More Thoughts

More Notes On Uproot, Marginalise And Replace
I am all for good foreign talent. Or replacement. But are we getting this?

For instance, the beng at BlueHeaven should be replaced. He should be kicked out of Singapore, deported to Siberia and sentenced to hard labor there. But will he ever?

It is precisely people like him - the low-life, despicable and dastardly henchies and commies (meaning working capitalist pigs and commercial fascists), the old, bad, traditionalists, the ritualists, the illogicians, the wicked reasoners, the superstitious - that should be replaced.

Throw in all the rest of the gang : Psycho, Bulldog, He-Ape, fake 'educators' and so on.

But they are not.

The Two-Prong Electoral Strategy Of Big Blather
I think they sense the resistance and revolt brewing on the ground.

So on one hand, they take in the low-skilled Third Worlders and on another hand, the high-end, highly skilled and rich overseas visitiors.

In between there will be those middle-end ones, like us, on top of our foreign guest brethen, sandwiched and trapped.

At both ends of the spectrum, the lowest tailend, will find here a haven when they compare the deal they have back home while at the highest topmost end, they find themselves in paradise too.

Slowly but surely, they go from permanent residents to naturalised citizens and they have voting rights.

Guess what, these will form the pillar of support for BIG BLATHER's general election win, again and again.

An Open Letter To Generation X Y And Z
When I see you mugging your heart out for exams, I cannot but feel for you.

I know it is all so academic and exam-focussed here but hey, you will be sorely disappointed when you get out there in the REAL world. It doesn't operate on a single shred of academic work.

For one, if you have only a GCE O, N, A or even a vocational certificate and all kinds of diplomas will find yourself at a serious disadvantage. Even if you boast a basic degree or a masters, you will find that you are just ONE among the many these days. Simply put, there just aren't enough jobs for everybody.

For the kinda money you spent on your education, you may find your starting pay varying from one industry to another. So the return may not be what you expect. In other words, you are not earning the kinda wages you expect for the kinda investment you put in.

Then there is the question of landing a job upon graduation. The waiting time varies and you will be the lucky few if you clinch a job before or immediately upon graduation.

You may not work in the industry you studied for, nor the job you studied for or covet. They are usually in short supply or even non-existent.

After you are settled in for a couple of years, you may find your job in danger of being snatched away from a younger or foreign competitor, at a much lower wage.

You are just one of a batch that will be used and abandoned after a certain time frame. The next batch barges in and you are out. And so the whole cycle repeats itself.

My heart goes out to you. It is time you wake up, kiddos!

First World Prices And Costs, Second World Living Standards, Third World Wages
Yesterday's Sunday Times featured several articles on some families who either squandered or depleted their CPF savings.

There is no need to dwell on the fritterers but the ones who spent theirs on just basic necessities and so on, paints a clear picture how insufficient the CPF is as a savings kitty for retirement.

Simply put - wages (thus savings) are not keeping up with costs (cost of food, transport - bus fares are going up again in October - houses, taxes and so on) and worse, any investment these days are not yielding sufficient returns to hedge against inflation.

Unless these are resolved, the problem remains unsolved.