How to increase the birth rate

1. I will now give my views on how to increase the birth rate in Singapore.

2. We must give an option to women to be a full time mother and raise children. The mother will receive, from the state, a monthly allowance of $500 for each child, up to a maximum of three children, until the child reaches 12 years old.

3. If this allowance is given, some women may opt to be a full time home maker, instead of a career women. They can opt to get married at a younger age, and raise their children. When the children go to school, the mother can enter the workforce and do the types of jobs that are suitable for them, which do not require a high level of education.

4. There are many suitable jobs in the economy for women, with experience in raising children. They can be assistants to teachers, or work in taking care of children and the elderly, or can go into the food business. These jobs can also pay well.

5. The choice is still available for women who wish to enter the business world and compete with men. These women are likely to marry late and to be not keen to raise children, as it is difficult to do both.

6. My suggestion is to give women, who are more inclined to the family, to choose this option, and to receive a monthly allowance that make it possible for the family to meet the living expenses.

Critical illness policy

Someone said:

Should the MAS bans / regulates more strictly such or similar "critical year" policies. 
For this case :-
"In a written judgment, the Learned Judge dismissed her claim. The judge found that the document, a policy benefit illustration, was not part of the contract. He noted that a clause in the policy booklet states that the policy and policy application constitute the agreement between Madam Zhu and AIA. This statement is mirrored in a declaration in the application form."...

Although not "a clause in the policy booklet" and therefore not a "term or condition" in contractual terms, the "policy benefit illustration" is a common instrument used by agents (who are supposed to be professionally trained) to induce parties (as consumers & layman) into purchasing such policies ... and therefore easily "misrepresented".

IMO, the plaintiff in this case was set-backed because she had represented herself in Court...she could probably have a strong case. I purchased such a policy in the 80s which was subsequently handled as a "support package" collectively ... but the same "sales techniques" seemed to have been followed through after that ...and now another case in Court when many are supposed to be already wary of such bad sales techniques.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20130219-403050.html

Fair wage for a job

What is the fair wages for a job? 

Some people think that it can be left to the "free market", i.e. supply and demand. This is the approach adopted in Singapore. Look at the mess that it has created - so many locals out of job or not earning enough to meet the cost of living. 

Some countries have strong trade unions to negotiate the wages for various categories of workers, e..g Australia and Europe. They also use the tool of a minimum wage. While not a perfect system, it seemed to produce a better outcome than the "free market approach".

There is an alternative approach - somewhere in the middle. It uses the free market approach to determine the wages, but removes the weak bargaining power of the workers. It also ensures quality, reliability and profitability of the workers and allows them to earn more, and allow their employer to be profitable. What is this method?

I like to have some discussion about this "alternative method", which is a better way.

High inflation rate

Mr Tan,
As inflation rate for last year is about 5%. What do you think of any investment that is over that 5%?Is the world changing?

REPLY
Inflation was 5% last year. The STI ETF earned 19%, so it is much higher than inflation. 

Over the past 10 years, the average inflation was around 3%. The STI ETF earned about 8%, so it is higher than inflation.

Over the long term, the STI ETF is still be best investment. Attend the FISCA talk and learn about why this is the case.www.fisca.sg/events.

Low risk of critical illness

When an insurance agent tell you that you need critical illness insurance to cover the high cost of treating cancer, you should consider the following:

a) The chance of getting serious cancer that requires expensive treatment is extremely low before the age of 60
b) The chance of being killed by an accident, e.g traffic accident, is higher
c) You need to pay only $70 a year for accident insurance to cover $100,000
d) If you want to buy critical illness insurance to cover $100,000, you should pay not more than $70 a year.

See if the insurance agent is keen to offer you the critical illness insurance at this premium. If they want you to pay many times more, they are trying to get you to pay a lot more, so they can earn a hefty commission.

Where are the missing billions?

1. Someone asked me to give my views the articles written by Professor Christopher Balding regarding the finances of the Singapore Government. A summary of his article is shown here:
http://exchersonesusaurea.blogspot.sg/2012/05/professor-christopher-balding-peking.html

2. Here are the key points:

a) During a period of 20 years from 1991 to 2010, the Singapore government borrowed $250 billion and had a budget surplus of $262 billion, making a total of $512 billion.

b) If this money is invested to earn the average yield, it should accumulate to $1,000 billion, or $1 trillion.

c) The total assets of Temasek Holdings and GIC is estimated to be $500 billion, a part of which were accumulated prior to 1990. According to Professor Balding, there must be more than $500 billion in assets that are missing?

d) There are $300 billion in foreign reserves managed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Professor Balding argued that this is accounted by the current account surplus, and is not related to the $500 billion that is missing.

3. Can you identify some possible gaps in the reasoning given by Professor Balding? I do not agree with his reasoning, so there is the possibility that he is right, or maybe wrong.

Apps for your iPhone/ iPad

AMAZING NUMBER
Amaze your friends with this simple trick. Most people are amazed at its simplicity. 
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=749&IID=755

Download this app now and give it a try. And give a rating as well.Thank for your support.

MOBY PAL
The Moby app is now available for download. It has useful features for users of iPhone, including pre-fix SMS, security, and find your car. More details here:
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=748&IID=754

Download it and give a try. And give a rating as well. Thanks for your support.