Feb 04, 2013
Sylvia Lim, Population
By Rachel Chang
THE Workers' Party opposes the Government's Population White Paper , said party chairman Sylvia Lim in Parliament today.
It believes that the Government, in expanding the population to reach its economic growth targets, has gotten its priorities the wrong way around, she said.
Ms Lim laid out the WP's stance on the first day of the parliamentary debate, setting the agenda for her party's nine MPs.
It proposes an alternative population projection of about 5.9 million by 2030, and a greater tradeoff between economic growth and population expansion.
[Wow. The WP is so powerful! It can just propose an alternative population projection for any number they want! No need to actually study the factors of population increase. No need to decide on what policy to increase or decrease population. "The PEOPLE say enough is enough! We propose an ALTERNATIVE population PROJECTION of 5.9 million by 2030 instead of the 6.9 million you projected. How did we arrived at 5.9million? We pulled it out of our arse, that's how! We can do that because we are the WP! PAP only know how to look at facts and figures and project from those facts and figures! They have NO imagination. They don't have the kind of ARSE we have!"]
Singapore should work towards a more modest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 2.5 to 3 per cent to 2020, and 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent from 2020 to 2030.
["Same for GDP growth. Pick a number, any number. WP can project that! You want more MODEST growth? We will DEMAND more MODEST growth from the PAP on your behalf! SEE? I just pulled another modest growth number out of my ARSE! 2.5% to 3%! 1.5% to 2%! YEAH! See how easy it is? Why can't the PAP do that? Because they DON"T CARE about you! They care only about FACTS and FIGURES and what they can PROVE! They are all about HARD facts, not about soft people! Yeah!"]
This is about half a percentage point lower than the White Paper's projections.
Ms Lim also said that senior citizens "are not as much of a burden" as the Government is making them out to be.
A key plank of the White Paper's argument is that by 2030, there will only be 2.1 working citizens to support every person 65 years old and above, down from 5.9 now.
This assumes that senior citizens do not have economic resources of their own and will not be able to contribute to the economy, said Ms Lim. The WP believes they should be seen as resources, not burdens, she added.
Ms Lim also took aim at the Government's "half-hearted" attempts to boost the total fertility rate (TFR), which stems from the fact that immigration remains its key approach to augment the population. The Government seems "resigned" that the TFR will not improve greatly, and has not invested as much resources or tackled the issue as thoroughly as other counties like South Korea have done, she said.
In a parting shot, Ms Lim charged that the Population White Paper's title - "A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore" - illustrated the Government's muddled priorities. Rather, it should be titled "A Dynamic Population for a Sustainable Singapore," she said.
[Wow! How does she do that?!? Amazing! Incredible! She took "Sustainable Population" and swap words with "Dynamic Singapore" and got "Dynamic Population" and "Sustainable Singapore"! Fantastic! WTF does it mean?
Wait! Wait! Wait! What if, the PAP comes back with, "A Dynamic Singapore for a Sustainable Population!" Huh? How about that? The PAP wants to make Singapore Dynamic in order to Sustain the people! Can?
Talk is cheap. Word games are cheaper. WP is a better party than just a sloganeering party.]
Sylvia Lim, Population
By Rachel Chang
THE Workers' Party opposes the Government's Population White Paper , said party chairman Sylvia Lim in Parliament today.
It believes that the Government, in expanding the population to reach its economic growth targets, has gotten its priorities the wrong way around, she said.
Ms Lim laid out the WP's stance on the first day of the parliamentary debate, setting the agenda for her party's nine MPs.
It proposes an alternative population projection of about 5.9 million by 2030, and a greater tradeoff between economic growth and population expansion.
[Wow. The WP is so powerful! It can just propose an alternative population projection for any number they want! No need to actually study the factors of population increase. No need to decide on what policy to increase or decrease population. "The PEOPLE say enough is enough! We propose an ALTERNATIVE population PROJECTION of 5.9 million by 2030 instead of the 6.9 million you projected. How did we arrived at 5.9million? We pulled it out of our arse, that's how! We can do that because we are the WP! PAP only know how to look at facts and figures and project from those facts and figures! They have NO imagination. They don't have the kind of ARSE we have!"]
Singapore should work towards a more modest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 2.5 to 3 per cent to 2020, and 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent from 2020 to 2030.
["Same for GDP growth. Pick a number, any number. WP can project that! You want more MODEST growth? We will DEMAND more MODEST growth from the PAP on your behalf! SEE? I just pulled another modest growth number out of my ARSE! 2.5% to 3%! 1.5% to 2%! YEAH! See how easy it is? Why can't the PAP do that? Because they DON"T CARE about you! They care only about FACTS and FIGURES and what they can PROVE! They are all about HARD facts, not about soft people! Yeah!"]
This is about half a percentage point lower than the White Paper's projections.
Ms Lim also said that senior citizens "are not as much of a burden" as the Government is making them out to be.
A key plank of the White Paper's argument is that by 2030, there will only be 2.1 working citizens to support every person 65 years old and above, down from 5.9 now.
This assumes that senior citizens do not have economic resources of their own and will not be able to contribute to the economy, said Ms Lim. The WP believes they should be seen as resources, not burdens, she added.
Ms Lim also took aim at the Government's "half-hearted" attempts to boost the total fertility rate (TFR), which stems from the fact that immigration remains its key approach to augment the population. The Government seems "resigned" that the TFR will not improve greatly, and has not invested as much resources or tackled the issue as thoroughly as other counties like South Korea have done, she said.
In a parting shot, Ms Lim charged that the Population White Paper's title - "A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore" - illustrated the Government's muddled priorities. Rather, it should be titled "A Dynamic Population for a Sustainable Singapore," she said.
[Wow! How does she do that?!? Amazing! Incredible! She took "Sustainable Population" and swap words with "Dynamic Singapore" and got "Dynamic Population" and "Sustainable Singapore"! Fantastic! WTF does it mean?
Wait! Wait! Wait! What if, the PAP comes back with, "A Dynamic Singapore for a Sustainable Population!" Huh? How about that? The PAP wants to make Singapore Dynamic in order to Sustain the people! Can?
Talk is cheap. Word games are cheaper. WP is a better party than just a sloganeering party.]
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