Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #makingyourvotecount
Most recents (13)
As an educator and lifelong learner myself, I really buy into the idea of reskilling and continuous education. So it is unsurprising that I support the general thrust of the SkillsFuture program. (1/n) 
Where I have more quibbles is in its execution, which is also informed by my background and experience in the education sector. A big part of the problem is the sort of retraining on offer. (2/n)
What’s there isn’t necessarily bad. I’ve heard complaints about some are using their credits for seemingly-useless courses like flower arrangement or sake tasting; but truth be told, these could springboard career changes, and we shouldn’t preemptively rule them out. (3/n)
I was somewhat bemused by something DPM Lawrence Wong said, about the lower burden of taxation, in his roundup speech to #Budget2023. He showed, with charts, that the tax burden faced by our middle class was lower than elsewhere. (1/n)
He also said that Singaporeans enjoy a much higher quality of public service than elsewhere, for what they pay. There’s a certain truth to that; our public sector, insofar as efficiency is concerned, is pretty value-for-money. (2/n)
Why then do our middle classes feel so aggrieved and embattled? Are we spoiled complainers, ungrateful for the how good we have going? Or is there something about our lived experience that speaks to a greater truth? (3/n)
When I first arrived in the United States for my doctoral studies, I was shocked at how expensive mandatory healthcare insurance was. At several thousand a year, it seemed a lot more expensive than the twenty or thirty dollars we’d pay when we saw our doctor. (1/n)
Plus, I was 25. I would go to the doctor maybe twice a year, if even that often (remember when you were that invincible?). I thought that U.S. healthcare was just an unfair tax on the young and healthy, a reflection of the overall poor health of the American population. (2/n)
I’ve since learned that, all things considered, the couple thousand bucks was a pretty decent deal. Insurance covered visits to the dentist and eye doctor, plus routine care. And if I was admitted to hospital, the out-of-pocket expenses, while high, wouldn’t break the bank. (3/n)
The idea of trusts and foundations may conjure up images of rich people and their lofty estates, and seems to be far removed from the everyday concerns of most Singaporeans. (1/n)
But the truth is, most of us have encountered trusts in some form. We donate to charities, which is a type of trust. We nominate beneficiaries for insurance or CPF, both of which are trust arrangements. (2/n)
And if you invest, you may have purchased a share in a unit trust, or a real estate investment trust (or REIT). So in reality, most of us have at least a passing familiarity with what a trust is, and how they play a role in our lives. (3/n)
Inflation, as understood by economists, is the rate of change in prices. When prices rise, stuff gets more expensive. This is what is happening across the world now, as well as in Singapore. (1/n)
But one-off price increases, while unpleasant, do not give rise to inflation. Inflation happens when price rises are persistent. Many economists, while worried about inflation, do not expect it to persist beyond this year or next. (2/n)
Yet even when this inflation storm passes, not everyone will be made whole. For many Singaporeans, inflation is not just an inconvenience. If salaries don’t increase to offset higher prices, the current episode will quickly morph into cost-of-living crisis. (3/n)
In January’s Parliamentary sitting, members debated the transition toward a green economy. It will also feature in the budget and Committee of Supply debates, currently ongoing. The issue is urgent and important, not least because steps need to taken today to get us there. (1/n)
I’m not usually a Debbie Downer, but my contributions to the debate were mostly cautionary. I spoke about the importance of measuring progress, and warned about how green financing wasn’t some magic bullet, as well as risks from greenwashing. (2/n)
We’ve heard about how the financial sector can make a massive difference to getting us to the promised land of limiting climate change. Of course, finance is important (I teach, research, and practice it, after all!) but not quite sufficient. (3/n)
Every year, I teach a course in international economics. In the first lecture of the course, I teach what is known as the Ricardian model: named after the 18th century economist, David Ricardo. (1/n)
The key insight then—as it is today—is that free trade between two countries allows each one to specialize according to what they can do relatively well. This is known as comparative advantage. (2/n)
In doing so, these economies can enjoy levels of consumption greater than if they chose instead to go it alone, and attempt to produce everything at home. This elegant, compelling argument underlies why economists generally favor free trade. (3/n)
The term “debate” often evokes images of raucous speeches and lively verbal jousting. Alas, parliamentary debates (in this country at least) are often heavily structured, guarded affairs. (1/n)
For instance, to make a point, one has to be recognized by the Speaker. This preserves order and decorum, but it comes at the cost of stifling dynamic riposte, especially for a heated topic. (2/n)
Time constraints exacerbate the problem (Parliament has more issues to discuss than time allows). This was the case yesterday, when a few #workersparty MPs (myself included) were unable to raise supplementary questions before the end of question time. (3/n)
For many Singaporean parents, one of the more stressful events is placing their child in a preferred primary school. What that preference is differs. For some, it is the alma mater; for others, a school offering certain academic options; for yet others, one near their home. (1/n)
It strikes me that securing a place close to home is a reasonably modest expectation. This is not guaranteed if the school is especially popular, of course (and parents understand that); but getting into a walking-distance neighborhood school seems eminently fair. (2/n)
Alas, in certain neighborhoods—especially #Anchorvale in #SengkangGRC, where I serve—the preponderance of families with young children has meant that many residents have been unable to place their kids in schools close to home. (3/n)
Corporate governance is one of the less-sexy topics within corporate finance and asset management. After all, everyone wants to know about firms’ profitability metrics, new product lines, and growth plans. (1/n)
In contrast, issues such shareholder rights, board independence, and compensation schemes evoke yawns among all but the most nerdy analysts and researchers. What does “governance” really mean for a private corporation anyway? (2/n)
These matters appear to be best left to insiders, who may know best for how to run the business. But such matters are actually enormously important. There is a sizable literature that links strong corporate governance metrics to outsized returns. (3/n)
Last week, @yalenus announced that it would be taking in its final class of students. The college—one of the first liberal arts schools in Asia—is set to close its doors in four years. It marks the end of a bold experiment. (1/n)
I suspect most Singaporeans would be apathetic to this development. While Yale has an easily recognizable brand name, it is, after all, an elite institution, which by definition caters to a very limited few. (2/n)
The idea of the liberal arts is also alien to most Asians. Asian universities tend to focus most on science, technology, and other professional fields that are perceived to contribute most to economic output (and yield jobs for graduates). (3/n)
This pandemic recession has been brutal for many Singaporeans, especially those that have been displaced from long-held jobs. But such displacements predated #COVID-19; technological advances and trade globalization mean this trend is set to continue. (1/n)
This means that what is needed is an end-to-end jobs safety net. At the back end, the Professional Conversion Program and SkillsFuture help workers reskill, while cofinancing via the Jobs Growth Incentive makes it more palatable for employers to take on retrained rookies. (2/n)
But there is more limited support at the front end. Immediately after losing their jobs, there usually isn’t any immediate relief for retrenched workers. While such insurance payouts aren’t huge, they are often very welcome help at a difficult time. (3/n)
Working in a research-focused
institution, one becomes keenly aware of the importance of innovation as a driver of technology and productivity, which in turn is a source of growth and development. (1/n)
institution, one becomes keenly aware of the importance of innovation as a driver of technology and productivity, which in turn is a source of growth and development. (1/n)
Indeed, economists widely acknowledge that sustained, long-run growth is only possible with technological improvements. This is the case with old-school (Solow-style) growth models, as well as newer (Romer-type) “endogenous” growth models. (2/n)
But by the same token, economists know remarkably little about what gives rise to innovation. Ideas, of course, but the field is largely silent about the generation of new ideas (other than assuming that they may arrive via some random process). (3/n)
