Former presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian, weighed in and shared his 2-cents on the recent GST increase to 9% at the turn of the year.
He shared his thoughts on the government’s issuance of the $500 CDC Vouchers for each household in Singapore, describing the CDC voucher to be a “stupid idea”.
The Beggar & The Wealthy Man
Tan shared a story of a “beggar” and a “wealthy man” to illustrate his point, saying:
“A beggar approached a wealthy man and said, ‘Sir, please give me money to buy food. I have not eaten for a few days’. The wealthy man said, ‘I know you. If I give you money, you will use it for gambling’. The beggar said, ‘Sir, gambling money, I already have’.
Summing up his points emphatically, Tan said that he thinks it is a “It is a stupid idea to increase the GST by 1% and then issue the stupid vouchers to offset the increase,” before adding that “the vouchers will run out quickly and the people will be saddled high a higher cost of living for a lifetime.”
Tan Kin Lian’s Facebook post
“I consider the CDC voucher to be a “stupid” idea.
It aims to help the hawkers and small retailers and stop the recipient from using the money in gambling, drinking or other undesirable activities.
To achieve this goal, the people in charge (say LW) designed a system that is cumbersome and troublesome to use and cause more trouble to the hawkers and the customers.
Worse, it does not really help the people that was intended to be helped. Let me share this story to illustrate my point.
A beggar approached a wealthy man and said, “Sir, please give me money to buy food. I have not eaten for a few days”. The wealthy man said, “I know you. If I give you money, you will use it for gambling”. The beggar said, “Sir, gambling money, I already have”.
So, LW may not realize that the recipient can use the CDC voucher to buy the essentials and keep his cash to spend on the undesirable activities.
Many people think that it is good to receive the vouchers as they are “free”. They overlook that the vouchers are given to offset the increase of 1% in GST.
It is a stupid idea to increase the GST by 1% and then issue the stupid vouchers to offset the increase. The vouchers will run out quickly and the people will be saddled high a higher cost of living for a lifetime.
Tan Kin Lian”
