PM Asks "What kind of people do we want to be?"

[pirate]

WeiHan:

Ok...xenophobia is bad...


But what if a person (and family) survival is threaten by the badly planned immigration policy? Is it wrong for him to vent his anger at the \"foreigner\" that he perceived to have invaded his livelihood.

As far as I can tell, the most shrill xenophobic voices online do not come from people whose \"survival is threaten by the badly planned immigration policy.\" The ones most impacted are the blue collar workers like bus drivers, nurses, cleaners, waiters etc. I don't see people clamouring for the government to clamp down on blue collar foreign workers.

On the contrary, the xenophobic voices come primarily from those in areas like IT, banking and admin - white collar workers in aircon offices. I have always been of the view that most of these office jobs can be outsourced overseas with a good corporate broadband link, and now with cloud computing...

So, guess what? Unless your job involves dealing directly with customers in Singapore (eg. private bankers, doctors, waiters) or physical work that must be done in Singapore (eg. bus drivers, cleaners, garbage collectors) or both (eg. nurses), the foreigner will threaten your survival, whether he is working in Singapore, Mumbai, Shanghai, Manila or JB. Welcome to the 21st century. Adapt and evolve or die.

As for why our government keep depressing blue collar wages by importing blue collar workers to do work that must be physically done in Singapore, I have no idea.

[Nebbermind]

pirate:

As for why our government keep depressing blue collar wages by importing blue collar workers to do work that must be physically done in Singapore, I have no idea.

If donch cut blue collar, then cut white collar meh??!!

[verykiasu2010]

pirate:

As for why our government keep depressing blue collar wages by importing blue collar workers to do work that must be physically done in Singapore, I have no idea.

the government does not purposely depress the blue collar wages

the government does not import blue collar workers

it is the businesses who lobby the government to allow importation of foreign workers in order to continue the business / services, else close shop

How many singaporeans are willing to work as construction workers, grass cutters, rubbish truck attendants, bus drivers, truck drivers for construction sites, MRT tunnel excavators, electricians, aircon fitters, brick layers, tilers, restaurent waiters/waitresses, cleaners at hawkers centres, food courts, cooks, etc ?

Every singaporean aspires to be office workers in aircon comfort

So if a business has to bring in such workers as listed above, they will pay only what is needed to bring such workers here and nothing more. So indirectly the few singaporeans who work in such positions by default, not by choice (because they can't find any other job), got impacted because the foreign blue workers cost less.

So we have smart Lim Chong Yah proposing to double their pay -- will it work ? it will kill business in no time unless you and me are prepared to pay $10 for a plate of chicken rice or char kuay teow in hawker centre, or $3 for a cup of soya bean milk

People already cow father cow mother when transport fare is raised by $0.10 and you expect people to accept $10 chicken rice at hawker centre ?

We can increase pay for blue collar workers to make it attractive for local to take such jobs provide you and me are willing to pay for it. If I am running a business, I would jolly well take the local workers who cost more than a foreigner who cost less - provided the customers are willing to pay for it. Don't expect me to subsidise the customers. It is more difficult for local workers to run away after creating problems than a foreigner

p.s. just riding on your post to say something, but not directed at you hor

[pirate]

verykiasu2010:

People already cow father cow mother when transport fare is raised by $0.10 and you expect people to accept $10 chicken rice at hawker centre ?

Let them cry father cry mother or learn to make their own kopi. Businesses will adapt so long as their competitors are not allowed to cheat.

There is no economic reason for blue collar workers to have to subsidize white collar workers. No reason why the poorest amongst us should subsidize the middle class just so the latter can have their cheap kopi-O and chicken rice. Why should anyone want to work as construction workers, grass cutters, rubbish truck attendants, bus drivers, truck drivers for construction sites, MRT tunnel excavators, electricians, aircon fitters, brick layers, tilers, restaurent waiters/waitresses, cleaners at hawkers centres, food courts, cooks, etc when those jobs involve subsidizing somebody else to sit in an aircon office? Who wants to be paid half of what their work is worth just so somebody else can have cheap kopi?

What kind of people do I want to be? I want Singaporeans to be a people that does not expect people who do hard, honest work that nobody else wants to do, to also have to subsidize people in cushy aircon offices. That's what I want. Until we do that, we will NEVER be a resilient people.

Think of it as... part of total defence. Can't have an army full of pen pushers.

[verykiasu2010]

pirate:

verykiasu2010:

People already cow father cow mother when transport fare is raised by $0.10 and you expect people to accept $10 chicken rice at hawker centre ?

Let them cry father cry mother or learn to make their own kopi. Businesses will adapt so long as their competitors are not allowed to cheat.

There is no economic reason for blue collar workers to have to subsidize white collar workers. No reason why the poorest amongst us should subsidize the middle class just so the latter can have their cheap kopi-O and chicken rice. Why should anyone want to work as construction workers, grass cutters, rubbish truck attendants, bus drivers, truck drivers for construction sites, MRT tunnel excavators, electricians, aircon fitters, brick layers, tilers, restaurent waiters/waitresses, cleaners at hawkers centres, food courts, cooks, etc when those jobs involve subsidizing somebody else to sit in an aircon office? Who wants to be paid half of what their work is worth just so somebody else can have cheap kopi?

What kind of people do I want to be? I want Singaporeans to be a people that does not expect people who do hard, honest work that nobody else wants to do, to also have to subsidize people in cushy aircon offices. That's what I want. Until we do that, we will NEVER be a resilient people.

Think of it as... part of total defence. Can't have an army full of pen pushers.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: isn't it the same whiners who complain on cost and also complain on immigration ? I guess the strawberry generation would rather not work than to work in those blue collar jobs. Just had lunch with the CFO of a Swiss company and the laments are people - white collar office workers - would rather not work than to do monthly over time due to financial closing ..... and do we expect them to pick up the tools and work under than sun even for much higher pay ? let's not kid ourselves, there are jobs that local will never ever want to do .....


hmmm, better start brainwashing the kids in kindy and pri school that such blue collar jobs are glorious positions to hold ......... and better still, brainwash them to despise white collar jobs....oh no I am now bordering on cultural revolution .... :rotflmao:

[pirate]

verykiasu2010:

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: isn't it the same whiners who complain on cost and also complain on immigration ? I guess the strawberry generation would rather not work than to work in those blue collar jobs.

You say one hor, not me. Here's my strawberry :rotflmao:

To paraphrase grandpa's generation:
Even if money drops from the sky, you still have to be faster than the guy next to you.

[verykiasu2010]

pirate:

verykiasu2010:

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: isn't it the same whiners who complain on cost and also complain on immigration ? I guess the strawberry generation would rather not work than to work in those blue collar jobs.

You say one hor, not me. Here's my strawberry :rotflmao:

To paraphrase grandpa's generation:
Even if money drops from the sky, you still have to be faster than the guy next to you.

and none is faster than a pirate ! :evil: :rotflmao:

[concern2]

pirate:

Let them cry father cry mother or learn to make their own kopi. Businesses will adapt so long as their competitors are not allowed to cheat.

Small business fold up, the bosses and the workers join other bigger companies. More and more bigger companies dominate the economies, one by one, and in the end, it is the consumers who suffer. Everyone suffers. The winners are still the rich. We, the new age slaves.

pirate:

What kind of people do I want to be? I want Singaporeans to be a people that does not expect people who do hard, honest work that nobody else wants to do, to also have to subsidize people in cushy aircon offices. That's what I want. Until we do that, we will NEVER be a resilient people.

Think of it as... part of total defence. Can't have an army full of pen pushers.

:? So are you saying that you want to do the hard work, the honest work that nobody else wants to do?

[concern2]

verykiasu2010:

isn't it the same whiners who complain on cost and also complain on immigration ? I guess the strawberry generation would rather not work than to work in those blue collar jobs. Just had lunch with the CFO of a Swiss company and the laments are people - white collar office workers - would rather not work than to do monthly over time due to financial closing ..... and do we expect them to pick up the tools and work under than sun even for much higher pay ? let's not kid ourselves, there are jobs that local will never ever want to do .....

Would you allow your son to be a construction worker if he wants to? Yes, those type who work under the hot sun.

verykiasu2010:

hmmm, better start brainwashing the kids in kindy and pri school that such blue collar jobs are glorious positions to hold ......... and better still, brainwash them to despise white collar jobs....oh no I am now bordering on cultural revolution .... :rotflmao:

I was watching this boy serving customers at a fast food outlet the other day. I was admiring him, and wondering whether by the same age, my boy could be as efficient, as friendly, as kind to his older colleagues, as cheerful doing an honest day work. Who knows, I might just let him start work at 14 and take it as one of his \"CCA\"s after school.

[pirate]

concern2:

pirate:

Let them cry father cry mother or learn to make their own kopi. Businesses will adapt so long as their competitors are not allowed to cheat.

Small business fold up, the bosses and the workers join other bigger companies. More and more bigger companies dominate the economies, one by one, and in the end, it is the consumers who suffer. Everyone suffers. The winners are still the rich. We, the new age slaves.

pirate:

What kind of people do I want to be? I want Singaporeans to be a people that does not expect people who do hard, honest work that nobody else wants to do, to also have to subsidize people in cushy aircon offices. That's what I want. Until we do that, we will NEVER be a resilient people.

Think of it as... part of total defence. Can't have an army full of pen pushers.

:? So are you saying that you want to do the hard work, the honest work that nobody else wants to do?

No lah. You underestimate the ability of businesses to adapt, because everybody else's costs also go up.
No, I don't have to do those work. But I don't expect to subsidized by those who do and I don't mind paying $10 for chicken rice and $3 for kopi. Do you expect your chicken rice and kopi to be subsidized?