PAP MP Josephine Teo said:
“Many other countries around the world actually need additional revenue sources to help pay for programmes that benefit citizens, but not that many have the courage to raise taxes,” she added.
“But we think that it is the responsible thing to do.”
I wonder what the PAP IB have to say about this? After all, every time an Opposition Party comes out with a new idea, the PAP IB will spring into action accusing the party of wanting to raise Taxes. Here we actually have a sitting PAP MP who not only supports raising taxes to fund government programs that benefit the citizens, she actually implies that those governments who do not do so are in fact cowardly and irresponsible!
In fact, the PAP IB has done such a good job propagating the idea that Opposition Parties with new social programs are intent on “selling off the jewels” that the Singapore First Party, the SDP and if I may include individual contributors including myself, have written articles to reassure the public that raising taxes is NOT the only alternative to fund social programs. But no! According to Josephine Teo, if you don’t raise taxes for social programs, you are cowardly and irresponsible! Hear that PAP IB?
Now let’s look a little more into this “selling off the jewels is anathema” thing. Many of us have been programmed (?) to think that the reserves is there for our protection from some arduous rainy day. Therefore perish the thought that we would use the reserves for anything as frivolous as programs that would benefit the citizens!
Well the reserves have already been touched many times. According to Minister Tharman, during the period of 2002 to 2013, the reserves have been used not less than 55 times! Once every 2 or 3 months in a year.
What were the drawn reserves used for? Not something as trivial and frivolous as programs to benefit the citizens, they were used for land acquisition and development!
The Singapore government nearly every year reports a budget surplus yet it needs to draw from the reserves every 2 to 3 months! This gives one the impression that getting a budget surplus is more important than saving for that proverbial rainy day which is in turn more important than programs that benefits citizens! Clearly shows the priorities under which this government operates.
Now on another “taboo” propagated against those that would dare to usurp the sole right of the PAP to use government funds in so-called frivolous schemes. Debt. When governments overspend, they borrow in order to keep spending. When Alternative Parties (APs) come out with schemes that would benefit citizens, yet another common accusation by the PAP IB is that “they are out to bankrupt Singapore”.
Well the APs are not leading Singapore yet but under PAP rule, Singapore already has the 4th largest per capita debt in the world. http://www.bloomberg.com/visual-data/best-and-worst//most-government-deb....
But some of us will say, “Government debt is owed primarily to internal debtors!” which for example, could be Temasek and GIC owing to the CPF! Unfortunately, in terms of per capita external debt, Singapore is ranked #5 in the world (http://mecometer.com/topic/external-debt-per-capita/).
And one last thing, in this disclaimer from the MOF – http://www.gov.sg/government/web/content/govsg/classic/factually/Factual... (I love this disclaimer, it is like saying “We have no Ebola in Singapore” which is something nobody would need to say if it were inconceivable) Anyway, it says “We instead invest all borrowing proceeds. All borrowings are thus backed by assets.”
When borrowings are “backed by assets” this means that worse come to the worse, the assets can be sold off to pay for the borrowings. But didn’t Temasek and GIC already borrow from the people of Singapore via the CPF to finance the investments? So if the investments are sold off and proceeds paid to external debtors, how will the people of Singapore get paid?
To summarize, the incumbent ruling party:
- considers not raising taxes to fund social programs irresponsible and cowardly,
- uses the reserves every 2 to 3 months to fund land development activities (at least from 2002 to 2013)
- except for 3 to 4 countries, borrows more money per person than any other country in the world
- at least partially backs external debt with assets purchased from CPF borrowed funds
AiYoYo