Tuck You, Minister

Of the 325 commuters polled yesterday, a resounding 92 percent reacted strongly to the proposal to increase bus fares suggested by the Transport Minister, "Tuck you!" In a nutshell, the typical response was summed thus:
"It is good to increase salaries of bus drivers, but you can't just push it to commuters. The Government has to think of other alternatives before increasing fares."

There are plenty of alternatives. Such as trimming the pay and perks of the top echelons until they show progress in addressing the technical and personnel problems at the freakish transport company. For starters, reduce the number of directors on the compliant board who approved the holiday leave application of the CEO when he was in office for barely 2 months.  Just about the time to be familiar with the route to the executive washroom. The reduction in director fees should go some way in offsetting the additional costs of the drivers' pay.

To be fair, the Transport Minister was simply acting on cue. After all, the Prime Minister did say more hikes are expected in the coming 20 years. Cost reduction was never in the equation. He's assuming his party will still be in office, of course. He has the generals to back him, he made sure of that.

A private nursing home tried to justify a 20 percent increase in charges, citing:
- High inflation rate of 4.8 percent for Jan - Sep 2012;
- Public healthcare nurses receiving a 4 to 17 percent increase in pay (from April 2012);
- Public health  administrative, ancillary and support staff receiving a 4 to 10 percent increase (from Sept 2012);
- Increase of foreign worker levy from $280 to $340 in July 2012, and $400 in July 2013;
- Requirement to house foreign workers in private accommodations outside of the nursing homes (estimated at $300 to $350 per foreign worker per month).

I can see clearly now

Like the Transport Minister, they are also acting on cue, and passing the costs down to the man in the street. Notice the inflationary pressures tracing from Government initiatives, like the higher property tax for most HDB owners in the coming year. Are you prepared to climb to the highest floor and threaten to jump off in protest, like the two Chinese nationals driven by desperation to the top of the tower cranes? Don't despair, there are plenty of alternatives. Think Hougang and Aljunied.