It's really a disgusting practice!

The Straits Times
Nov 4, 2011
special report
Bosses send foreign workers to gamble
Workers share in casino winnings, but if they lose too much, they pay

By Elizabeth Soh

A HARD day's work for Bangladeshi construction worker Salim used to mean toiling under the burning sun.

But nowadays, at least once a week, he finds himself assigned to a very different kind of 'job' - playing the jackpot machines in the cool air-conditioned comfort of Resorts World Sentosa.

The 29-year-old is one of a number of foreign employees being sent to the casino to gamble on behalf of their employers to feed their own habit, a Straits Times investigation has found.

Five bosses - some with exclusion orders against them - told The Straits Times that they have been handing workers cash, notebooks and mobile phones, then dispatching them to the casino.

They claimed to know several other employers doing the same thing.

The 'proxy gamblers', dressed mostly in company polo T-shirts and jeans, get a cut of the winnings, but if they lose too much, their pay is docked.

This arrangement allows employers who are barred due to their own excessive gambling a vicarious way to indulge their habit.

The others say it is a way to maximise their chances of winning at the slot machines or roulette tables.

Five foreign workers The Straits Times found gambling at Resorts World Sentosa on a Friday said they were not forced to do it, and were enjoying themselves. The casino's air-conditioned, carpeted halls certainly were a welcome change from sweating in the hot sun.

Instead of welding steel sheets together, Salim walked around the jackpot machines, looking for the right place to spend his $500. His aim was to find machines that had not paid out in a while.

'Boss says to find those with less win, more money,' said Salim, as he scribbled down the amounts.

Next, he proceeded to the roulette table, where he placed bets on four of his employer's favourite 'lucky numbers'. He was with his colleague and fellow countryman Rajib, 32, who has been gambling longer and is entrusted with $800.

Both men had been given strict instructions to write down every bet they made, and their losses and wins. They get 10 per cent of anything they win, but if they lose more than $500, the entire loss is cut from their pay.

The pair work together to make sure that they do not get carried away at certain jackpot machines and meet every two hours to update their boss, subcontractor Edmund Ng, 59, who runs a cabinet and furniture business.

Another proxy gambler, cabinet-maker Ishan, 35, said: 'Boss says, lose too much, unlucky, change machine. Sometimes, we play too long, forget how much we lose, after that then got trouble.'

The Straits Times spoke to five sub-contractors who regularly send their workers to gamble. They said they knew of at least 15 others doing the same. All said they did not force the workers to go to the casino. Three have exclusion orders taken out by family members.

The sub-contractors each send two workers at around 10am. The men take lunch and tea breaks, buying sandwiches or rice dishes from the casino eateries. They do not leave until their employers pick them up at around 10pm, or sometimes as late as midnight.

Mr Eric Leong, 56, sends three workers to the casino once or twice a week.

'I see it as diversifying my chances of winning money,' he said. 'If I play, it's one person. Two persons play, it's twice the chances.'

Mr Leong, who is barred, said that he spends equal amounts betting on horse races, soccer games, and buying lottery tickets. He and his fellow sub-contractors avoid suspicion by getting their workers covered with medical certificates for the days spent at the casino.

'If the manpower officials question me, I will just say my worker is ill and sneaked off to gamble - what can they say?' said Mr Leong, whose company handles minor renovation work such as laminating floors and painting.

The employers said they pick intelligent workers who have been with them for at least three years and whom they trust. The men are given ready answers in case they are questioned.

'If the casino people ask me, why so much money, I say, pay day today,' said Ishan, who is given $700 per trip. 'If they ask, how come I can come to casino on week day, I say (day) off because project finished already.'

To avoid arousing suspicion, they are told not to linger in the free drinks area or cheer when they win.

'We tell them to look neat and tidy so the casino staff don't take special notice of them,' said Mr Wee A. K, 63, who runs a small furniture company.

The employers check the men's pockets and bags at the start and end of the day out at the casino to make sure they are not hiding cash.

The day The Straits Times met them, Salim and Rajib were at the casino from 10am to 8pm. Rajib lost $495. Salim looked downcast at the end of the day, but did not want to say if he lost money.

Salim, who has a wife and two young children to support in Bangladesh, insisted that the arrangement is worthwhile on the whole.

'Sometimes, in casino, I one day can win $700,' he said. 'Every month I earn only $1,000. You tell me, which one is better?'

Migrant rights activists condemned the employers' actions.

'It's very wrong. The men are willing to work at the jobs they were hired for and they should be able to do that work and get paid for it, not used for anything else,' said Mr John Gee, president of migrant workers' rights group Transient Workers Count Too.

'They have no choice but to do as their bosses say and they come away worse off. It is illegal deployment and it is unethical.'

Gambling counsellors said the bosses were putting their workers at risk of becoming gambling addicts.

'When they go into casinos it's not just the gambling - the whole atmosphere, they might be enjoying it and want to go back to forget about their problems and the hardship they are facing,' said consultant psychiatrist Tan Hwee Sim.

'They are a high-risk group - the margins are small and they can easily get carried away, fall into debt, and they have no family support to help guide them away from it.'

esoh@sph.com.sg

--------------------------------

THE WORKER
'If I win big, maybe I can go home'

WHEN a Bangladeshi painter arrived in Singapore five years ago, he had hoped to save enough money to go home for good three years later.

His plans, however, were foiled when he had to pay for his mother-in-law's medical expenses as she battled cancer. Then he had to build a house for his wife and three children, and settle debts owed to relatives back in his village.

So when the painter, who wanted to be called Rajib, was offered a chance by his boss about a year ago to try his luck at the Resorts World casino, he grabbed the offer.

He said his employer sends him to the casino once or twice a week and gives him $800 each time to gamble. He plays mostly at jackpot machines or at blackjack and roulette tables.

If he wins, he gets a 10 per cent cut and usually a tip of another 5 per cent from his boss.

If he loses more than $500, the whole sum is deducted from his monthly pay of about $1,200. If he loses less than $500, the boss will absorb the loss.

'If I win big a few times, maybe I can go home for a long time to see my children, wife and house,' said Rajib who has worked for the same employer for the past five years.

But he let on that he has lost so much that he has not been able to send any money home for half a year. Asked why he did not stop gambling, his sheepish reply was that he could not control himself.

He insisted that he had not been forced or persuaded by his boss to gamble. He described his boss as a good man who helped him pay his family's medical bills and had kept his word at giving him his share of the winnings.

But Rajib has taken his interest in gambling a step further. On his days off, he goes to the Marina Bay Sands casino on his own.

Asked whether his colleagues at his dormitory get jealous because he goes to the casino instead of toiling at a construction site, he said they do scold him for gambling as he is a Muslim.

'But I don't care. Wait until I win big, then I go home first and they'll still be here,' he added with a laugh.

ELIZABETH SOH

---------------------------------------------

THE BOSS
'I'm giving my men a chance to get rich'

LIKE many other investors, businessman Edmund Ng believes that 'money grows money'.

But Mr Ng, 59, says his 'investments' are the foreign employees he sends to gamble on his behalf at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino.

The father of three described the process as 'creative' and 'multiplying my chances' of making money.

'To me, everything in life is a gamble and a game of chance. Some people put their money in shares, stocks; I choose to put mine in casinos. What's the difference?' said Mr Ng, whoruns a small business manufacturing hardwood furniture, and employs 15 foreign workers.

He also dabbles in other kinds of gambling, especially soccer betting and lottery tickets. He estimates that he spends about $20,000 a month on gambling.

He told The Straits Times that he was one of the first employers to start sending foreign workers to the casino, and that he had 'trained them well'.

'My men don't just walk around and behave like hooligans. They are neatly dressed and they don't make noise like other workers who go and make trouble when they lose,' he said.

He usually sends two men, and gives them $500 and $800 to gamble with respectively. To avoid suspicion from casino staff, he picks them up in his Mercedes-Benz later on.

Like other employers, he gives them a cut of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of the winnings, and docks their pay if they lose more than a maximum sum.

'That way they will not lose too much for fear that they will lose their salary.' said Mr Ng, who added that he had at least 10 friends, fellow businessmen, who did the same thing.

'I also teach them how to back off when they are on a losing streak, or bet more when they feel their chances are good. All these things are also life skills.'

Mr Ng did not feel that he was exploiting his workers, saying instead that he was giving them a chance to get rich that they would not usually be able to afford.

'I don't think I am abusing my position as an employer,' he said. 'Anyway, it is much easier to gamble at the casino than sweat in the sun.'

This sounds like a very silly survey to me!

Business Times - 25 Oct 2011

S'poreans would be happier with more money: survey

Baby boomers the happiest, young adults unhappiest

By CHUANG PECK MING

WITH echoes of last week's debate on economic growth and happiness in Parliament still ringing in many ears, the results of a survey released yesterday could make you wonder what the fuss was all about.

The survey by advertising firm Grey Group found that Singaporeans are happy on the whole, with 52.8 per cent of the 200 Singaporeans (including permanent residents) polled indicating they are generally in a state of bliss - thanks to a happy home, family and spiritual well-being.

About 78 per cent of those polled ranked Singapore as the place that offers the best home and surroundings.

The survey, done in June, also seems to underscore that money remains the basic key to happiness in Singapore, which justifies the pursuit of a bigger gross domestic product (GDP) - the main beef of the critics who raised the issue last week.

Savings and spending are the two sources of unhappiness among most Singaporeans, according to the survey. Some 46.5 per cent of those polled reported they didn't have enough savings in the past six months - and over a third of them in the middle-age group (30-44 years) were the 'least happiest' about it.

Nearly a third (32.81 per cent) of the middle- aged respondents were most unhappy with their expenditure in the last six months - a figure higher than that for young adults (19-29), baby boomers (45-59) and silver generation (over 60).

Overall, 40.5 per cent of Singaporeans were unhappy with their expenditure, the survey shows.

The suggestion is that the unhappy savers and spenders could do well with more income - which usually comes with a booming economy that provides higher-paying jobs.

Indeed, a significant 27 per cent of the Singaporeans polled worried about the economy, given the debt problem in Europe and stalled growth in America.

And Subbaraju Alluri, Grey's chief executive in Singapore, sees the number rising in the coming months as the twin threats of high inflation and low growth hit home.

While the survey produces findings that are in line with popular notions about happiness, there are also bits that are troubling.

The finding that the middle-age group are stressed and feel sandwiched shouldn't raise eyebrows, but one didn't expect young adults to be the unhappiest lot. Mr Alluri admitted that even he was surprised.

Young people define a society - and they should be happy, especially in Singapore, according to him.

The survey shows young Singaporeans are most unhappy with their savings, spending and jobs.

The overall unhappiness with savings - despite the fact that Singaporeans are among the world's biggest savers - is also worrisome, Mr Alluri said.

The survey found baby boomers to be the happiest among the age groups. Mr Alluri guessed it's because their kids have grown up and their retirement needs are well taken care of.

Men were also found to be happier than women. The latter said that they were less happy because they had to juggle between their roles of playing both mother and worker.

The Straits Times
Oct 4, 2011
Govt to rein in vehicle growth from next year
Current 1.5% not sustainable given land constraints: Minister Lui

By Maria Almenoar

THE Government plans to further curb vehicle growth, given how Singapore has limited space for new roads, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.

The annual growth is currently capped at 1.5 per cent, and this rate applies till the end of January next year.

Mr Lui said the 1.5 per cent rate has to be brought down further in the next review. 'For the next three-year phase, it will not stay at 1.5 per cent but it will have to come down,' he said.

More details will be revealed later this month, but industry sources expect the move to push up premiums for certificates of entitlement (COEs) beyond their already high levels and, with that, car prices too.

The supply of COEs - which would-be buyers must bid for to own a car - is dependent on the number of cars scrapped and the allowable growth rate.

The current annual COE quota of about 30,000 has boosted car prices, with a Toyota Vios, for example, selling for about $90,000.

In his first wide-ranging interview since he took over his portfolio in May, Mr Lui stressed that even as the vehicle population is contained, the Government is improving public transport.

For example, 35 bus stops will be converted to 'bus hubs' with extended bays to allow more buses to pull in at the same time, thereby reducing commuters' journey time.

The Government will also build more sheltered walkways to transport nodes.

It is also working closely with the land use agencies to identify areas that will be designated housing clusters in the future.

Mr Lui said that currently, about 400,000 households live within 600m of an MRT station, and 200,000 live about 400m away.

The aim in a decade's time is to double the number of households living within 400m and 600m of a station.

On the vehicle growth cap, he said the 1.5 per cent growth rate - cut from 3 per cent three years ago - is not sustainable in the longer term given Singapore's limited land. 'It's really... finding the right balance,' he said.

Currently, 12 per cent of the land is taken up by roads, compared with 15 per cent for housing.

He said the growth in the road network will also slow down from the 1 per cent in the past decade to 0.5 per cent a year.

Mr Lui said that there was always a trade-off in expanding the road network.

'When you increase the size of your expressways, it brings them closer to residents,' he said.

'When you build a new road, there is, I think, quite a lot of convenience for both public and private transport users, but I think there are others who feel that we have lost something as a result of doing so. So again it's a trade-off.'

But the new growth rate will not be zero, he said.

'You could theoretically bring it down to zero or even below zero but I think it will bump up against the aspirations of some who want to own a car,' he said. He recognised that there will still be those for whom a car is a necessity, such as to ferry their elderly parents around.

Motor Traders Association president Cheah Kim Teck said it was too early to say how the changes would affect the market. 'We will have to take all the measures in totality and wait to see if there are other announcements that the Government will make,' he said.

Mr Cheah, who is also motor operations chief executive of Jardine Cycle & Carriage, added that the industry had hoped for the Government to introduce measures to energise the market.

'It's not comforting news as the market is small enough. In fact, it's a bit depressing, to say the least.'

National University of Singapore transport academic Lee Der Horng felt that the 'cut will affect those who genuinely need cars the most'.

Adding that COE prices are likely to rise exponentially with the cut, he said: 'This will have an impact on not only COE premiums but also the consumer price index.'

In the interview which was conducted last Thursday, Mr Lui revealed that a review of the Land Transport Masterplan is likely to take place next year, with the details to be unveiled perhaps the year after. This exercise will extend the Transport Ministry's plans to 2025 and beyond.

Since the last masterplan was rolled out in 2008, the Government has made a big push to improve public transportation and get users to switch from cars to buses and trains.

But existing car owners can look forward to some good news, with the Government planning to reduce the duration of the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) during evening peak periods on some expressways.

Mr Lui hinted that the Central Expressway (CTE) was one expressway that could see hours reduced. Currently, the charges are between 50 cents and $1 from 5.30pm till 10.30pm.

He said the overall philosophy of tweaking only when traffic is outside of optimal speeds still holds, 'but in the evening when the balance between economic and more personal considerations may differ from the morning hours... I think you can make some adjustments. There is room'.

mariaa@sph.com.sg

Business Times - 03 Oct 2011

Firms put plans for dual listing on hold

Market volatility, unfavourable outlook prompt many to pull the plug

By LYNETTE KHOO

(SINGAPORE) With stock markets highly volatile, an increasing number of companies have started putting their dual-listing plans on the back burner.

Many of these had hoped that a dual listing would result in higher valuation for their stocks in the second market. But the experience of others before them have shown that this is not always the case.

A string of companies, mostly S-chips or Chinese firms listed in Singapore, are now back-peddling in their dual-listing track.

The latest to pull the plug is Combine Will International, which has decided to defer its plans for a dual listing given the market swings and unfavourable outlook.

The Chinese contract manufacturer said just over a week ago that it had no current plans to resume its dual-listing exercise. The conditional eligibility to list on Kosdaq in South Korea that it received in March has lapsed.

Last month, the China Fishery Group disclosed that it was delaying plans to seek a dual listing on Hong Kong's mainboard, again due to market conditions.

Sunmart Holdings, another S-chip, has postponed its dual-listing plans on South Korea's Kosdaq, citing 'the current fluctuating and unfavourable market conditions in Korea'.

Fuxing China, also an S-chip, said it has terminated its plan to issue Taiwan Depository Receipts (TDRs) in a secondary listing in Taiwan.

DMG & Partners Securities analyst Tan Han-Meng noted that the dismal performance of dual-listed counters have led to other companies shelving their dual-listing plans, and investors realising that these counters may already be fairly priced in Singapore.

So far, the attention shown by investors in the dual-listing markets has proven to be fleeting, dashing the hopes of traders who are out to make arbitrage gains.

Even the early birds such as China XLX and Z-Obee, which dual-listed in Hong Kong, have done poorly. Both their share prices and volumes have fallen sharply after a short-term surge on debut.

Roger Tan, vice-president of SIAS Research, does not think, however, that S-chips have given up completely on dual listings, especially since the negative perception of S-chips in Singapore is more entrenched than in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

'However, these markets have very active speculators and so the companies' stocks could suffer if they have not done enough to impress their brands on the minds of speculators,' he pointed out.

The cautious stance towards dual listing is not confined to S-chips.

Other non-S-chip companies are now also holding back their plans.

Lionel Lee, managing director of Singapore subsea services group Ezra Holdings, revealed recently that the company had planned for a dual listing in London.

It has now 'decided to hold fire for a bit' due to the market conditions, he said.

Singapore IT firm ECS Holdings is also not proceeding with its application for a TDR listing after assessing current market conditions and the expected take-up rate of its TDRs. Tech company UMS Group recently dropped its plan to pursue a dual listing in South Korea.

One group, however, is pushing ahead with its plans. CapitaMalls Asia (CMA), a unit of CapitaLand, is braving the bearish market conditions to proceed with its dual listing in Hong Kong by way of introduction of shares.

It is facilitating the transfer of shares traded here to Hong Kong via a batch transfer system, and trading in Hong Kong is expected to start from Nov 3.

Analysts note, however, that CMA is not raising equity. It is merely seeking to raise its profile and to be closer to China, which accounts for about 42 per cent of its total property portfolio.

'With or without the markets coming down, CMA has already committed their lawyers' fees and bankers' fees, among others. They are not diluting shareholders at this current price, so the decision to go ahead is probably based on that,' said CIMB analyst Donald Chua.

Mr Chua said he does not expect a major re-rating of CMA since the plan was already announced six months ago, and there is ample research coverage on CMA here.

Are markets really scarier now than before? Or have we conditioned ourselves to believe so? Companies still function and operate whether the economy is doing well or not - it's up to the investor to sift them out!

Business Times - 03 Oct 2011

Hock Lock Siew
Market risks more scary than before

By R SIVANITHY

WITH stock prices down sharply this year, it is tempting to buy into claims that 'value is now emerging', especially in the local market where the Straits Times Index has lost about 20 per cent so far in 2011.

This idea of emerging value has been circulating for some weeks now, accompanied by calls for investors to consider 'bargain hunting'.

It is true that if stocks were a 'buy' two months ago before the European debt crisis erupted anew, then they must be all the more so now that prices have plunged by as much as they have.

However, prudence dictates that before buying, investors should bear a few points in mind.

First, the recommendation that investors start picking up stocks stems from most experts' belief that there won't be a repeat of the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008 and so investors can buy the dips with confidence because a recession isn't likely.

Really? Recall that these are the same experts that failed to predict the GFC in the first place and who glossed over Greece's debt problems when they first surfaced more than a year ago, together with those of Portugal, Ireland and Spain (remember the PIGS?).

Even as recently as mid-July, Singapore strategy reports made little reference to Europe as a potential problem area, nor was a slowing US economy seen as a factor. Instead, the focus was possible policy changes after the May General Election and how the economy might be affected.

In under two months, all this has changed. There is therefore good reason to be sceptical when expert observers speak bullishly and glowingly of economic and market prospects.

Second, banks are today better capitalised than before 2008, tighter controls are now in place and besides, governments and central banks stand ready as lenders of last resort if things really get hairy.

These arguments lie at the heart of the confidence underlying much of the 'buy' calls. Problem is, there are signs that markets are slowly coming round to the idea that confidence in officialdom may well be misplaced.

Confidence to stay invested - and complacency engendered - started from the US Federal Reserve's Tarp (troubled assets relief programme) to its two rounds of 'quantitative easing' to 'Operation Twist' announced two weeks ago, the latter to depress long-term interest rates.

Also falling in this category is Europe's somewhat fragmented and patchy rescue of Greece, which so far appears to have bought some time but is threatening to disintegrate at any time.

With each bailout though, the lasting impact on risky assets has been getting progressively smaller, a sure sign that confidence in governments and central banks is waning. This is all the more because conventional policy options have been exhausted and there are significant political barriers to adopting unconventional tools.

Many observers have also noted that a fundamental problem is an absence of strong and credible leadership out of the crisis and that without such guidance, major problems could lie ahead.

Third, valuations are now 'cheap' and so stocks are worthy of a second look, especially those which might be described as 'defensive'.

Certainly, this argument has been used for some local blue chips to good effect - Singapore Airlines, UOL, SingTel and SingPost spring to mind as a few beneficiaries in the past fortnight, their prices having held up well amid pressure elsewhere.

The biggest problem, however, with many expert calls is that while plenty of consideration is given to potential returns, not enough is allocated to risks. Every 'buy' call typically zooms in on the money that can be made and this usually occupies more than three-quarters of the report but a discussion of risk is usually confined to one paragraph, if at all.

So here's a final thought: if the GFC of 2008-9, which was brought on by threats of banks going bust, saw the STI plunge 56 per cent from a high of about 3,400 at the start of 2008 to below 1,500 some 15 months later in March 2009, then what might be the possible loss now if a fresh financial crisis were to unfold, given that this time, it's not banks but governments that are threatening to go bust?

HOCK LOCK SIEW

By R SIVANITHY

A grim reminder that any business, even an old, well-established one, may fade away due to changing technology and consumer preferences! It still must be "Buy and Monitor", not just mindless "Buy and Hold"!

The Straits Times
Oct 2, 2011
Kodak in danger of fading away
Company not filing for bankruptcy but its shares plummet

New York - Its legacy spans 13 decades, and boasts many American firsts, but Eastman Kodak, best known for cameras and photography, may be running out of options and time.

Concerns about its future boiled over last Friday, after it hired a law firm well-known for bankruptcy cases, sending its shares down 54 per cent to 78 US cents per share.

Although Kodak said it has 'no intention' of filing for bankruptcy, the fact that its shares closed under US$1, and market capitalisation shrank to less than US$300 million (S390 million), suggests investors may have lost faith.

The picture began to fade in September 2003. Film sales were dying, and Kodak slashed its dividend by 70 per cent, hoping to gain flexibility as it beefed up spending on commercial and inkjet printers, medical imaging devices and other digital systems. It stopped investing in traditional consumer film.

In January 2004, Kodak said it would trim costs by shrinking manufacturing and cutting some 15,000 jobs, or about 20 per cent of its workforce, over three years. Its workforce has since been pared to about 18,800 - 9,600 in the United States - at the end of last year, from 86,000 in 1998.

Kodak has been an iconic name in American business. Its history stretches back to inventor George Eastman's Eastman Dry Plate Company in 1881. By 1885, he had launched the first transparent photographic film.

The 'Kodak' camera hit the market in 1888, with the slogan, 'You press the button - we do the rest'. It rolled out Kodachrome, the first commercially successful amateur colour film, in 1935, but Eastman was unable to see its debut, having committed suicide in 1932.

Nearly a century later - in 1981 - its sales topped US$10 billion. It was ahead in the digital camera movement, with its Professional Digital Camera System in 1991 that enabled photojournalists to take electronic pictures with a camera equipped with its 1.3-megapixel sensor.

Mr Daniel Carp took over as CEO in 2000, right around the time that digital cameras started to become affordable.

Taking pictures without the use of film and the option to forgo printing proved a crippling blow to Kodak, which sold film, photo paper and the systems that develop film into prints.

Veteran Hewlett-Packard executive Antonio Perez joined in 2003, and became CEO two years later. He was instrumental in the shift to digital devices and services, hoping to outpace plummeting demand for film.

But some say that was already too late, since consumers had become enamoured with the ease of digital cameras, which allowed then to snap hundreds of photos without film or the need to make prints.

Today, most snapshots are taken with phones and viewed on Facebook, and it is tough to remember when Kodak's brand was stronger than that of the social media site.

Reuters

source: George Monbiot

By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 1st August 2011

There are two ways of cutting a deficit: raising taxes or reducing spending. Raising taxes means taking money from the rich. Cutting spending means taking money from the poor. Not in all cases of course: some taxation is regressive; some state spending takes money from ordinary citizens and gives it to banks, arms companies, oil barons and farmers. But in most cases the state transfers wealth from rich to poor, while tax cuts shift it from poor to rich.

So the rich, in a nominal democracy, have a struggle on their hands. Somehow they must persuade the other 99% to vote against their own interests: to shrink the state, supporting spending cuts rather than tax rises. In the US they appear to be succeeding.

Partly as a result of the Bush tax cuts of 2001, 2003 and 2005 (shamefully extended by Barack Obama), taxation of the wealthy, in Obama’s words, “is at its lowest level in half a century”(1). The consequence of such regressive policies is a level of inequality unknown in other developed nations. As the Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz points out, in the past 10 years the income of the top 1% has risen by 18%, while that of blue collar male workers has fallen by 12%(2).

The deal being thrashed out in Congress as this article goes to press seeks only to cut state spending. As the former Republican senator Alan Simpson says, “the little guy is going to be cremated.”(3) That, in turn, will mean further economic decline, which means a bigger deficit(4). It’s insane. But how did it happen?

The immediate reason is that Republican members of Congress supported by the Tea Party movement won’t budge. But this explains nothing. The Tea Party movement mostly consists of people who have been harmed by tax cuts for the rich and spending cuts for the poor and middle. Why would they mobilise against their own welfare? You can understand what is happening in Washington only if you remember what everyone seems to have forgotten: how this movement began.

On Sunday the Observer claimed that “the Tea Party rose out of anger over the scale of federal spending, and in particular in bailing out the banks”(5). This is what its members claim. It’s nonsense.

The movement started with Rick Santelli’s call on CNBC for a tea party of city traders to dump securities in Lake Michigan, in protest at Obama’s plan to “subsidise the losers”(6). In other words, it was a demand for a financiers’ mobilisation against the bail-out of their victims: people losing their homes. This is the opposite of the Observer’s story. On the same day, a group called Americans for Prosperity (AFP) set up a Tea Party Facebook page and started organising Tea Party events(7). The movement, whose programme is still lavishly supported by AFP, took off from there.

So who or what is Americans for Prosperity? It was founded and is funded by Charles and David Koch(8). They run what they call “the biggest company you’ve never heard of”(9), and between them they are worth $43 billion(10).

Koch Industries is a massive oil, gas, minerals, timber and chemicals company. Over the past 15 years the brothers have poured at least $85m into lobby groups arguing for lower taxes for the rich and weaker regulations for industry(11). The groups and politicians the Kochs fund also lobby to destroy collective bargaining, to stop laws reducing carbon emissions, to stymie healthcare reform and to hobble attempts to control the banks. During the 2010 election cycle, Americans for Prosperity spent $45 million supporting its favoured candidates(12).

But the Kochs’ greatest political triumph is the creation of the Tea Party movement. Taki Oldham’s film AstroTurf Wars shows Tea Party organisers from all over the Union reporting back to David Koch at their 2009 Defending the Dream summit, explaining the events and protests they’ve started with AFP help. “Five years ago,” he tells them, “my brother Charles and I provided the funds to start Americans for Prosperity. It’s beyond my wildest dreams how AFP has grown into this enormous organisation.”(13)

AFP mobilised the anger of people who found their conditions of life declining, and channelled it into a campaign to make them worse. Tea Party campaigners appear to be unaware of the origins of their own movement. Like the guard in Geoffrey Household’s novel Rogue Male who has been conned into working for the enemy, they take to the streets to demand less tax for billionaires and worse health, education and social insurance for themselves.

Are they stupid? No. They have been systematically misled by another instrument of corporate power: the media. The Tea Party movement has been relentlessly promoted by Fox News, which belongs to a more familiar billionaire. Like the Kochs, Rupert Murdoch aims to misrepresent the democratic choices we face, in order to persuade us to vote against our own interests and in favour of his.

What’s taking place in Congress right now is a kind of political coup. A handful of billionaires has shoved a spanner into the legislative process. Through the candidates they’ve bought and the movement that supports them, they are now breaking and reshaping the system to serve their interests. We knew this once, but now we’ve forgotten. What hope do we have of resisting a force we won’t even see?

We're a rich nation of car-owners, even with COEs hovering near record highs!

The Straits Times
Sep 10, 2011
More cars = less HDB carpark space
Pace of ownership outstrips carpark-building rate; families with more than one car also up

By Christopher Tan

IF you find it tougher to park in a Housing Board estate these days, or have difficulty securing a season pass for your second car, this is why: The pace of growth in car ownership has overtaken that of HDB's carpark-building programme.

The number of HDB carpark spaces has risen from 539,800 in 2005 to 557,000 as at June this year - a 3.2per cent rise.

But the number of HDB households - the bulk of Singapore households - with a car has grown by 26.3per cent to 310,400 over the same period. And the number with more than one car has shot up by 76.5per cent to 45,900.

HDB says the average season-parking take-up rate has soared from 57per cent in 2005 to about 80per cent today. This leaves far fewer parking spaces for visitors.

What makes matters worse is that the growth in season-parking demand is not evenly distributed. A spokesman said some carparks experience higher demand than others.

The Housing Board is building more multistorey carparks where feasible, providing more parking spaces in new estates and prioritising season-parking tickets to households for their first car.

It has also stepped up use of electronic parking, especially in estates near popular new malls, such as nex in Serangoon; selectively removed free parking on Sundays and public holidays; and disallowed night parking (from 10.30pm to 7am) for visitors in high-demand carparks.

HDB now has electronic parking at 189 carparks and will extend it to another 300, the spokesman said. Where night parking is allowed, it has doubled charges to $4.

As for increasing supply, HDB is treading carefully. It is adding 1,800 parking spaces this year, an expansion of less than 1 per cent.

Observers say this has to do with the Auditor-General rapping the Housing Board in 2005 for building far more carparks than are needed.

Back then, HDB parking spaces outnumbered households with cars by 50 per cent. In fact, there were more parking spaces in HDB estates than there were cars in Singapore.

HDB said then that it had to build to meet future demand. As it turned out, it was right. But now, residents think it has taken a more conservative stance.

Warehouse manager Adrian Wang, 51, who lives in Yishun, said: 'It's always hard to find a space after 8pm on weekdays. If I come back after 11pm, I have to park two or three blocks away.'

Visitors, too, feel parking spaces in HDB estates have become more scarce.

Managing director T.C. Long, 41, said: 'Whenever I go to an HDB estate, I find it can be a real challenge to find a space, especially at night when everyone is back.'

Members of Parliament have been receiving more carpark-related feedback.

Mr Seah Kian Peng, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, said he received a flurry of complaints from residents in Serangoon when nex shopping mall opened last year.

'The novelty effect of the new mall has worn off a bit and the carpark situation is more stable now. That does not mean it's completely solved. We are still looking at plans to increase the number of lots in the area,' he said.

Joo Chiat MP Charles Chong said he heard many grouses in his previous ward (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC).

'In Pasir Ris and Sengkang, open spaces have been converted to temporary parking lots. This shows the car population has just gone beyond what the infrastructure can take.'

HDB said it was a challenge to match supply with demand.

'As land is limited, it is not tenable to keep adding carparks indefinitely. HDB needs to balance the needs of other residents and safeguard land for other uses, such as precinct facilities and recreational areas,' said a spokesman.

christan@sph.com.sg

The Straits Times
Sep 8, 2011
More gamblers seek help for addiction
MCYS acknowledges increase and will keep reaching out to them

By Janice Tai

The number of gamblers seeking help for their addiction has risen over the past year. And according to the counselling centres, about seven in 10 of them say the casinos at the integrated resorts are the main reason for their money woes.

A check with six of the bigger voluntary welfare organisations offering counselling to gamblers showed they have been seeing more people since Resorts World Sentosa opened in February last year, and Marina Bay Sands in April last year.

For example, a year ago, volunteer organisation One Hope Centre used to see 40 to 50 people at its weekly support sessions for gamblers. Today, it sees between 70 and 80 a week.

The Hiding Place halfway house in Jalan Kayu used to see 10 people at its weekly sessions. This has risen to 30.

We Care Community Services in Kampong Bugis used to have one 15-member support group for family members of gamblers three years ago. Today, it has three groups totalling 45 people. The surge took place after the casinos opened.

Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre is also seeing more gamblers and their relatives, but declined to give figures.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) yesterday acknowledged that more gamblers are seeking help, and said it will continue to reach out to them.

A spokesman said: 'With greater awareness and the measures in place, we expect some families and individuals seeking help to present their problem as casino gambling, even though that can represent other forms of gambling as well.'

She pointed out that 'problem gamblers gamble and incur losses across an entire range of gambling products'.

The counselling centres said the numbers, while manageable for now, are worrying. For one thing, there might not be enough qualified and accredited addiction therapists and mental health specialists to deal with the surge.

Mr Prem Kumar, programme director of We Care Community Services, said it takes time to train such professionals. 'It is not as simple as having to attend a course. They need to have certain qualifications and at least a few years of experience in addiction counselling,' he said.

Research done on addictions points to the need for gamblers - who can bet on anything from football to racehorses - to get help. A study on the different types of addictions here found that gambling addicts have a lower quality of life compared with alcoholics in terms of relationships and their level of spirituality. Drug addicts had the worst quality of life.

The study, published in July, is by the National Addictions Management Service, located at the Institute of Mental Health.

A Samaritans of Singapore report in July showed a similarly worrying trend. It said 352 people called in with loan-shark problems between April last year and March this year, up from 218 cases in the same period a year ago, and 196 called in with gambling debt issues, up from 132.

Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad said he has seen a few problem gamblers at his Meet-the-People sessions. 'They don't openly declare that they are problem gamblers but there are symptoms like credit card arrears, unsecured loans and loan-shark harassment that point to that,' he said.

Mr Charles Lee, senior counsellor at Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, said the rise in the number of gamblers seeking help is due to publicity on gambling-related issues, and the work of the National Council of Problem Gambling.

NCPG, a body appointed by MCYS, oversees the administration of casino-exclusion orders and provides advice to the Government on social safeguards against gambling. Between January and June this year, the number of self-exclusion orders issued to Singaporeans and permanent residents rose from 3,500 to 5,300; exclusion orders initiated by a gambler's family doubled from 297 to 613.

On the casinos' role in the rise in gamblers, Mr Lee said: 'We can't blame the presence of the casinos. The onus is on the problem gamblers who ought to know their weaknesses and tackle them.'

Reformed gambler Bennie Tey, 39, called for a one-stop centre to treat all problems a gambler faces. He said each centre now tends to have a focus, whether in debt management, counselling or psychotherapy. 'Sometimes, what we need is a mix of all.'

jantai@sph.com.sg

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The Straits Times
Sep 8, 2011
Frequent and heavy gambling also a concern

THE national body tasked with keeping an eye on gambling has a new target group: heavy and frequent gamblers.

The National Council on Problem Gambling's (NCPG) main focus, since its inception in 2005, has been on problem gamblers. Among other things, it decides on the applications for the exclusion of persons from the two casinos.

A spokesman said yesterday that it 'wants to expand its focus to also look at heavy and frequent gambling, which is the level before gambling becomes an addiction'.

'We want to be more pre-emptive. We will help families to look for tell-tale signs of heavy and frequent gambling, and encourage them to seek help early before gambling becomes an addiction and a serious problem.'

It is consulting agencies and counselling centres on how to provide 'a more comprehensive suite of services' to address frequent gambling and problem gambling. The public will also be consulted, and it expects to call for a tender within the next three months for more credit-cum-legal financial advisory services to help families minimise the financial problems that arise from heavy gambling and problem gambling.

In response to queries, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports noted the NCPG has been working closely with various bodies to enhance help to gamblers. There are also more community groups that do this now.

'Gambling is a continuum that ranges from social gambling to problem gambling, where gambling has become an addiction,' said an MCYS spokesman, adding that the ministry has raised awareness of problem gambling over the years, and expanded to treatment and help services for gamblers.

The ministry will conduct a gambling participation survey later this year. It conducted similar studies in 2005 and 2008, but this will be the first one since the two casinos opened last year.

No surprise eh? Yesterday I read ini MyPaper about a 16-year old spending $1,500 on a DSLR camera and some lenses and calling it a bargain! Imagine a 16-year old spending that kind of money!

The Straits Times
Sep 6, 2011
Comex show breaks visitor and sales records

By Irene Tham

The biggest crowd ever came to splurge on $70 million worth of products - another record - at this year's Comex IT and consumer technology show.

Some 822,000 visitors thronged the 355,000 sq ft of space over five floors in the Suntec convention centre during the show's four-day run that ended on Sunday.

According to event organiser Exhibits Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings, the 835 exhibitors rang up some $70.5 million in sales - the most in its 17-year history.

Exhibits Inc general manager Melvin Koh said premium gadgets such as tablets, smartphones, smart TV sets and digital single- lens reflex cameras were hot buys, 'as consumers continue to have higher expectations of their gadgets'.

Canon said it saw a 20 per cent rise in sales from last year. Its most popular item was its EOS 600D camera which went for $1,199, or $150 less than usual.

Mr Andrew Koh, Canon Singapore's director and general manager of consumer imaging and information, said: 'We have observed that consumers now seem to be more informed and know what they want to purchase, with a focus on premium solutions.'

Laptop retailers also clicked with consumers, with Asus netting a 15 per cent sales boost this year. Ms Lim Kai Li, senior marketing executive at the Taiwanese PC maker, said: 'It was our record performance at Comex.'

Laptops were also offered as part of telcos' package deals for broadband and mobile plans.

Student Reuben Tan, 19, who signed a two-year contract with M1, lauded the show as a great way to lap up a bargain. For $75 a month, he got a Toshiba laptop worth more than $1,000 and a 100Mbps fibre broadband plan.

'I have been waiting to snag a good deal since my current broadband contract expired a few months back,' he said.

Other popular items included the Olympus Pen E-PL1 camera, which went for $498 - about half its usual price - and Hewlett- Packard's discontinued TouchPad tablet. Both were sold out on the first day of the show.

Last year's Comex attracted 815,000 visitors and logged sales of $68.5 million.