Growing importance of China will not necessarily be good for Singapore in the future. Like our company, the regional HQ will be moving to Beijing next year. The logic behind the move is that China is growing, and Singapore not. All the expat packages will also be moved to Beijing. How would this help Singapore grow? Quite the opposite.
I don't think China will be an issue.
For too long our political masters and their MNC bed partners have created Free Trade Agreements which have effectively sucked the life out of our domestic economies with no benefits to the ordinary folk.
Industries have migrated taking jobs, careers, the futures of our children and have been allowed to manufacture without the costs imposed in the west; anti-pollution, environmental protection, health and safety, training and development, quality assurance, local and federal taxes....... a most uneven playing field. And we did nothing.
What the FTAs did, was to allow these toxic imports free access into our domestic markets, invariably competing against domestic goods on price.
MacMillan's winds of change have indeed swept across Africa, albeit north Africa, but continue on and a few ordinary people in USA and UK and elsewhere are beginning to put their collective feet down and challenge our corrupt and inept politicians.
It started in Tunisia, when a young fruit seller was slapped by a policewoman and his fruit was confiscated. He set himself alight and died a martyr. His slap was physical but many outside Tunisia, across Europe and USA have been bitch-slapped by bankers and developers and politicians for at least the last decade and if actions speak louder than words, we sing aloud from the same submissive hymn sheets.
In UK we sit down in groups and refuse to move and Cameroon is compelled to order water canons and increase the building of prisons to quell the anticipated social unrest which will result from his refusal to act and this, like other dictators, will be his personal downfall.
In USA Bradley Manning faces the death sentence.
And Wall Street parties on.
China has been given a helping hand by USA's FTAs and is now able to stand on its own feet. Back home its time to close the FTA's down, along with the global GM scams, Financial and Banking rackets and all other scams designed to make us all economic slaves; we must sort our own economies, no one else will.
Perhaps the boring old High Street bank will return. In UK LTSB advertise all phone operators are stationed in Britain, not overseas, however their English is poor.
Europe is in a hole and the French keep digging and the German brass band plays on.
They too, are getting tough and are now delivering ultimatums.
Our bankers continue amassing unprecedented wealth and even when not directly stealing our savings, they continue to collect a fortune hourly on our interest on savings.
Soon, when unemployment and inflation cause the failure of home owners to honor their over-priced boxes, they will realize that they have always been renters and the banks will claim that which they have always held, namely title to their property.
I think the most worrying thing of all is that this was all predicted long ago and yet, we failed to prevent it.
Or perhaps governments failed the people.
If we were invaded, there would be a call to arms. Governments would expect the people to fight, sacrifice and defend their country and way of life..
Are such expectations not reciprocated?
Even today, there is not one banker behind bars.
