Fears of a Black Swan in Singapore General Election 2011

(27-04-2011, 04:27 PM)mrEngineer Wrote: I have always wondered is having opposition really means that there is a check and balance in the system? By right, every member of parliament should represent the interests of the citizens and not to their party. And does having a lot of voices mean efficiency and less misuse of authority?

before new policies are passed, parliament has to vote on it. if 95% of the voting members in parliament are from the same team, what's there to stop them from passing crazy policies?

would you invest in any company if there are no independent directors, and the chairman and ceo is the same person? would you invest in any company that does not publish audited reports, or do not detail their assets or reveal cash balance?

or would you rather hire auditors and independent directors -- which will no doubt cost money and slow down operations -- to safeguard your interests?

why no GE 11 postings in this forum....

let me kick-off.

Oldman frighten liao, especially when the opposition starts checking on his GIC investment losses.

This 1 good slogan:
People don like to pay and pay (PAP)
People's like to ask why pay (WP)

see yourself how pap take advantage of uneducated old folks....this are the lot of frog in the well, very disappointed so easy to buy over just with a packet of chicken rice and free transport...this lot gg to extinct soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdJZCp8SQE

When I started this thread, I wrote about fears of a black swan event in the coming election. It is PAP losing power to an opposition which is still not ready to take over the reins. Admittedly, those fears were borne out of selfish reasons. I was afraid that I might lose lots of money in the Singapore stock market if PAP was thrown out of power on 7 May 2011.

Now, I have fears of a new black swan. It is the opposition losing all its seats in parliament.

It is amazing that the opposition has attracted high-quality candidates despite offering little or no money and plenty of risks. Look at what happened to some of the past opposition candidates and it is hard not to be fearful if you are an opposition candidate. By joining opposition, they have more to lose than gain. Otherwise, why do so many opposition candidates face family opposition to join the opposition?

If these people have the courage to take on the risks and make the sacrifices to stand up for the country, what kind of message are Singaporeans sending if they lost all seats in parliament this time? Will any more credible opposition candidates dare to stand up for us the next time round?

I hope the opposition will not lose...

I hope PAP lose all GRC and left only with Tanjong Pagar...

PAP has lost their moral grounds and direction and they SOLD OUT SINGAPOREANS RIGHTS !!!

Is baseless to say Singapore will be in big trouble if Opposition Wins. We have many real world examples.
Infact we need them to Win to balance one sided policies if you think there are.

We may trip and fall few times while learning but to say we will be gone is extreme, and even if happens, the incumbent would have failed after so long could not construct a proper Civil Service to cover. And the more it needs to be corrected.

Do not be blinded by efficiency talk or fear. I would say Vote what is morally right.


Cory

(01-05-2011, 01:13 AM)hyom Wrote: When I started this thread, I wrote about fears of a black swan event in the coming election. It is PAP losing power to an opposition which is still not ready to take over the reins. Admittedly, those fears were borne out of selfish reasons. I was afraid that I might lose lots of money in the Singapore stock market if PAP was thrown out of power on 7 May 2011.

Now, I have fears of a new black swan. It is the opposition losing all its seats in parliament.

It is amazing that the opposition has attracted high-quality candidates despite offering little or no money and plenty of risks. Look at what happened to some of the past opposition candidates and it is hard not to be fearful if you are an opposition candidate. By joining opposition, they have more to lose than gain. Otherwise, why do so many opposition candidates face family opposition to join the opposition?

If these people have the courage to take on the risks and make the sacrifices to stand up for the country, what kind of message are Singaporeans sending if they lost all seats in parliament this time? Will any more credible opposition candidates dare to stand up for us the next time round?

Opposition losing all its seats is not a black swan event. They just need to lose 2 more. PAP losing Aljunied is also not a black swan, it is just one GRC. PAP voted out of power...now that will be something no one expect, that will be a black swan !

As for sacrifices and courage, I think it applies to both PAP and Opposition candidates. Most of their families would prefer them not to be in national politics. In fact if we think about, it takes lots of guts to run for the presidential election in US as well. So we should treat all serious candidates with respect, even if we disagree with their views. We should not blindly ape the western media's practice of belitting their politicians.

Hi all,

This is very off-topic but can someone explain to me how our elite govt can ask the food hawkers to hold prices for 6 months? What happens after 6 months? Anyone knows if the govt is giving them subsidies or rebates?

If there's no incentives, how does this scheme (sorry for the pun) work?

If there's really no incentives, I think they really need a vehicle commander to slap the driver awake or better still throw him out !

(02-05-2011, 02:33 PM)dra123456 Wrote: Hi all,

This is very off-topic but can someone explain to me how our elite govt can ask the food hawkers to hold prices for 6 months? What happens after 6 months? Anyone knows if the govt is giving them subsidies or rebates?

If there's no incentives, how does this scheme (sorry for the pun) work?

If there's really no incentives, I think they really need a vehicle commander to slap the driver awake or better still throw him out !

Easiest way is to ask the hawkers themselves! Maybe there are rebates, maybe not. I don't think this Govt cares, they just want the effect of holding prices without thinking if the whole supply chain may suffer from it.

Simple scheme, after 6 months all prices increase across the board. The Govt will then tell you - at least we told you in advance so you were not taken by surprise!

I don't really think the GE will become a blackswan event to the market..
but by viewing what's happening during the nomination, debate, and rallies,
there is something else bothering me,
whether the next generation of leaders can maintain the so far successful system?

(02-05-2011, 03:09 PM)Musicwhiz Wrote:

(02-05-2011, 02:33 PM)dra123456 Wrote: Hi all,

This is very off-topic but can someone explain to me how our elite govt can ask the food hawkers to hold prices for 6 months? What happens after 6 months? Anyone knows if the govt is giving them subsidies or rebates?

If there's no incentives, how does this scheme (sorry for the pun) work?

If there's really no incentives, I think they really need a vehicle commander to slap the driver awake or better still throw him out !

Easiest way is to ask the hawkers themselves! Maybe there are rebates, maybe not. I don't think this Govt cares, they just want the effect of holding prices without thinking if the whole supply chain may suffer from it.

Simple scheme, after 6 months all prices increase across the board. The Govt will then tell you - at least we told you in advance so you were not taken by surprise!

My guess, and it is purely a guess, is that gahmen is waiting for the impact of strengthening of S$ to be felt. If that does not help, it will be very unfair to the hawkers to expect them to hold down the prices. Why not increase now, and reduce price later if inflation abate? I think the tendency for hawker food is that when it goes up, it seldom comes down again.

By the way, China has an oversupply of vegetable now because of an exceptional harvest recently. Veggie price has dropped in China.