Motor insurance premiums

Many motorists will have to pay higher insurance premiums this year. What can be done about it?

Read my articles:
Puncturing motor insurance claims.
New Motor Insurance measures - will it work?

If you are not happy with the increase in premiums, you should lodge a protest with your member of parliament or with the consumer association of Singapore.

The best places to be laid off

Read this article about countries with generous unemployment benefits and its impact (if any) on the work ethic.

Buddhist monks say Twitter can lead to happiness

Read this article.

Creating service jobs in Singapore

Global demand has dropped significantly. Singapore will have to suffer a drop in production and  exports for many months while global demand remains weak. Many more jobs will be lost. The Government's strategy of helping businesses to reduce cost may not help to save jobs in this environment.

I hope that the Government will look into other ways to create jobs and keep people occupied at a modest wage level. They only need to keep people usefully engaged until the recovery of the global economy. 

In France, the Government pays a large part of the cost of nannies to look after babies. The parent pays only a small portion. The nannies will look after the babies in the nannies' homes. The parents can afford to send the baby to the nanny, as their share of the cost is low. This helps to keep many nannies to be usefully employed.

I suggest the following ways to create temporary jobs in Singapore:

1)  The Government can pay a large part of the cost of engaging nannies to look after babies. The parents can pay only a small part (say 20%) of the cost. The nannies can be asked to meet certain standards of care.

2)  There is a need for tuition to help the students from poor families. The tuitors can be trained quickly to meet the educational standards.  A large part of the cost of these tutors can be paid by the Government, so that the cost to the students is kept low.

These two ideas can keep many people to be usefully employed until the recovery of the global economy. The wages can be kept low. When the economy recovers, they can find higher paying jobs in the private sector.

Tan Kin Lian

Business Week: Innovation - Singapore is No. 1, well ahead of USA

Read this article.

Thought for the day: challenge and controversy

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.":

 

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), US civil rights leader

Shin Min Interview - General Election

Here are my replies in an interview with Jo Sum of Shin Min News.