1. "Lee Kuan Yew in hospital for severe pneumonia, condition is stable - AsiaOne Feb 21, 2015"
I wish Mr Lee Kuan Yew all the best and a speedy recovery. With respect.
2. "Peeling away S'pore's class layers - The Straits Times Feb 21, 2015
WHAT is your age? Your race? Neither question would seem out of place in an opinion poll in Singapore.
But try this: Are you working, middle or upper class?
The question might seem unusual because, for a long time, the concept of class has been taboo in Singapore, intuitively at odds with the idea of a meritocratic society where people can advance by dint of hard work. But class is a defining division in society here, argues National University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Tan Ern Ser.
The class a person falls into shapes his attitudes and choices, Associate Professor Tan says in a new study titled "Class and Social Orientations". It is scheduled to be published in the next quarter. Prof Tan based his findings on a 2011 survey of 2,700 Singaporeans, who were asked for their views on a range of issues, such as factors for success and politics.
Results showed the working, middle and upper classes tended to have distinct attitudes, but it was harder to discern trends across races and age groups.
By class, Prof Tan means income as well as the socioeconomic group someone thinks they are part of. By and large, there is a big overlap - most middle-income people think they are part of the middle class, for instance.
While class distinctions are not new, they have come into sharper focus in recent years amid greater worries about income inequality. Even as the Government has boosted help for the lower-income to narrow the divergence between the haves and the have-nots, the income gap still crept up slightly last year, according to the annual Key Household Income Trends survey released this week.
"Class plays a big role in shaping how people think," says Prof Tan, who heads the Institute of Policy Studies' Social Lab."
A timely study and an interesting one for sure.
Lessons for me are:
1. it exists in any urbanised and commercialised society - the working class, the middle class and the upper class. Otherwise known as: poor people, middle class people and rich people! In fact, some Chinese gurus said the only super power in the world, USA has: the 3rd world neighbourhood and people, the 2nd world and the 1st world ALL in one city or one neighbourhood of a mega city!;
2. it is good logically to have a bulging middle class and a small upper and working class in a democratic society or in any society as the middle class people are normally doing well enough for themselves and not worry about the poor and the rich people! When the BULK of a nation is happy, satisfied and stable, the nation overall should be fairly stable. The middle class has a lot to lose when the working class rebels;
3. interesting to note that one of the details revealed was that: public flats were sold at a discount. The question still begged answering is: at a discount to what? last market price or original cost price or what? For a sustainable practice, the public housing has to be 'affordable' to the middle class and working class people. What is 'affordable' though had been defined by the government, somehow still attracts disagreement! e.g. the oft-quoted fact that a couple with a per capita household income of S$1k/month can afford to buy a HDB 1- or 2-room flat, and presumably still raise a government encouraged 3-kid family.(?)
4. the most worrying trend revealed, if true, is that of the middle class's entitlement mentality. The obligation of the government is to provide the middle class the conducing environment to thrive and NOT to spoon-feed them. When middle class feels that they are NOT taken care of compare to the working class even when they have a lot more on their owns than the working class, we have a problem! Are the middle class's entitled to this 'entitlement mentality'? My take is NO even though I am a lucky middle class guy. I have my HDB flat fully paid. I have my medical insurance covered. I have my elderly parents' medical insurance covered. My kids are working except for 1 in the university completing the study in 2 more years.
I expect very little from the government except that it continues to maintain laws and orders, protect the jobs of local talents who are able and willing at 'reasonable wages', provide national defence shield so peace and stability can prevail, wisely use the accumulated financial reserves to fund social safety net for the truly disadvantaged people in our society not due to their laziness, and keep the social infrastructure up-to-date but not overly lavish.
I wish Mr Lee Kuan Yew all the best and a speedy recovery. With respect.
2. "Peeling away S'pore's class layers - The Straits Times Feb 21, 2015
WHAT is your age? Your race? Neither question would seem out of place in an opinion poll in Singapore.
But try this: Are you working, middle or upper class?
The question might seem unusual because, for a long time, the concept of class has been taboo in Singapore, intuitively at odds with the idea of a meritocratic society where people can advance by dint of hard work. But class is a defining division in society here, argues National University of Singapore (NUS) sociologist Tan Ern Ser.
The class a person falls into shapes his attitudes and choices, Associate Professor Tan says in a new study titled "Class and Social Orientations". It is scheduled to be published in the next quarter. Prof Tan based his findings on a 2011 survey of 2,700 Singaporeans, who were asked for their views on a range of issues, such as factors for success and politics.
Results showed the working, middle and upper classes tended to have distinct attitudes, but it was harder to discern trends across races and age groups.
By class, Prof Tan means income as well as the socioeconomic group someone thinks they are part of. By and large, there is a big overlap - most middle-income people think they are part of the middle class, for instance.
While class distinctions are not new, they have come into sharper focus in recent years amid greater worries about income inequality. Even as the Government has boosted help for the lower-income to narrow the divergence between the haves and the have-nots, the income gap still crept up slightly last year, according to the annual Key Household Income Trends survey released this week.
"Class plays a big role in shaping how people think," says Prof Tan, who heads the Institute of Policy Studies' Social Lab."
A timely study and an interesting one for sure.
Lessons for me are:
1. it exists in any urbanised and commercialised society - the working class, the middle class and the upper class. Otherwise known as: poor people, middle class people and rich people! In fact, some Chinese gurus said the only super power in the world, USA has: the 3rd world neighbourhood and people, the 2nd world and the 1st world ALL in one city or one neighbourhood of a mega city!;
2. it is good logically to have a bulging middle class and a small upper and working class in a democratic society or in any society as the middle class people are normally doing well enough for themselves and not worry about the poor and the rich people! When the BULK of a nation is happy, satisfied and stable, the nation overall should be fairly stable. The middle class has a lot to lose when the working class rebels;
3. interesting to note that one of the details revealed was that: public flats were sold at a discount. The question still begged answering is: at a discount to what? last market price or original cost price or what? For a sustainable practice, the public housing has to be 'affordable' to the middle class and working class people. What is 'affordable' though had been defined by the government, somehow still attracts disagreement! e.g. the oft-quoted fact that a couple with a per capita household income of S$1k/month can afford to buy a HDB 1- or 2-room flat, and presumably still raise a government encouraged 3-kid family.(?)
4. the most worrying trend revealed, if true, is that of the middle class's entitlement mentality. The obligation of the government is to provide the middle class the conducing environment to thrive and NOT to spoon-feed them. When middle class feels that they are NOT taken care of compare to the working class even when they have a lot more on their owns than the working class, we have a problem! Are the middle class's entitled to this 'entitlement mentality'? My take is NO even though I am a lucky middle class guy. I have my HDB flat fully paid. I have my medical insurance covered. I have my elderly parents' medical insurance covered. My kids are working except for 1 in the university completing the study in 2 more years.
I expect very little from the government except that it continues to maintain laws and orders, protect the jobs of local talents who are able and willing at 'reasonable wages', provide national defence shield so peace and stability can prevail, wisely use the accumulated financial reserves to fund social safety net for the truly disadvantaged people in our society not due to their laziness, and keep the social infrastructure up-to-date but not overly lavish.
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