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-30566681673475615342009-08-17T16:00:17.312+08:002009-08-17T16:00:17.312+08:00The Singapore govt wants the city to be able to co...The Singapore govt wants the city to be able to compete with the world's best, so it's not surprising they welcome foreign students. Where they have failed, IMHO, is in the duty towards the citizens.<br /><br />If they think that only the best of the local brains should study in Singapore, surely the rest, or some of the rest, can be sponsored for studies overseas, instead of being forced into polytechnics or to study on their own.<br /><br />If Singapore had actively encouraged a worldwide diaspora of students, it wouldn't be the target of so much ire.<br /><br />My 2 cents (don't have much left, you see).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-85674427299055612142009-08-17T11:42:24.544+08:002009-08-17T11:42:24.544+08:00"Our subsidised university fee comes with a 3..."Our subsidised university fee comes with a 3 yr bond, to work in Singapoore, while the scholarship awarded to the foreign students come with no attachments?"<br /><br />The scholarship does come with a bond, but the govt is not strict in enforcing it. I know one guy who, after completing his engg, left for France for higher studies and came back after a while. No questions asked. He believed the govt is quite lenient in such issues as they badly need foreign talent.<br /><br />"So it shouldn't be a surprise that the places in our local NTU and NUS are given to PRCs and Indians, who can't get into the top universities in their homeland too.<br /><br />I think we need proof for this. NUS I suspect not. NTU I not too sure. SMU might be the most likely case."<br /><br />I can't provide proof but Singapore is usually second priority for Indian students. The ones who reach here are those who cannot make it to the IITs or to prestigious colleges like BITS.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-73398874127114209122009-08-15T12:04:14.712+08:002009-08-15T12:04:14.712+08:00I think is it overly harsh to say that "Singa...I think is it overly harsh to say that "Singapore Inc sees its own citizens more as liabilities than assets", or that our govt treats Sporeans as '2nd class citizens".<br /><br />Actually I see this penchant for attracting outsiders and neglecting our own as something quite typical of Spore organisations. For example, our companies are so aggressive in attracting new applicants and poaching talents from outside the company, they neglect their own staff and then complain that Sporeans are not loyal. <br /><br />Similarly, many of our businesses (esp the telcos, I think) are so aggressive in getting new customers, they sometimes make their regular customers feel like suckers who keep getting the message; "If you are not happy, you can always take your business elsewhere".<br /><br />So we shouldn't just point the finger at the govt. We are all guilty.WLPThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01678704347635275935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-22274054017129017922009-08-15T11:52:26.885+08:002009-08-15T11:52:26.885+08:00Anon @ August 15, 2009 1:09 AM:
I want House, MD....Anon @ August 15, 2009 1:09 AM:<br /><br />I want House, MD.CKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317501061794562008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-7754493006543786442009-08-15T01:09:37.249+08:002009-08-15T01:09:37.249+08:00To Jack & Anon @ August 14, 2009 4:42 PM:
jus...To Jack & Anon @ August 14, 2009 4:42 PM:<br /><br />just to give a perspective from the other side of the table, you'll notice being in A1 does not necessarily give you the best medical care, as this really depends on who your consultant doctor is. some are better than others.<br /><br />What being in A or B1 does mean though, is that you get to choose your consultant by name, whereas subsidized patients are assigned one by roster. so if you're in the know and you are willing to pay, you can pick someone who you know is good.<br /><br />some other things that you can't determine though, is the team of junior doctors (from the houseman who takes your blood to the registrar who is the main man on the ground) and the nurses assigned to you. and this plays a huge role in the quality of care you get, and you've no control over this... having said this, I would say the majority of healthcare personnel in public service still try to give our best, although we are frankly stretched to our limits.<br /><br />also you might want to consider what you mean by 'good care'. a doctor who spends a lot of time explaining things to you may not be technically the best, and similarly, the one who is the best in his specialty may not always be the person who have the best people skill. some of the most popular surgeons I know aren't the best in terms of surgical skills, but their patients love them coz they know how to talk to them. which would you rather have, talk or skills? you can't always get both.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-20393217249668291512009-08-14T21:25:28.586+08:002009-08-14T21:25:28.586+08:00To Achronic(Keep.It.Short.S :) :->
August 14, ...To Achronic(Keep.It.Short.S :) :-> <br />August 14, 2009 1:58 PM:<br />Singaporeans = Locals + PR.<br />Do the math and your homework :P<br /><br />August 14, 2009 5:10 PM<br />I'm glad you have a good experience that most Singaporeans don't experience. :)<br /><br />What to do? it happened.....<br /><br />August 14, 2009 5:22 PM<br />Aussie have a better quality of life in living pace with their work life .There is no life if there is only work and you are paid according to the "Merit" of grades and who your daddy/mommy :P. <br />All work no play make jack a dull boy :..(<br /><br />Even Xiao fu chun want to stay there as a safety officer.O_ops system analyst.<br /><br />What to do? it happened.... lol<br /><br />August 14, 2009 6:09 PM<br />August 14, 2009 6:10 PM<br />August 14, 2009 6:11 PM<br />August 14, 2009 6:27 PM<br />What to say but:-<br />It is a well written article, Except it is based on Yankee land they have natural resource and they are correct to be concern about that and the article is also about accountability.<br />Yet Singapore is now abusing the resource that is most valuable to her.<br />And it is not the fault of the people because we were fooled by the poisonous "carrot" that we allowed the complacent D'elite to put in place policy that are detrimental to the well being of the people and only beneficial to some.(in the long term)<br /><br />We are now at the phase where the emperor go into the public in his luxurious robe made of "sheer" material,That is until the little boy giggle and shout:"The emperor wear no Garment"<br /><br />What to do? It happened..... XP<br /><br />Achronic do not take my comment as offensive it is just the way people felt about the current situation.<br />Kind of glad that someone is enjoying life here when the situation is really bad for someone else.<br /><br />What to do? It happened..... <br /><br />Enjoy your weekendOnlookernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-18185485870604763102009-08-14T20:13:56.544+08:002009-08-14T20:13:56.544+08:00The world faces the biggest market failure it has ...The world faces the biggest market failure it has ever seen - sustainability and climate change.<br /><br /><b>Quite simply, it is the failure of current economic models to include and price externalities.</b><br /><br />The world over, governments and policy makers are waking up to this fact. But the PAP garment are still drunk on the traditional economic model of inputs consumption. GDP numbers above everything else, importing foreigners to boost consumption, totally ignoring sustainability. And because Spore is a small island, the consequences can be observed sooner.<br /><br />recruit ongAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-85247109472855094262009-08-14T18:27:06.667+08:002009-08-14T18:27:06.667+08:00Nature has aesthetic and moral value as well; some...Nature has aesthetic and moral value as well; some of us experience awe, wonder and humility in our encounters with it. But we don’t have to go so far as to include such subjective intangibles in order to fix the national income accounts. As stressed ecosystems worldwide disappear, it will get easier and easier to assign a nonsubjective valuation to them; and value them we must if we are to keep them at all. No civilization can survive their loss.<br /><br />Given the fundamental problems with G.D.P. as a leading economic indicator, and our habit of taking it as a measurement of economic welfare, we should drop it altogether. We could keep the actual number, but rename it to make clearer what it represents; let’s call it gross domestic transactions. Few people would mistake a measurement of gross transactions for a measurement of general welfare. And the renaming would create room for acceptance of a new measurement, one that more accurately signals changes in the level of economic well-being we enjoy.<br /><br />Our use of total productivity as our main economic indicator isn’t mandated by law, which is why it would be fairly easy for President Obama to convene a panel of economists and other experts to join the Bureau of Economic Analysis in creating a new, more accurate measure. Call it net economic welfare. On the benefit side would go such nonmarket goods as unpaid domestic work and ecosystem services; on the debit side would go defensive and remedial expenditures that don’t improve our standard of living, along with the loss of ecosystem services, and the money we spend to try to replace them.<br /><br />In 1934, the economist Simon Kuznets, in his very first report of national income to Congress, warned that “the welfare of a nation can ... scarcely be inferred from a measure of national income.” Just as this crisis gives us the opportunity to end the nature-be-damned, more-is-always-better economy that flourished when oil was cheap and plentiful, we can finally act on Kuznets’s wise warning. We’re in an economic hole, and as we climb out, what we need is not simply a measurement of how much money passes through our hands each quarter, but an indicator that will tell us if we are really and truly gaining ground in the perennial struggle to improve the material conditions of our lives.<br /><br />Eric Zencey, a professor of historical and political studies at Empire State College, is the author of “Virgin Forest: Meditations on History, Ecology and Culture” and a novel, “Panama.”<br /><br />Have a good weekend!Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-68506859293241606552009-08-14T18:11:50.955+08:002009-08-14T18:11:50.955+08:00The basic problem is that gross domestic product m...The basic problem is that gross domestic product measures activity, not benefit. If you kept your checkbook the way G.D.P. measures the national accounts, you’d record all the money deposited into your account, make entries for every check you write, and then add all the numbers together. The resulting bottom line might tell you something useful about the total cash flow of your household, but it’s not going to tell you whether you’re better off this month than last or, indeed, whether you’re solvent or going broke.<br /><br />BECAUSE we use such a flawed measure of economic well-being, it’s foolish to pursue policies whose primary purpose is to raise it. Doing so is an instance of the fallacy of misplaced concreteness — mistaking the map for the terrain, or treating an instrument reading as though it were the reality rather than a representation. When you’re feeling a little chilly in your living room, you don’t hold a match to a thermometer and then claim that the room has gotten warmer. But that’s what we do when we seek to improve economic well-being by prodding G.D.P.<br /><br />Several alternatives to gross domestic product have been proposed, and each tackles the central problem of placing a value on goods and services that never had a dollar price. The alternatives are controversial, because that kind of valuation creates room for subjectivity — for the expression of personal values, of ideology and political belief.<br /><br />How, after all, do we judge what exactly was the value of the services provided by those bayous in Louisiana? Was it $82 billion? But what about the value of the shrimp fishery that was already lost before the hurricane? What about the insurance value of the protection the bayous offered against another $82 billion loss? What about the security and sense of continuity of life enjoyed by the thousands of people who lived and made their livelihoods in relation to those bayous before they disappeared? It’s admittedly difficult to set a dollar price on such things — but this is no reason to set that price at zero, as gross domestic product currently does.<br /><br />Common sense tells us that if we want an accurate accounting of change in our level of economic well-being we need to subtract costs from benefits and count all costs, including those of ecosystem services when they are lost to development. These include storm and flood protection, water purification and delivery, maintenance of soil fertility, pollination of plants and regulation of our climate on a global and local scale. (One recent estimate puts the minimum market value of all such natural-capital services at $33 trillion per year.)Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-36144035599298884752009-08-14T18:10:44.383+08:002009-08-14T18:10:44.383+08:00Since then it has become probably our most commonl...Since then it has become probably our most commonly cited economic indicator, the basic number that we take as a measure of how well we’re doing economically from year to year and quarter to quarter. But it is a miserable failure at representing our economic reality.<br /><br />To begin with, gross domestic product excludes a great deal of production that has economic value. Neither volunteer work nor unpaid domestic services (housework, child rearing, do-it-yourself home improvement) make it into the accounts, and our standard of living, our general level of economic well-being, benefits mightily from both. Nor does it include the huge economic benefit that we get directly, outside of any market, from nature. A mundane example: If you let the sun dry your clothes, the service is free and doesn’t show up in our domestic product; if you throw your laundry in the dryer, you burn fossil fuel, increase your carbon footprint, make the economy more unsustainable — and give G.D.P. a bit of a bump.<br /><br />In general, the replacement of natural-capital services (like sun-drying clothes, or the propagation of fish, or flood control and water purification) with built-capital services (like those from a clothes dryer, or an industrial fish farm, or from levees, dams and treatment plants) is a bad trade — built capital is costly, doesn’t maintain itself, and in many cases provides an inferior, less-certain service. But in gross domestic product, every instance of replacement of a natural-capital service with a built-capital service shows up as a good thing, an increase in national economic activity. Is it any wonder that we now face a global crisis in the form of a pressing scarcity of natural-capital services of all kinds?<br /><br />This points to the larger, deeper flaw in using a measurement of national income as an indicator of economic well-being. In summing all economic activity in the economy, gross domestic product makes no distinction between items that are costs and items that are benefits. If you get into a fender-bender and have your car fixed, G.D.P. goes up.<br /><br />A similarly counterintuitive result comes from other kinds of defensive and remedial spending, like health care, pollution abatement, flood control and costs associated with population growth and increasing urbanization — including crime prevention, highway construction, water treatment and school expansion. Expenditures on all of these increase gross domestic product, although mostly what we aim to buy isn’t an improved standard of living but the restoration or protection of the quality of life we already had.<br /><br />The amounts involved are not nickel-and-dime stuff. Hurricane Katrina produced something like $82 billion in damages in New Orleans, and as the destruction there is remedied, G.D.P. goes up. Some of the remedial spending on the Gulf Coast does represent a positive change to economic well-being, as old appliances and carpets and cars are replaced by new, presumably improved, ones. But much of the expense leaves the community no better off (indeed, sometimes worse off) than before.<br /><br />Consider the 50 miles of sponge-like wetlands between New Orleans and the Gulf Coast that once protected the city from storm surges. When those bayous were lost to development — sliced to death by channels to move oil rigs, mostly — gross domestic product went up, even as these “improvements” destroyed the city’s natural defenses and wiped out crucial spawning ground for the Gulf Coast shrimp fishery. The bayous were a form of natural capital, and their loss was a cost that never entered into any account — not G.D.P. or anything else.<br /><br />Wise decisions depend on accurate assessments of the costs and benefits of different courses of action. If we don’t count ecosystem services as a benefit in our basic measure of well-being, their loss can’t be counted as a cost — and then economic decision-making can’t help but lead us to undesirable and perversely un-economic outcomes.Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-28396660864211979392009-08-14T18:09:33.220+08:002009-08-14T18:09:33.220+08:00Just sharing an interesting article. How do we thi...Just sharing an interesting article. How do we think Singapore should measure besides GDP?<br /><br />Our Government cite this metric often. Is this the best we can do?<br /><br />The key insight is about natural capital and how it is not taken into account when depleted. <br /><br />Its about how there are currenly insufficient resources in the World for Emerging Markets to fully develop and fluorish to attain the same standard of living as the OECD countries. <br /><br />Clearly some enhancement needs to to be made to account for natural capital:<br /><br />The New York Time <br />August 10, 2009<br />OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR<br />G.D.P. R.I.P.<br /><br />By ERIC ZENCEY<br />Montpelier, Vt.<br /><br />IF there’s a silver lining to our current economic downturn, it’s this: With it comes what the economist Joseph Schumpeter called “creative destruction,” the failure of outmoded economic structures and their replacement by new, more suitable structures. Downturns have often given a last, fatality-inducing nudge to dying industries and technologies. Very few buggy manufacturers made it through the Great Depression.<br /><br />Creative destruction can apply to economic concepts as well. And this downturn offers an excellent opportunity to get rid of one that has long outlived its usefulness: gross domestic product. G.D.P. is one measure of national income, of how much wealth Americans make, and it’s a deeply foolish indicator of how the economy is doing. It ought to join buggy whips and VCRs on the dust-heap of history.<br /><br />The first official attempt to determine our national income was made in 1934; the goal was to measure all economic production involving Americans whether they were at home or abroad. In 1991, the Bureau of Economic Analysis switched from gross national product to gross domestic product to reflect a changed economic reality — as trade increased, and as foreign companies built factories here, it became apparent that we ought to measure what gets made in the United States, no matter who makes it or where it goes after it’s made.Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-87876969654942096702009-08-14T17:26:03.514+08:002009-08-14T17:26:03.514+08:00Future generations of Singaporeans also have to pa...Future generations of Singaporeans also have to pay for Ho Ching's mistakes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-60207477258077068652009-08-14T17:22:31.784+08:002009-08-14T17:22:31.784+08:00For those who planned to migrate, particularly to ...For those who planned to migrate, particularly to Australia. Here are some facts:-<br /><br />How did Australia, with just a population of 21m manage to have the world's 4th biggest current account deficit, despite being a major commodity exporter.<br /><br />Rank, Country, Current Account Balance (million US$) <br /><br />1 People’s Republic of China (PRC) 179,100<br />2 Japan 174,400<br />3 Germany 134,800<br />4 Russia 105,300<br />5 Saudi Arabia 103,800<br />6 Norway 63,330<br />7 Switzerland 50,440<br />8 Netherlands 50,170<br />9 Kuwait 40,750<br />10 Singapore 35,580<br />11 Venezuela 31,820<br />12 Sweden 28,610<br />13 United Arab Emirates 26,890<br />14 Algeria 25,800<br />15 Hong Kong 20,900<br />16 Canada 20,560<br />17 Malaysia 17,860<br />18 Libya 14,500<br />19 Brazil 13,500<br />20 Iran 13,130<br />21 Nigeria 12,590<br />22 Qatar 12,510<br />23 Taiwan 9,700<br />24 Finland 8,749<br />25 Iraq 8,134<br />26 Angola 7,700<br />27 Oman 7,097<br />28 Belgium 6,925<br />29 Austria 5,913<br />30 Argentina 5,810<br />31 Chile 5,063<br />32 Denmark 4,941<br />33 Philippines 4,900<br />34 Luxembourg 4,630<br />35 Trinidad and Tobago 3,259<br />36 Azerbaijan 2,737<br />37 Egypt 2,697<br />38 Korea, South 2,000<br />39 Bahrain 1,999<br />40 Gabon 1,807<br />41 Botswana 1,698<br />42 Yemen 1,690<br />43 Indonesia 1,636<br />44 Peru 1,515<br />45 Israel 1,643<br />46 Uzbekistan 1,410<br />47 Burma 1,247<br />48 Republic of the Congo 1,215<br />49 Vietnam 1,029<br />50 Ecuador 727<br />51 Bolivia 688<br />52 Papua New Guinea 661<br />53 Namibia 572<br />54 Ivory Coast 460<br />55 Cameroon 419<br />56 Morocco 389<br />57 Bangladesh 339<br />58 Turkmenistan 321.2<br />59 Equatorial Guinea 175<br />60 British Virgin Islands 134.3 (1999)<br />61 Kazakhstan 113<br />62 Cook Islands 26.67 (2005)<br />63 Palau 15.09 (2004)<br />64 Tuvalu 2.323 (1998)<br />65 Samoa -2.428 (2004)<br />66 Tonga -4.321 (2005)<br />67 Comoros -17 (2005)<br />68 Kiribati -19.87 (2004)<br />69 Swaziland -23.13<br />70 São Tomé and Pr íncipe -24.4<br />71 Vanuatu -28.35 (2003)<br />72 Federated States of Micronesia-34.3 (2005)<br />73 Anguilla -42.87 (2003)<br />74 Cape Verde -44.43<br />75 The Gambia – 54.61<br />76 Burundi -57.84<br />77 Haiti -58.72<br />78 Tajikistan -73.95<br />79 Lesotho -75.44<br />80 Seychelles -78.59<br />81 Antigua and Barbuda -83.4 (2004)<br />82 Guyana – 84.3<br />83 Rwanda -104.1<br />84 Honduras -160<br />85 Zambia -165.4<br />86 Republic of Macedonia -167<br />87 Belize -173.4<br />88 Malawi -186<br />89 Ghana -219<br />90 Armenia -247.3<br />91 Togo -261.9<br />92 Zimbabwe – 264.6<br />93 Kyrgyzstan -287.3<br />94 Paraguay -300<br />95 Chad -324.1<br />96 Benin -342.7<br />97 Guinea -344<br />98 Cambodia -369<br />99 Mexico -400.1<br />100 Uganda -423<br />101 Eritrea -440.5<br />102 Mozambique -444.4<br />103 Fiji -465.8<br />104 Panama -467<br />105 Madagascar -504<br />106 Laos -404.2<br />107 Belarus -511.8<br />108 Syria -529<br />109 Moldova -561<br />110 Uruguay -600<br />111 Burkina Faso -604.6<br />112 Mauritius -651<br />113 Albania -679.9<br />114 Georgia -735<br />115 Tunisia -760<br />116 Slovenia -789.2<br />117 Nicaragua -883<br />118 Senegal -895.2<br />119 Thailand – 899.4<br />120 Tanzania -906<br />121 Malta -966.2<br />122 Jamaica -970<br />123 Cyprus -1,051<br />124 El Salvador -1,059<br />125 Sri Lanka -1,118<br />126 Kenya -1,119<br />127 Dominican Republic -1,124<br />128 Costa Rica -1,176<br />129 Cuba -1,218<br />130 Guatemala -1,533<br />131 Bosnia and Herzegovina -1,730<br />132 Estonia -1,919<br />133 Ukraine -1,933<br />134 Colombia -2,219<br />135 Serbia -2,451 (2005)<br />136 Latvia -2,538<br />137 Lithuania -2,572<br />138 Jordan -2,834<br />139 Croatia -2,892<br />140 Iceland -2,932<br />141 Ethiopia -3,384<br />142 Slovakia -3,781<br />143 Czech Republic -4,352<br />144 Sudan -4,510<br />145 Poland -4,548<br />146 Bulgaria -5,100<br />147 Lebanon -5,339<br />148 Pakistan -5,486<br />149 New Zealand -7,944<br />150 Hungary -8,392<br />151 Ireland -9,450<br />152 Romania -12,450<br />153 South Africa -12,690<br />154 Portugal -16,750<br />155 Greece -21,370<br />156 Italy -23,730<br />157 Turkey -25,990<br />158 India -26,400<br />159 France -38,000<br />160 Australia -41,620<br />161 United Kingdom -57,680<br />162 Spain -98,600<br />163 United States -862,300<br /><br />That is only one year deficit of US$42 billion. It has been doing this for decades, which is why it escaped recession several times. <br /><br />Borrow and spend. <br /><br />Its external debt now stand at US$1,032 billion. How much natural resources have it got left? <br /><br />The future generations of Aussies will have to pay for it and it could come any time.Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-315229686121289632009-08-14T17:10:16.326+08:002009-08-14T17:10:16.326+08:00Its a fact indeed that our Unis rely on our tax mo...Its a fact indeed that our Unis rely on our tax monies. My guess is that they let these institutions sit there for too long and out of the blue, these institutions were asked to be world-class and I believe one of the measures is ratio of foreign students.<br /><br />If a local could get in, it would be quite interesting campus life, getting a chance to perhaps date someone from another country. :) <br /><br />Anyways, for forcing students to take courses they don't like, I agree. Its the system here.<br /><br />My hypothesis for that happening is the shortage of tertiary resources to meet demand. The old system was built to churn out white collar workers to meet demand to grow the economy. <br /><br />We simply need more quality Universities.<br /><br />For medical care, I have a different experience. My mum had a knee replacement lately at SGH, staying in a B2 ward. Very good, efficient and doctors and nurses were fantastic and cost about S$12000 all in. Some nurses actually came to bid farewell when my mum was discharged.Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-12001372519249787452009-08-14T16:42:34.299+08:002009-08-14T16:42:34.299+08:00@Jack
If it makes u feel better, my mom was in A1...@Jack<br /><br />If it makes u feel better, my mom was in A1 and got pretty much the same treatment in another local public hospital. And this after telling us straight that paying will get more face time.<br /><br />At least ur sis is subsidized.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-25374428174962588282009-08-14T16:37:18.721+08:002009-08-14T16:37:18.721+08:00@ACS
In my postgrad NUS class, sinkapooreans are ...@ACS<br /><br />In my postgrad NUS class, sinkapooreans are defintely in the minority.<br /><br />And because we are graded on a curve, it is difficult not to get A ... so dun worry abt local students who cannot cope. Worry abt local students forced to take courses they have no interest in. also the many straight A's students who cant get into Medicine. <br /><br />If u have actually been to NUS, u will find it difficult to believe that there is a 20% limit. I mean the PRCs alone seem to exceed 20% in some faculties.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-82838371516944997162009-08-14T15:33:38.137+08:002009-08-14T15:33:38.137+08:00If Singapore's universities were private insti...If Singapore's universities were private institutions run on private money, then I could not care less who they give their scholarships to.<br /><br />Simiarly, American universities such as Harvard are private institutions that run on private money. It's not really the average US citizen's concern who Harvard gives its money to.<br /><br />However, NUS, NTU and SMU run on taxpayers' money, therefore I think that there is much more legitimate room for Singaporeans to ask if/why this taxpayers money is being used to finance foreigners' education at the expense of citizens.Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01027678080233274309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-15249450093514226812009-08-14T13:58:02.999+08:002009-08-14T13:58:02.999+08:00I discovered from MOE, NTU and NUS web sites that ...I discovered from MOE, NTU and NUS web sites that each Undergraduate foreign students intake in our local Universities is limited up to 20%. <br /><br />Is this too big a number? I also do not know how their selection criteria stack up against local students.<br /><br />In the US, where I received part of my postgraduate education, the percentage is even higher than 20%. <br /><br />If we looked at the department of statistics numbers, there are now more people with tertiary education or higher amongst those 35 and below. <br /><br />There are quite a number (although I don't know exactly how many) who go overseas for their education based on my observations amongst friends and relatives. <br /><br />I tend to agree with some of us that we are not building tertiary education institutions fast enough.<br /><br />Having said that, how about those that should not make it to Universities because they could not cope, etc.?<br /><br />Its true that it does not take high education to be an entrepreneur, but it generally helps the average folk who has higher education get a better paying job.<br /><br />Its also a fact that those with better results tend to do better at selection interviews at fortune 500 companies.<br /><br />In my previous role, I was involved in hiring interns from local Universities. From what I observed, the top students tend to fare better at case study interviews, which involved problem-solving business issues. SMU students in general are also better communicators.Anti-Chronic Singaporenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-33728089956066169742009-08-14T12:21:30.503+08:002009-08-14T12:21:30.503+08:00all i wanna say is that they don't really care...all i wanna say is that they don't really care about us...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-70702980048662102282009-08-14T11:43:31.636+08:002009-08-14T11:43:31.636+08:00So it shouldn't be a surprise that the places ...<i>So it shouldn't be a surprise that the places in our local NTU and NUS are given to PRCs and Indians, who can't get into the top universities in their homeland too.</i><br /><br />I think we need proof for this. NUS I suspect not. NTU I not too sure. SMU might be the most likely case.<br /><br />But we need proof.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-13811874251244395602009-08-14T11:39:52.826+08:002009-08-14T11:39:52.826+08:00Therefore, it comes of no surprise that many Singa...<i>Therefore, it comes of no surprise that many Singaporeans studying overseas prefer to stay overseas rather than return to Singapore after completing their studies, especially in cases where the foreign university had not only provided the opportunity for education, but also at no cost/ little cost to the student.</i><br /><br />Ain't we doing the same? Ain't you protesting against giving scholarships to foreigners? Now you are advocating it?<br /><br />Sigh... confusing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com