Minimum wage will result in job losses. Period.

Minimum wage will result in job losses. Period.

A new paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that of all the available research on the subject they reviewed, there is a “clear preponderance” of findings that show a job-killing impact. The documentation of job losses is even more pronounced for teenagers, young adults, and the less-educated.

“[The] body of evidence and its conclusions point strongly toward negative effects of minimum wages on employment of less-skilled workers, especially for the types of studies that would be expected to reveal these negative employment effects most clearly,” economists David Neumark and Peter Shirley write.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐍𝐨 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞-𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐞

When the government mandates a price for labor—aka a minimum wage—that exceeds the market rate, employers will inevitably purchase less labor. It’s just like consumers would purchase less soda if the government arbitrarily mandated higher prices for it than what it’s actually worth to people. In fact, that’s the exact point of “soda taxes” passed in the name of public health; they reduce soda consumption. The same thing happens with labor.

The lucky workers who end up being able to keep their jobs may benefit from the artificially high wage, but many others will not find work at all.

The job losses that come with minimum wage hikes are a fundamental economic reality. This latest research offers yet another reminder that, no matter how much wish-casting progressives engage in, there’s no escaping trade-offs in public policy.

https://fee.org/articles/new-research-debunks-claim-that-a-15-minimum-wage-would-not-reduce-employment

Lesson from Covid-19 : Money alone is not enough.

Money alone is not enough.

Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said Singapore was able to attract $17.2 billion in fixed asset investments in 2020 despite the pandemic gloom because of competence and good governance, the trust premium that undergirds our regulatory system and Intellectual Property regime and our skilled workforce.

𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧, 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐞.

On social media, there are people who simply cannot understand the importance of keeping our borders open. They have a reaction each time imported cases are announced. They don't understand that their own future would be at stake if we shut our borders.

Shutting borders is not an option. Managing imported cases is the option. And Singaporeans ourselves must not be complacent or we will have clusters in the community because we fail to remove ourselves from the community when we are sick.

To tackle inequality, we must address both unequal opportunities and unequal outcomes: Tharman

To tackle inequality, we must address both unequal opportunities and unequal outcomes, SM Tharman said.

Unequal outcomes are not entirely due to ability and effort. They often have to do with ‘how people started out, and the social networks that give them different scaffoldings in life’.

This is why there is a raft of measures targeted at the low income and the vulnerable, like KidSTART which intervenes real early - even before a child is born - to ensure that the child from a low income family has a good start in life.

Like making quality preschool education accessible to the child from a low-income family where the fee is only $1 a month.

Make Britain the Singapore of Europe!

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tasked Rishi Sunak to spearhead Government moves to exploit the opportunities of Brexit by turning the UK into the ‘Singapore of Europe’.

Understandably, we are flattered. But let us also remind ourselves how we get to where we are. It's because we have consistently elected a good government into office.

Losing what we have is not an impossibility. Climbing up and staying there is not easy. But going down just requires no effort.

So don't assume we will always have good government. Make sure each election, we elect good government. Life is not a game of cards.

The irresponsible doctor. Is PSP in Phase 4 or 5 now?

Dr Tan Cheng Bock kept completely quiet when his member Brad Bowyer posted misinformation on COVID-19, calling it 'one of the biggest agenda-driven hoaxes in history'. The medical doctor also completely throw caution to the wind for the need to keep a safe distance.

If all that you propose is a minimum wage to help low wage workers, then you just want to be popular without the hard work.

If all that you propose is a minimum wage to help low wage workers, then you just want to be popular without the hard work.

We already have the sectoral minimum wage in the Progressive Wage Models which already cover the cleaning, security, landscape, lift and elevator sector. It will be extended to the waste management sector, food sector, F&B and retail sectors. Proposal for the waste management sector was already submitted last year.

A blanket minimum wage across all sectors is not only arbitrary, it will result in a flattening of wages for workers. It's bad from the perspectives of motivation and reward for upgrading one's skills.

Progressive Wage Model is hard work. It is a sustainable way to raise wages without loss of work. It is minimum wage with maximum employment.

Helping the low wage workers is more than just about wages. It requires a holistic approach across multiple agencies. And that is also hard work.

Temasek is top tech investor in 2020

Temasek's $250 million investment in German's BioNTech pays off handsomely with the discovery and approval of a Covid-19 vaccine developed in conjunction with pharma giant Pfizer.

The report said: "On the one hand, state-owned investors appeared to be reluctant to expose themselves to a high-risk financial services sector at a time of plummeting household spending, while on the other, they were seeking opportunities created by a black swan event that looks set to define future trends in tech."

Singapore's Temasek emerged as the top tech investor, investing around US$2.3 billion in tech-related sectors especially in e-commerce and life sciences, it added.

GIC was the second-biggest direct investor, with US$2.2 billion, and led investment in data centres and cloud technology.

Kala Manickam leaves Progress Singapore Party

Others have left the party before Kala Manickam - in unhappiness.

As a medical doctor, Dr Tan Cheng Bock kept completely silent when his party member Brad Bowyer spread misinformation about COVID-19, how it is not a serious disease, how people do not get very sick from it and mocked the wearing of masks. (See here: https://sgmatters.com/psps-brad-gets-rebuke-from-teammate-for-irresponsible-conduct/) Tan Cheng Bock couldn't-care-less about the safety and health of Singaporeans. But when the Government revealed in Parliament that the Police had accessed the TT data once in their investigation into a murder case, TCB was quick to jump onto the bandwagon to exploit people's dismay to make some political gain. Suddenly the safety of Singaporeans was on his mind. In his statement on the use of TT data by police he also made several glaring errors which show that the TT programme was of little interest to him until recently. (See here: https://sgmatters.com/netizens-react-to-psps-concerns-over-use-of-tracetogether-data-to-investigate-crimes/) Tan Cheng Bock has shown that he will stoop to politicking in order to build his support base. The interest and well-being of Singaporeans are not a top priority.

Chan Chun Sing on Malaysia's state of emergency and bilateral supply chains

Some Singaporeans don't realise that Ministers like Chan Chun Sing bear the heavy responsibility of ensuring that Singaporeans have food to fill their stomach. So they make jokes whenever he shared photos of delivery of eggs or essential items..

With Malaysia going into a state of emergency, once again, we are confronted with the possibility that supplies from up north could be affected.

But so far so good. Here's what Min Chan said in a Facebook post:

"During my visit to DuPont this morning, I was asked by the media to comment on the impact of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order and State of Emergency on our supply chains.

Through the course of the pandemic, we always have to prepare for potential disruptions to our supplies and supply chains. Over the last few months in particular, we have seen how quickly new clusters can emerge and spread, resulting in governments around the world having to take tough measures to control the transmission of the virus, sometimes disrupting the supply chains.

We are in close contact with our Malaysian counterparts regarding the latest moves they have taken to prevent the virus from spreading further. We are both committed to working closely together to maintain the integrity and interdependence of our bilateral supply lines. Over the last two days, there have been no disruptions to our supply chains and goods have continued to flow freely between our countries.

In light of the uncertain global situation, Singapore has continued to build up a healthy stockpile of essential food items. We have also strengthened our diversification efforts and opened up new supply lines with many other countries. Strengthening our supply chain resilience is a never ending job and we will continue to press on with these efforts.

As the pandemic continues, it is important that we all remain vigilant. I want to assure Singaporeans that our supply chains are continually being diversified and strengthened We are quietly confident but not complacent. I also thank Singaporeans for staying calm and adaptable amidst the evolving situation which has allowed us to better mitigate potential disruptions and stay resilient.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3918115998240354&id=175816112470380

I am disgusted with Lee Hsien Yang (LHY).

I am disgusted with Lee Hsien Yang (LHY). I have no intent to impugn or disparage the Learned Queen’s Counsel he used, but one thing has been clear to me since the Disciplinary Tribunal findings and the GE2020 – this younger son of LKY is consistently dishonest.

During the hearing before the Disciplinary Tribunal, LHY admitted that his public statements (including his Facebook posts) were inaccurate. His excuse was that his public statements did not need to be accurate, so long as they were not sworn statements or statements made to the Stock Exchange.

Lee Suet Fern (LSF) also lied.

The Court of Three Judges found that LHY and LSF were not telling the truth, and that they had made untrue and false statements. The Court also found that LSF had acted with a “degree of dishonesty in the disciplinary proceedings”.

LSF acted in complete disregard for Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s interests in getting him to sign the Last Will. Mr Lee signed the Last Will because he did not imagine that LSF, his daughter-in-law, would have misrepresented the position to him, and he acted based on her assurances to him, and on the advice of LHY.

These are damning findings. LHY and LSF have been vocal in their objections. But LHY is going too far by seeking opinions from overseas to defend him and his wife.

He should know that there is no appeal against the decision of the of Three Judges, which is the highest Court overseeing disciplinary proceedings of lawyers in Singapore. The Chief Justice himself pronounced the judgment.

It is one thing for LHY to not accept this judgment, and another for him to use the opinion of foreigners to attack the decisions of our courts, including our Chief Justice.

While it is obvious that the findings have stung LHY and LSF, this does not give them the right to invite foreigners to attack our judiciary.

When LHY does not get what he wants, he is prepared to attack and bring the whole system down. That is not the action of someone with our country’s interests at heart.

In this case, it is obvious that if you’ve got money, you can appoint even a Queen’s Counsel (QC) to defend you.

LHY may think that the QC’s opinion will improve the public opinion of LSF, but those well-versed in the law will see that some points in the QC’s opinion do not apply in Singapore’s legal context.

While there are similarities between our two systems, they are separate, and the QC cannot apply UK principles wholesale to a Singapore case. The UK Code of Conduct expressly permits a lawyer to act for or advise her family members on their wills, but Singapore law does not permit this.

Did LHY or LSF know this before they published the opinion?

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10215568480158992&id=1649784698 

TraceTogether: why oppose something good?

Granted, some were taken aback by the revelation that the Police can access TT data.

After the initial surprise, many realise that the data was accessed towards a good end - to help solve crimes.

We were told in Parliament that Police accessed the data once - in a murder case.

If an additional tool will increase the efficiency in solving serious crime, why not?

Why are WP and PSP defending the privacy of potential criminals?

If a person is detained for planning an act of terrorism, would Gerald Giam and Tan Cheng Bock oppose accessing his TT data to find out fast who his close contacts are?

Does the privacy of criminals deserve protection?

Your privacy deserves protection.

But does the privacy of those who commit serious offences like murder, rape, or acts of terrorism deserve your protection?

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞.

The table lists the serious offences that will be specified in a new legislation to formalise the assurances that the government gave, that data from TraceTogether will only be accessed for serious offences.

Give a thought to it.

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

We are truly living in unprecedented times.

First it was Gerald Giam of Workers' Party who spoke in Parliament and wanted the Police to be specifically ruled out from accessing TT data for investigation into serious crimes.

And now we have Tan Cheng Bock's Progress Singapore Party which wanted TT data to be exempted from the Criminal Procedure Code.

These are politicians who watch the winds on social media and go where it blows.

Next, will there be a politician who will stand up and query: with all the modern tools of technology available, why can't the Police solve crimes faster?

Gerald Giam of WP wants the government to specifically rule out data from TraceTogether from being accessed by Police

Hypothetical: A person was murdered in a back alley. His Trace Together token was found on him. Should the police be prohibited from getting information on the token to establish who killed or possibly witnessed his death?

Key words: Criminal investigation

Riding on the uproar, Gerald Giam of WP wants the government to specifically rule out data from TraceTogether from being accessed by Police.

Here's what you need to understand about TraceTogether:

Your location is not recorded. Only who you have come into contact with is recorded. The data is encrypted. The data is purged after 25 days.

Whatever data collected stays with you until:
1. you are infected with COVID-19, OR
2. you are being investigated or assisting the investigation of a serious crime (a possibility).

So who are we protecting in this uproar over Police being able to access it to investigate serious crimes?

New Year Message 2020

In his New Year Message, PM Lee said:

My team and I will strive to continue deserving your trust, to keep on strengthening our social compact, to sustain the promise of Singapore as a fair and just society, and to help you achieve your hopes and dreams. We are determined to give every Singaporean equal opportunity to do well, to prepare you to take advantage of opportunities in a different world, and to help you deal with life’s inevitable setbacks.

What the world will look like post-COVID-19 is far from certain. But Singapore must emerge strengthened by the shared experience of this crisis. Whether we indeed become a more vibrant economy and resilient society will depend on us, and on the decisions that you and I make in this crisis and beyond.

Just as we have come together to overcome the challenges of the pandemic, the defining crisis for this generation, so too we must come together to rebuild better and stronger. A new generation of Singaporeans has shown we have what it takes to make our small island nation survive and succeed, but the fight against COVID-19 is not yet won. In the months and years ahead, we will face new and unexpected hurdles. Things may happen that force us to change our plans. But as long as we stay together as one Singapore, I am confident we will blaze a path forward. 

PM Lee's new year message 2021: Let's not falter in this final stretch.

PM Lee's new year message. Let's not falter in this final stretch.

Through enormous effort and sacrifice, we have stabilised our situation in Singapore, even as the virus continues to rage on elsewhere in the world.

Now is not yet the time to celebrate. That time will come. Meanwhile, I ask for your support to keep up our efforts, and not to falter in this final stretch.

What has stood out in our response to COVID-19 is the trust our people have in our system and in one another. In many countries, COVID-19 has deepened old fault lines and created new tensions. Singapore has thankfully avoided major divisions among our people, and the pessimism and loss of trust that have happened elsewhere.

Trust in our system remains high. Singaporeans have cooperated with the government and complied with the COVID-19 rules, because the government has been open and upfront about the facts, and justified your faith that it is doing its very best to deal with the crisis.

- PM Lee

PM Lee Hsien Loong's New Year Message 2021: all out support for businesses and workers

A report by the Washington Post says that theft in the US has risen during this pandemic. What is striking is that this rise is driven by theft of essential food items, like bread and baby formula.

About 26 million American adults reported not having enough food to eat in Nov 2020. Many have lost their jobs and are desperate.

Singaporeans are fortunate. The Singapore Government went all out to support businesses and workers, digging into our reserves stored up through prudence, and set up a National Job Council to create jobs, opportunities and traineeships for Singaporeans.

This new year, let's count our blessings and be thankful for what we have, and work together for a brighter tomorrow.

In his new year message, PM Lee said:

The Government has gone all out to support our workers and companies, to prevent massive job losses and business failures. We passed five Budgets, totalling close to $100 billion. We drew heavily on our past reserves to help businesses and workers through the Jobs Support Scheme, the Self-Employed Persons Income Relief Scheme (SIRS), the COVID-19 Support Grant, and many other schemes. We set up new channels, virtual and physical, to help jobseekers get matched to employers that were still hiring.