The first thing that my sis told me when she reached home, 'I am always very surprise, when I see that you are at home!' I was like 'duh', time for me to self reflect...

Nostalgic

Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! ~Owens Lee Pomeroy

Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World...

Standard of Living

Sacrifices got to be made for the greater good, how true is this statement? Large influx of foreigners will boost our economy and allow Singapore to grow, however the index 'Standard of Living' had been neglected in this policy.

The huge growth of population had drive up the prices of both the HDB housing and push up the vehicles' COE, the main bulk of our income goes to these 2 material aspects, which means that we will have to work even harder to get the same level of comfort.

It is highly doubtful that our yearly wage increments will be able to offset the inflation and that will in turn drives down the Standard of Living of the citizens. The policy of having a bigger population will only improve the net profits of companies as there will be a larger pool of talents for them to choose from.

GDP will also increase as the new migrants bring in with them their savings. The larger population will also demand for more goods and services which will boost the figure shown in our quarterly report. However, the income gap between the rich and the poor may be widened and the citizens may not be benefiting from the economic growth we are facing.

Furthermore, congestion in public transport has also been a current issue and the competition between the locals and the foreigners for jobs may pose further problems. A balance got to made between improving the overall economy and the livelihood of the people.

Its a good thing that the government had been more stringent in the immigration policy recently. Hopefully the economic effect of having a bigger population will be felt in the future and the current citizens will be able to thrive under such situations.

An ordinary Singapore citizen

Insurance vs gambling

Insurance is just like gambling. This is quite a strong statement whereby people will just reject the idea at first glance.

More and more casinos are flourishing and opening up in our city. On the other hand, the number of people buying insurance plans is also increasing rapidly. You will hope to earn when you gamble however you will hope to lose when you buy an insurance. Both of them incur risks and the insurance companies/casinos will always earn money as you are just working against the probability. The insurance companies will always win as the payouts that they give will definitely be more than the amount that the people are putting in to the various plans.

When the society is discouraging gambling, should they dissuade people from buying insurance at the same time also? The insurance agent will always say that buying an insurance plan is just like carrying an umbrella when you go out. I partially agree with this point but just couldn't accept the fact that I am working against the probability. I guess all of us still have to take some precautionary measures to protect the people around us but at the same time taking calculated risks and do not blindly put all your money into various insurance plans and leave yourself with minimal liquid cash by your side.