30 November 2014 - 11th of 2014 will be gone in another 1.5 hours! How time flies!! For those who are way behind fulfilling their 2014 resolutions, time to pull up the socks and really work hard! LOL!!
"Swiss voters massively reject 'green' immigration cap - AFP 30 November 2014
GENEVA: The Swiss on Sunday (Nov 30) flatly rejected a call for dramatic immigration cuts in the name of saving the environment, along with bids to scrap tax breaks for rich foreigners and hike the country's gold reserves.
Results from a majority of the country's 26 cantons showed voters spurning the so-called Ecopop initiative, which called for slashing immigration to reduce urban pressure on the Alpine nation's idyllic landscape.
Initial results nationwide showed 73 per cent of voters said 'no' to Ecopop. Meanwhile, 61.6 per cent rejected the call to ditch tax breaks for wealthy foreign residents, and 76,8 per cent turned down the bid to force the country's central bank to boost its gold reserves to at least 20 per cent of its holdings."
While most Singaporeans are STILL NOT enjoying the Swiss' standard of living (or I normally like to qualify it as: quality of living) promised by ESM Goh when he was the PM, the government would be happy to point to this referendum to remind Singaporeans who are xenophobic (a term I strongly dislike as 'xenophobic means fear without any reason') that it is important to keep the foreigners coming to town!
Lessons for me are:
1. this could be a tale that some government officials will want to refer to when exhorting Singaporeans who are 'xenophobic' that even the Swiss reject 'limiting immigration' into their society! What more Singapore! In fact, Singapore needs foreigners MORE than Switzerland!;
2. there lies a danger. Most Singaporeans are NOT at the Swiss' quality of living. So, even if the Swiss reject massively against limiting immigration, it does not necessarily mean that Singaporeans would just follow! In fact, an old wound, or unfulfilled promise, may come back to haunt the ruling party government. So, it will be interesting to see how the government actually try to use this Swiss' referendum!;
3. regardless, it will be useful to learn WHY the Swiss rejected massively limiting immigration as the 'conventional wisdom' would have said they want no over-crowding and that they love to have sustainable eco-environment for sure. Maybe they just need more immigrants with the economic means to help pay their bills for living one of the world highest 'standard (or 'cost' or 'quality') of living? :-)
We live in interesting time for sure!
p/s: Singapore Football Team is OUT of the AFF Suzuki Cup after suffering a painful 1-3 defeat against traditional rivals, or some were dramatically called it: old enemies, last night at the National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub. It was great to see ten of thousands of passionate Singapore fans screaming their supports for the Lions. Unfortunately, it lost, honestly, to a better team despite the claim of a 'heart breaking' late penalty awarded against Singapore, unfairly as deemed by MANY MANY Lions' fans. Alas, from my perspective, it was a clumsy 'push' or 'bump' into the back of the Malaysian forward as he leaped. A soft penalty or however you want to call it. It IS a penalty. The rest is HISTORY!
"Swiss voters massively reject 'green' immigration cap - AFP 30 November 2014
GENEVA: The Swiss on Sunday (Nov 30) flatly rejected a call for dramatic immigration cuts in the name of saving the environment, along with bids to scrap tax breaks for rich foreigners and hike the country's gold reserves.
Results from a majority of the country's 26 cantons showed voters spurning the so-called Ecopop initiative, which called for slashing immigration to reduce urban pressure on the Alpine nation's idyllic landscape.
Initial results nationwide showed 73 per cent of voters said 'no' to Ecopop. Meanwhile, 61.6 per cent rejected the call to ditch tax breaks for wealthy foreign residents, and 76,8 per cent turned down the bid to force the country's central bank to boost its gold reserves to at least 20 per cent of its holdings."
While most Singaporeans are STILL NOT enjoying the Swiss' standard of living (or I normally like to qualify it as: quality of living) promised by ESM Goh when he was the PM, the government would be happy to point to this referendum to remind Singaporeans who are xenophobic (a term I strongly dislike as 'xenophobic means fear without any reason') that it is important to keep the foreigners coming to town!
Lessons for me are:
1. this could be a tale that some government officials will want to refer to when exhorting Singaporeans who are 'xenophobic' that even the Swiss reject 'limiting immigration' into their society! What more Singapore! In fact, Singapore needs foreigners MORE than Switzerland!;
2. there lies a danger. Most Singaporeans are NOT at the Swiss' quality of living. So, even if the Swiss reject massively against limiting immigration, it does not necessarily mean that Singaporeans would just follow! In fact, an old wound, or unfulfilled promise, may come back to haunt the ruling party government. So, it will be interesting to see how the government actually try to use this Swiss' referendum!;
3. regardless, it will be useful to learn WHY the Swiss rejected massively limiting immigration as the 'conventional wisdom' would have said they want no over-crowding and that they love to have sustainable eco-environment for sure. Maybe they just need more immigrants with the economic means to help pay their bills for living one of the world highest 'standard (or 'cost' or 'quality') of living? :-)
We live in interesting time for sure!
p/s: Singapore Football Team is OUT of the AFF Suzuki Cup after suffering a painful 1-3 defeat against traditional rivals, or some were dramatically called it: old enemies, last night at the National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub. It was great to see ten of thousands of passionate Singapore fans screaming their supports for the Lions. Unfortunately, it lost, honestly, to a better team despite the claim of a 'heart breaking' late penalty awarded against Singapore, unfairly as deemed by MANY MANY Lions' fans. Alas, from my perspective, it was a clumsy 'push' or 'bump' into the back of the Malaysian forward as he leaped. A soft penalty or however you want to call it. It IS a penalty. The rest is HISTORY!
No comments:
Post a Comment