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.