Saturday, January 12, 2008
Straits Times
A copy of the Straits Times mysteriously landed outside my house.
We went to ask the neighbour, but the auntie says she does not know her family subscribing to any newspaper. That's what I suspected, as they don't look like the newspaper-reading kind, what's more an ENGLISH newspaper.
Then I proceed on to flip the papers I have.
It struck me that 2008 is kicking off nicely.
As I'm typing this, millions of Taiwanese people will be casting their votes in the Parliamentary elections, starting a series of exciting events we'll see this year.
Iowa and New Hampshire has already started USA's presidential nominations for the respective parties, in the run up to USA's presidential elections later this year.
Plus the Euro and the Beijing Olympics, this year will be an exciting one in the sports sense too!
Then I read an article about means-testing for stay in subsidised wards in public hospitals.
I'm not sure whether people remember it, when in the 2006 general elections in Singapore, news of means-testing broke out, and the Workers' Party actually challenged the Health Minister, to list out the criteria for means-testing, so the people could be the judge and vote accordingly. Then, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that means-testing might not happen afterall, cleverly averting Mr Low Thia Kiang's question.
Well, now, after the elections are over for a period of time, this idea came back into the discussion forum.
In typical fashion, news of any change will slowly be leaked out, triggering a barrage of discussion. But as always, while both sides of the argument will be presented, the 'comments' in the newspapers will subtly support the new changes before they were announced, so as to pave the way for the actual change to come. We've seen it before: Casino issue, GST hike, CPF changes, Taxi fares hike.
Now the propaganda is back again.
In principle, means-testing is not a bad idea. It means that people who are really poor could be granted access to the subsidised ward, rather to let them be choked up by richer people.
However, the argument presented in an article in the forum left me baffled. I can't produce the actual article, but the general point made was:
Because the richer could go to public hospitals readily, public hospitals are overcrowded, so it overworks the public hospital staff. Hence, due to the overworking, little time can be channeled to medical research, making us lacking in our drive to become a medical hub. Hence, the richer should be channeled to private hospitals where there are excess capacities.
Sounds logical isn't it?
But that's the problem with the Singapore mindset. Whenever there is a problem, the authorities would want to control the DEMAND side of the problem.
Too many people taking taxis? Raise the fares to curb demand!
Too many people in public hospitals? Raise the fares for seemingly-richer ones and channel them to private hospitals!
Having been in and out of public hospitals for the past year, it is indeed a pissing-off experience. Long queue and very complicated department referrals.
Has it ever occured to the authorities that public hospitals are getting more crowded due to a simple fact? A growing and aging population!
No amount of demand-side management will ever solve the problem of public hospital crowding. When people get sick, they get sick. Either they go to a hospital to seek treatment, or they die. Forcing them to go the 'higher' class wards only directs the problem to the other class wards, making them overcrowded.
The same goes for the Taxi City surcharge. But attracting taxis to go into the city for $3, it creates a shortage elsewhere. This is called 'solving a problem by creating a problem elsewhere'.
Same goes for ERP. It only channels congestion to some other roads. But the best thing is, when these 'other roads' get congested as well, they build the ERP there as well! We're back to square one, aren't we? Net effect? Same congestion, only more money for the government.
(build the KPE to ease traffic congestion elsewhere, but when the KPE gets popular, build the ERP to deter people from using it. building ERP gantries
at heartlands near to the city, and a seemingly never-ending and expanding ERP area)
What about building more hospitals? What about restricting car ownership? What about encouraging more taxis? What about restricting foreign immigration altogether?
Supply-side management, it seems, is never considered.
I'm really sick of squeezing in MRTs and buses, being caught in jams on expressways and normal roads, and seeing the sickening queues in public hospitals.
If near-5 million produces such a situation, what will happpen when we hit the targeted 6.5 million? I really dread to think of that day.
lowtide blogged @
12:42 pm
