Distrust in the CPF, and the eroding social compact

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

While the government tries to help those who are left out with transfers such as Workfare and the Pioneer Generation Package, there are some, such as Lawrence Wong, who seem to think that all is well. For instance, in a recent newspaper article he is quoted as saying, “If you look at where our Budget is, it is firstly highly progressive … from 2003 to 2013 the lower deciles are getting a lot more in terms of transfers.”

Disputes about CPF dive right to the heart of inequality and widening opportunities, which is increasingly full of contradictions.

The government raises the Minimum Sum, saying it must be raised due to inflation, yet at the same time creating the conditions that makes it harder for some people to meet this sum. And although they can work longer to meet this sum, they no longer feel the sense of security that they can manage to do so, which is becoming uncertain especially for those who do not have opportunities for employment.

It is sheer hypocrisy to ask people to put more into a general fund, which the state borrows for profitable investment, while the current government is paying scant attention to persistently high inequality, stagnating wages and unequal opportunities.

The recent protests then, is not just merely about the CPF, it also reflects a lack of trust towards the government which itself has actively cultivated. If the government does not put in its share to uphold this trust, as it was before, the people will not feel a need to trust it.

The fact of the matter is that people have a right to change the government if they feel that the government is not doing well, doing right, or doing enough. They should not be afraid to do so if they feel that the trust that they have given to the government is violated.

If the government does not care to listen to its citizens, or feel that it can do so at the expense of a substantial group of them, then there is no need for these citizens to care for the government that doesn’t bother about them.

http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2014...ocial-compact/


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