“Average Singaporean will not feel the effects of a sharp inflation.” You’re kidding me again right eight ball????????
April 30, 2012
Recently eight ball Tharman made another shockalingam statement: “Average Singaporean will not feel the effects of a sharp inflation.” How true is eight ball’s claim? Well first of all let us all not forget this comes from the same millionaire comedian who once declared to a stunted nation that it is possible for a Singaporean to buy a HDB if he earns a monthy salary of only S$1,000! What eight ball left out of course was how that dearly unfortunate homeowner would probably have to be a practioner of transcendal meditation and lower his heart beat to zero to enable him to survive on ONLY air, water and sunflower seeds just to service the monthly repayments for the HDB flat. Eight ball also happens to be the same man who not too long ago made a bloody fool of himself by slagging off Taiwan as an economic basket case to lend credence to the PAP’s unimaginative policy of fueling economic growth by flinging open the flood gates to cheap and nasty foreign labor – what eight ball failed to mention was Taiwan’s economic growth regularly puts to shame what Singapore can only dream to accomplish. And now Tharman has finally completed a hat trick.
This time eight ball has arbitarily drawn the kooky conclusion everyone who drives a car in Singapore should not be considered an “average” person. To paraphrase ALL car owners in Singapore deserved to be taxed like shit. What eight ball may not have factored into definition of “average Singaporean” is that not everyone who drives a car is necessarily well off or even desires to keep up with the Joneses. In many cases car ownership in Singapore is a necessity especially for those who have disabled, aged and mentally challenged family members who frequently require medical treatment and intervention. I am not saying this category of car owners cannot make do with public transport. But no one can possibly deny, the freedom of owning a car will certainly alleviate much of the anxiety and stress associated with ferrying these family members around Singapore. What eight ball fails consistently to understand (or maybe he knows but choses to elide the finer points of the argument) is it usually this segment of our society who need a car bring their loved one’s to special needs schools and for regular hospital appointments. When the cost of car ownership goes right through the roof in Singapore, it is this segment of the populace that feels the most pain. Few Singaporeans will disagree that we should do more for these parents who so often regard their cars as lifesavers – it is just the PAP, who continue to remain blind to the pressing needs of these less fortunate segment of our society. So tell me eight ball aren’t these Singaporeans average in every sense of the word? That’s for you the perceptive reader decide. I only give you the facts.
Besides we all know car ownership is de riguer for certain types of professions in Singapore – such as salesmen (who incidentally draw only a minimal basic salary and rely predominantly on commission), who frequently have to lug tons of samples, brochures and products to make their rounds to see their customers. Once again aren’t these car owners cum bread winners “average” Singaporeans eight ball? Again you decide whether he is right or I am just out to find fault with eight ball.
What I find really unbelievable about eight ball’s claim is how he consistently fails to recognize how the escallating cost of car ownership can only sharpen the impact of inflation for even those who may not see the necessity of owning a car in Singapore. Since most goods and services don’t get teleported as much as driven from A to B throughout the entire length and breadth of Singapore – how is it even possible to draw the simplistic conclusion that the run away price of COE’s will not indirectly translate into price hikes that may even affect Singaporeans who regularly walk, cycle or take public transport. After all, if a pharmaceutical salesman has to dole out more for his four wheeled horse, who the fuck do you think these price hikes are going to be passed on too? And if let’s say rental for commercial and housing space sky rockets who do you really think will ultimately bear the brunt of these increments?
Yeap you guessed it, the average Singaporean. Then again who exactly is the average Singaporean according to eight ball? As usual no one knows except probably eight ball himself.
Read this as well, aptly entitled: driven to despair, literally.
As always, I give you ONLY the facts. You decide for yourself whether he is right or me.
Darkness 2012
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“Understand this! Government is making a lot of money from cars these days. It is conceivable they may even be terminally addicted to this stream of revenue. As historically, they have as much imagination as a door knob. So if something works, they will milk it to the max. That is what stupid people regularly do. They don’t think about the long term implications or even feel the need to differentiate between categories of users. This is the Tao of the stupid and to my knowledge, there is no known cure for this condition. So it is very unlikely the price of certificate of entitlements will even go down for the foreseeable near term. Infact, the Singapore government makes more money off cars than any other country in the whole wide world. In other countries car ownership is considered a means to an end. In Singapore after eight ball’s declaration all car owners are now millionaires by default. They are now not even “average” people any longer. If you disagree with what I say, I will give you a right to respond and even publish it in SLF 1 & 16. ONLY bear in mind I have EVERY right to defend what I say forcefully and to do this, I will not hesitate to roll out the ASDF and that is really enough to put them and their case into the garbage heap. So please don’t say that I am being personal or malicious. After all I have given you a gold plated opportunity to defend yourself like a gentlemen. Only understand this, you left your back door wide open, so what do you really expect from me but brickbats? To cut a very long story short. I just don’t have any patience for lazy people who can’t even bother to take their job seriously or for that matter do justice to tax payers. In short it is immoral to lump all car owners into one understandable mass of people. No one does this. If that were really the case, then everyone in Singapore would be cruising along in a Rolls Royce. But we all know that is not the case, as there are plenty of Hyundai’s, Chery’s and even Protons running around in Singapore to draw the common sense conclusion these users are indeed very average – And this should not come as a great surprise to either you or me, as in the real world it is not uncommon for very average people to rely on average cars just to turn the wheel of life along with putting average bread on the table for their average families. If you don’t believe me next time when you are cruising along the ECP just set your smart phone aside and look around and ask yourself, how many people do you see driving by who are so far removed from the term, “average Singaporean?” Why don’t you conduct this analysis yourself. Instead of defending him. And please come back to me on this. Or I will simply have to come after you wearing the tightest trousers I can find. You don’t even need to hire Boston Consulting Group or Mckinsley to get that sort of executive summary. Better still go to any autistic school when it’s time to go home and just see for yourself how many Rolls Royce’s are pulling up into the drive way. You will not even find one. Instead you will find plenty of average cars driven by average Singaporeans who have extraordinary pressing and urgent needs which in my view should NEVER be considered beyond the term average necessaries – that really is my point. So what the fuck is eight ball talking about by splitting hairs about the term “average Singaporean and whole idea of car ownership in Singapore?” I don’t fucking understand. If someone can make me understand, I will promise to hammer my keyboard into a flower pot and give up blogging completely! Really I don’t understand, not even a bit of this inversion of logic - is he by any chance trying to embellish the dictionary meaning of the term average? Is that what you are telling me? In my book, no one, not even the Aga Khan or for that matter a politician has any right to color the dictionary meaning of what it means to be “average.” As when we allow them to do this, then by some magical stroke, you will find that suddenly no one is average any longer in Singapore. And when that day comes. You will very likely end up with a vampire state. Again you have to decide whether eight ball’s definition of average is really average. To paraphrase, you have to decide whether he is right or me. But bear in mind one thing, if you bring pain to my brain. I will come down like a ton of bricks on you. Do try to have a nice day.”
Captured very recently from a thread in Ekunaba and broadcasted throughout the Strangelands and beyond by the newly commissioned signal broadcasted JUMO class deep space vessel – KDD Californian – The Brotherhood Press 2012
