4 ms·

I used to live in Singapore. I’m particularly familiar with how they do things. > No minimum wage > As a matter of national policy, MOM does not prescribe min

I used to live in Singapore. I’m particularly familiar with how they do things. > No minimum wage > As a matter of national policy, MOM does not prescribe minimum wages for all workers in Singapore, whether local or foreign. Whether wages should increase or decrease is best determined by market demand and supply for labour. https://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/work-permit-for-foreign-worker/is-there-a-prescribed-minimum-wage-for-foreign-workers-in-singapore https://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/work-permit-for-foreign-worker/is... > User pays healthcare Government offers a partially subsidised health insurance plan. But you have to apply and pay for it yourself. https://www.sgmoneymatters.com/medishield-life/ https://www.sgmoneymatters.com/medishield-life/ > restrictive welfare entitlements Singapore doesn’t have an unemployment benefit. You can get a few months worth of assistance if you lose your job. The closest it has is ComCare, which is mostly reserved for invalids. https://www.msf.gov.sg/Comcare/Pages/Public-Assistance.aspx https://www.msf.gov.sg/Comcare/Pages/Public-Assistance.aspx > restrictive immigration Singapore immigration policy has always focused on maximizing employment for Singaporeans https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/singapores-ministry-manpower-revises-rules-hiring-foreign-employees/ https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/singapores-ministry-manpo... Probably also worth noting, they don’t accept refugees: https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5a12da0a2.pdf https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5a12da0a2.pdf > low taxes Singapore is considered a tax haven by many people. https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Individuals/Locals/Working-Out-Your-Taxes/Income-Tax-Rates/ https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Individuals/Locals/Working-... > Free market economics It is considered to have the highest economic freedom in the world https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom Singapore is basically an economic libertarian utopia. It is a case study in the effect of uncompromising free market economics.

ValentineC 6y ago
> Government offers a partially subsidised health insurance plan. But you have to apply and pay for it yourself. Small correction: MediShield Life is compulsory and automatic for Singapore citizens and permanent residents.
- AmericanChopper 6y ago
  Ah yes. This is correct. That became mandatory after I left. MedShield Life is still quite restrictive in what it covers though. Even with half the population having additional private insurance, about a third of medical expenditure is out of pocket. A consistent point of controversy in Singapore is how much MediShield funds the government keeps in surplus reserve. Total medical expenditure in Singapore is also suppressed somewhat by people choosing not to have treatment. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/some-kidney-patients-refuse-treatment-and-choose-to-die https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/some-kidney-patients-...
nine_zeros 6y ago
I have extended family in Singapore. I can assure you that the approach is not some libertarian utopia and neither is it some oligarchic capitalistic system sucker. It is designed to be practical and constantly adapt to reality. Today, that means a mixed economy. That means basic human decency will be taken care of by government, the remaining is market driven. This means housing, food subsidies, education and healthcare is readily made available by the government, not just through price controls. Look up property rights there. That means high taxes on vehicles, use it to develop a world class mass transit system. That means, lower taxes on foreign businesses to come operate in Singapore, no xenophobia shown to skilled workers (barring their geographic limitations). This has the consequence of raising high value domestic activity, thus providing locals jobs. They cannot accept refugees because of size. That means they absolutely want to be integrated with the outside world, because they realize they absolutely cannot produce everything. Again, can't have xenophobia. That means lower income taxes because the government doesn't need more money. They have already ensured that cost of living (housing and healthcare) is so low that no one will be bankrupt with routine medical procedures or no insurance scams and medical codes that will suddenly no the covered. Frankly, sometimes people forget how much work the government has put in there to actually make life so easy that the government doesn't need to be the frankenstein like US govt is. It's a matter of approach. The government wants to take care of people, not leave them wondering if they will be covered in the next crisis.
- AmericanChopper 6y ago
  This comment reads half like PAP propaganda, and half simply uninformed. > the approach is not some libertarian utopia Well there’s no such thing as a real-world utopia. But Singapore, having the free-est market in the world is about as close as you could get. > no xenophobia Hmmmm... Chinese racism against pretty much everybody else has been a long standing issue in Singapore. Just go on any Singaporean job listing site and search for “must speak mandarin”. > basic human decency will be taken care of by government You can just look at the PAP’s website to see the mental gymnastics in this comment. Here are two of their four core values: > Meritocratic > A system that provides citizens with equal opportunities to progress, and for a person's contributions to be recognised and appreciated on the basis of merit. > Self-reliant > No one owes us a living. We will avoid creating the dependency syndrome a welfare state generates.

ValentineC 6y ago

> Government offers a partially subsidised health insurance plan. But you have to apply and pay for it yourself. Small correction: MediShield Life is compulsory and automatic for Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

AmericanChopper 6y ago
Ah yes. This is correct. That became mandatory after I left. MedShield Life is still quite restrictive in what it covers though. Even with half the population having additional private insurance, about a third of medical expenditure is out of pocket. A consistent point of controversy in Singapore is how much MediShield funds the government keeps in surplus reserve. Total medical expenditure in Singapore is also suppressed somewhat by people choosing not to have treatment. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/some-kidney-patients-refuse-treatment-and-choose-to-die https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/some-kidney-patients-...

nine_zeros 6y ago

I have extended family in Singapore. I can assure you that the approach is not some libertarian utopia and neither is it some oligarchic capitalistic system sucker. It is designed to be practical and constantly adapt to reality. Today, that means a mixed economy. That means basic human decency will be taken care of by government, the remaining is market driven. This means housing, food subsidies, education and healthcare is readily made available by the government, not just through price controls. Look up property rights there. That means high taxes on vehicles, use it to develop a world class mass transit system. That means, lower taxes on foreign businesses to come operate in Singapore, no xenophobia shown to skilled workers (barring their geographic limitations). This has the consequence of raising high value domestic activity, thus providing locals jobs. They cannot accept refugees because of size. That means they absolutely want to be integrated with the outside world, because they realize they absolutely cannot produce everything. Again, can't have xenophobia. That means lower income taxes because the government doesn't need more money. They have already ensured that cost of living (housing and healthcare) is so low that no one will be bankrupt with routine medical procedures or no insurance scams and medical codes that will suddenly no the covered. Frankly, sometimes people forget how much work the government has put in there to actually make life so easy that the government doesn't need to be the frankenstein like US govt is. It's a matter of approach. The government wants to take care of people, not leave them wondering if they will be covered in the next crisis.

AmericanChopper 6y ago
This comment reads half like PAP propaganda, and half simply uninformed. > the approach is not some libertarian utopia Well there’s no such thing as a real-world utopia. But Singapore, having the free-est market in the world is about as close as you could get. > no xenophobia Hmmmm... Chinese racism against pretty much everybody else has been a long standing issue in Singapore. Just go on any Singaporean job listing site and search for “must speak mandarin”. > basic human decency will be taken care of by government You can just look at the PAP’s website to see the mental gymnastics in this comment. Here are two of their four core values: > Meritocratic > A system that provides citizens with equal opportunities to progress, and for a person's contributions to be recognised and appreciated on the basis of merit. > Self-reliant > No one owes us a living. We will avoid creating the dependency syndrome a welfare state generates.