Tuesday, December 9, 2014

The Message Is Clear


Without access to the exif data embedded in the original files, it is impossible to determine which of the two images were captured on camera first. What is absolutely clear is that one picture says "no selfies please", and another clearly shows a bunch of clowns doing exactly that. And the faces of two members of parliament are clearly identifiable.

One message we can come away with is that those characters can't read to save their lives. The other is something more familiar: "Do as we say, not as we do". Either way, it makes one wonder how serious Lee Hsien Loong was when he said the next election would be about choosing a “clear vision” and “capable leadership” for the nation.

Take the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore announcement on Monday that owners residing in Housing Board flats will enjoy a reduction in their property tax by about 3 percent in 2015. Their official explanation is that the annual values of three-, four-, five-room, and executive flats are lowered to reflect the dip in market rentals. If their vision weren't so blurry, they would have observed that rentals for private housing are also heading south. Myopia can be corrected by prescriptive lenses, but capable leadership require more drastic measures. Especially leadership tainted by pork barrel politics.

8 comments:

  1. Those staying in private housing? No problem lah, they are unlikely to have any 'swing' effect! :D

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  2. Who can get the GST Voucher - Cash?
    iv) The Annual Value (AV) of your home (as indicated on your NRIC) as at 31 December 2013 must not exceed $21,000

    I have a friend, a staunch PAP supporter, who was disqualified from receiving GST Voucher because of a revision of his HUDC flat's annual value before 2013. He is now cursing and swearing at the PAP. Question is, after the reduction in 2015, if his home's annual value falls below $21,000, will he be entitled to the GST Voucher? And make him a PAP supporter again! LOL.

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    Replies
    1. Don't be too quick! If PAP is true to form, the qualifying value will soon drop below $21,000.

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  3. Excellent piece, Tattler. Your observation on the IRA announcement deserves greater scrutiny. You will notice the practice of turning every action they take, even if it is inevitable, carries a political agenda. The most egregious recent example I can think of is the declaration that bus services have improved with the injection of more the a billion dollars of public funds. Any fool can tell you that it must with the purchase of a few hundred new buses. The question the public ask is why have the bus cartel been allowed to accumulate profits and declare dividends when the money should have been used to purchase these buses? All that talk about the new vision is empty with this blurred vision. The desperation of the powers that be is obvious. Hence the scare tactic of a freak election is being used.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, must have missed that. What did the IRA announce? More bombings?

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  4. Why are HDB "owners" even paying property tax in the first place?

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    Replies
    1. Because our ministers are the highest paid?

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    2. "What's wrong with collecting more money?"

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