Civil service?

"We will continue to make sure we will remain competitive both to recruit and to retain. We want to make sure we not only retain those with experience, but also provide challenging careers for those who are well-remunerated and those looking for new jobs," the minister said.

In the name of competition we have to increase the elites' pay and in the name of competition the structurally unemployed have to accept whatever crumbs left over. And how would the elite increase bottom line???? By cutting cost. Slash staff cost of the 'new poor'. Sounds like a vicious cycle to me.

With that and GST increase put together, it is difficult not to suspect that their offset package for the poor is all talk.

I say if people want to leave because somewhere else is paying better, let them go.

Firstly it is because they are in opinion well paid. Plus there are a lot of other expenses under the employment benefits we do not see.

Secondly if a person decides to leave the civil service for a better paying job, it shows that their life is about building their own empire. That person is putting his own agenda before the interest of the nation. His passion is not in serving the people of Singapore but he is asking how much can the country pay him for his services. I think we better get rid of all these talents because they serve their own interest and not that of the nation.

Am I being idealistic? Surely I cannot expect the civil servant to just serve the country and not take care of his own needs. However if we take civil service of other countries as bench mark we would be overpaying our ministers already. I am not sure why the benchmark is not civil service of other countries but the salaries of the top professionals in singapore. We like to compare GST with other countries without comparing their welfare spendings. How convenient when we compare things through our national PR arm.

Singapore has become too mencenary and we like to buy things. We like to buy talents and retain talents but fail to recognise that the talents will leave when the right price is offered. What we need is not talents but people who are passionate for Singapore. People who are willing to make sacrifices for singapore. People who can accept a 10k paycheque when they know they might get 15k somewhere else. This is because their motivation is not in the money but in nation of Singapore.

We seemed to think money can buy anything. I believe money can buy lots of things but not everything. Just look at the Shin corp eg and we will know we've failed miserablely because our investment arm could not understand passion and loyalty for the country. They think with money they can do anything.

I think Singapore has fallen under the influence of the Money god. Everything is measured in dollars and cents. We don't understand patriotism anymore because it is about money. Money can buy talented people but a person passionate for Singapore cannot be bought by money. I am afraid we are attracting the wrong type of people by dangling a fat pay cheque.

Use it or lose it!

Lots of piling works and maintenace work around the neighbourhood. Hooray, everyone should be happy that their place is getting a new facelift. The only problem is they seemed to be replacing perfectly ok brick seats with newer bricks. Is it a case of too much money, no where to spend? Better use allocated funds or else budget will be reduce the next finacial year. If the people have a say in the maintenace I would rather they donate it to the much needed opposition ward.

What is the use of the modern facade when the poor is wasting away in it. These pristine neighbourhood hides the poor in Singapore. Maybe we should really save the millions of upgrading and do something for the poor. If they cut upgrade spendings (I am for the lift upgrade the rest of the budget can cut), I think they could really save alot.

Instead of increasing tax why not do some cost cutting? I don't get the ministers pay. They are already drawing big salaries from the appointments in GLCs. The puzzling justification is that high pay will keep ministers from corruption. If our ministers are people with intergrity then it would be an insult to them to think that only high pay will keep them clean. Aren't the ministers there to serve the people, asking not what the power given to them can do for themselves but what they can do for the country?

Ok enough of rant. Time to sleepzzzzzzzzz

Offset package a freudian slip?

What exactly is the government trying to offset? The 2% increase in GST. It seems to me that they do not intend to give additional help to the poor. Just offset the 2%. Very poor effort to convince the people that they really care for the less fortunate.

blonde bond

They just bombed the new bond by creating a blonde bond(well that is just my opinion). Which bond don't give a damn about his martini being shaken and not stirred! I think my gf will consider this type of show a himbo show. Action packed and all, it feels more like a rambo/commando cross with a bit of MI/borne identity.

I don't recall any bond doing the cat walk parading flesh and showing off good physique. I thought that was the for the bond girls. The scene when blonde bond comes out of the water to the beach reminds me of Halle Berry coming out of the water in 'Die Another Day'.

They substituted cool gadgetry with a malfunctioning defibrillator!(damn did M15 even check their equipments before issuing them) Come to think of it why did they even equip the car with a defibrillator???? In case bond's crazy driving lands him in a car accident???? And who the hell would administer the defibrillator hidden in a compartment????? No haven't seen a car with a defibrillator!!!!!

Seems like the cool brunette? bond that could do no wrong is not marketable anymore. They need to follow the trend and add a touch of human fraity and a dash of realism into the new hero.

The show was good action and enjoyable . The only problem is current trends has killed the old bond. It almost turned into a blonde joke.