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Lots of places have managed to get rich. Very few have managed to secure a good life its citizens through its riches. Singapore's 99 year lease allows its peop

by screye 3y ago

Lots of places have managed to get rich. Very few have managed to secure a good life its citizens through its riches. Singapore's 99 year lease allows its people to be well housed. Conscription keeps them healthy and they have among the best trained special ops. Public transportation and expensive car registrations allow for convenient transportation for all. Crimes are unheard of and the base population is the most productive of any nation in the region. Education is the best in the world. All from a nation that was nothing more than Marshes a few decades ago. Many city states/ small nations have had a top tier draw. Norway, Botswana, Emirates, Venezuela, Panama, Canada (erstwhile), Brunei....are all good examples. None have capitalized on it as well as Singapore. Credit where it is due. (they could have better work conditions and fertility rates)

ValentineC 3y ago
> Conscription keeps them healthy and they have among the best trained special ops. Singaporean here. I don't know about conscription keeping people healthy. I got a slipped disc during full-time military service, and had a hard time continuing treatment or getting any sort of compensation for harm to my body developed in service of the country once I finished service. I know countless people who've developed injuries in their early 20s, only for their injuries to be written off if they weren't persistent in seeking medical help. Most "uninjured" people in our reserves need to keep fit until they reach 40 (for enlisted) or 55 (for officers), but it's also not difficult to be unfit and still pass through. And of course, there is zero regard for one's mental health, unless it's a major condition like severe depression or suicidal ideation. Going through Singapore's military service changed me from respecting its government for its efficiency (likely aided with all the propaganda I've had to listen to during my early schooling years) to severely disliking it for treating the large majority of citizens like cogs in a machine, appeasing them only when elections come around.

by screye 3y ago

ValentineC 3y ago

> Conscription keeps them healthy and they have among the best trained special ops. Singaporean here. I don't know about conscription keeping people healthy. I got a slipped disc during full-time military service, and had a hard time continuing treatment or getting any sort of compensation for harm to my body developed in service of the country once I finished service. I know countless people who've developed injuries in their early 20s, only for their injuries to be written off if they weren't persistent in seeking medical help. Most "uninjured" people in our reserves need to keep fit until they reach 40 (for enlisted) or 55 (for officers), but it's also not difficult to be unfit and still pass through. And of course, there is zero regard for one's mental health, unless it's a major condition like severe depression or suicidal ideation. Going through Singapore's military service changed me from respecting its government for its efficiency (likely aided with all the propaganda I've had to listen to during my early schooling years) to severely disliking it for treating the large majority of citizens like cogs in a machine, appeasing them only when elections come around.