" the mrbrown show: the widening income gap carol
Photo by larryncelia
The widening income gap is a major issue that deserves more attention! And a mrbrown show carol!
Props to Steve and Mr Tan for lending their fine manly voices to this song!
Podcast: the mrbrown show 1 Dec 2006: the widening income gap carol (MP3, file size: 2.1mb, Time: 00:02:14)
Technorati Tags: podcast, podcasting, singapore
December 1st, 2006 at 7:02 am
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. You guys need lessons. Just kidding.
Great Carol.
December 1st, 2006 at 9:12 am
How the singing here not as good as the other one? No sponsor? hahaha!
December 1st, 2006 at 9:30 am
Hey, this is not about widening income gap. This is about narrowing income gap! Yah, narrowing income gap between minister’s pay and the private sectors’ TOP CEOs’ income gap.
December 1st, 2006 at 10:49 am
i’m all for the increase in minister’s pay, as well as for the top execs in GLCs and other govt institutions. they should rightly receive the same amount as top CEOs.
but i ask one thing - they get the same accountability as CEOs. They are assessed quarterly or bi-annually. CEOs are assessed by Board of Directors, as well as shareholders. shareholders have a right to have a meeting with Board of Directors if they feel Management are not doing the right thing. Third-party observers, like analysts and press, have a right to criticise bad judgements made by management.
So there…civil service is just not the same as the private sector, is it?
December 1st, 2006 at 10:55 am
For your karaoke singing pleasure:
We Ministers of Singapore
We Ministers of Singapore are
Earning pay that is not on par
With top earners, of our country
It’s time to raise the bar
O tell you why, our pay so high
So that we won’t cheat and lie
No corruption, in our nation
We’re so honest, we wear white
Now it’s time to pay ourselves more
Like we have since ‘94
To close the widening income gap
‘tween us and the richest, lor
O tell you why, our pay must rise
None will join us otherwise
Private sector, always better
No choice lah, must up our price.
December 1st, 2006 at 12:40 pm
If you think that everything is expensive in Singapore, why not consider moving to Malaysia or Indonesia?
Whilst you may be complaining about price increase, there are many other people who don’t. They are not ministers or scholars but successful because of their own effort. Then a person have only him/herself to blame for not being successful!
I also think we ought not to be hypocrites. If we think Ministers’ salary is high, if you ever become a Minister would you give away your salary, live in HDB Toa Payoh 3-room and drive a 9 year old Toyota Corolla?
All those Ministers or GLC top executives also have top qualifications which people who often complain don’t have it. That’s sour grape.
December 1st, 2006 at 12:59 pm
*snicker*
December 1st, 2006 at 1:40 pm
jsbach - haha why so stress. who says brown was complaining in the song? got read lyrics or not. Stay in school dude.
PS our ministers earn a lot more than american counterparts. think about it
December 1st, 2006 at 1:44 pm
jsbach “Then a person have only him/herself to blame for not being successful! ” SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE ONE OF THE ELITE. if you are good and work hard, you will be successful. If you are poor, its because you deserve to be. end of story- sounds like THAT is what you are saying!!! Yet another example of elitist thinking (an oxymoron!)
December 1st, 2006 at 1:49 pm
what r u tryin to achieve wif ur reply jsbach
December 1st, 2006 at 5:49 pm
Well, we not only got the number 1 govt. We also have number 1 paychecks for members of the parliment.
Thats two number 1s for the price of 1.
Singapore Boleh!!!!
December 1st, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Laugh until die!
December 1st, 2006 at 9:12 pm
Indeed, it is very hard 2 justify 2 why they have 2 increase their pay. Our government salery is higher than the US and even some Western european nations! To take into account that we still have some people earning less than US$1 a month, would’nt it be more worth while if we spent that $$ on eliminating poverty? Nice job brown!
December 1st, 2006 at 9:32 pm
jsbach - do u know that our PM earns more than the President of the United States…a powerful person who is able to wage 2 wars in the middle east and managing a trillion dollar economy is earning lesser than our PM…
PUBLIC service are for those who truly want to make a difference to their nation, regardless of getting a high or low salary.
December 2nd, 2006 at 1:28 am
A lot of mention that ministers earn loads more than US counterparts. Any thoughts that the US leaders are not exactly paragons of virtue? They’re not exactly the best role models in the world to look to for government policy. For minister pay, read Halliburton
December 2nd, 2006 at 2:48 am
The perfect circle of protection: Legalised Corruption. Illegal things are made to look legal by altering the laws to the likes of the govt. Govts in most democratic countries are bound by their laws. They cannot alter them easily. But that’s not the case here.
December 2nd, 2006 at 4:09 am
Hello jsbach,
I am amused by your comment (#6 in the series),
and would like to offer my personal alternative to what you say.
Paragraph 1: Why move “to Malaysia & Indonesia”?
I love Singapore. I grew up & live here daily.
Feel any loyalty, to make things better here?
Paragraph 2:
I am successful in my own way, because of my own effort.
I am not a minister or scholar.
And I do not blame others,
for my not being successful by their standards.
Still, prices are rising.
And salaries are not rising in equal proportion for all;
for some, not at all.
Paragraph 3:
If I were a minister:
I would not give away my salary carelessly.
I will make sure there is enough for myself, my family,
for our later years, AND to give to society in what best way we can.
Just like any good Singaporean should, and does.
I wouldn’t mind living with enough space for my family;
never felt the need to afford the costs of condo or landed property.
And I do not tire myself over driving a car:
public transport has been more practical,
and I pray it keeps improving down the years.
Paragraph 4:
I’m among those who don’t worry about others’ qualifications,
at whatever top of whatever field they choose to be in.
After all, my kind is suitably qualified to do what we are best at.
And I do not do sour grapes. I like them cheap, sweet & seedless.
Our family loves Ribena too.
Conclusion:
Singapore & the world are large enough for so many points of view.
Get out of the well. Enjoy nature outside, and the stars above. :-)
December 2nd, 2006 at 9:23 am
eh… u ppl ah. lol. enjoy nature outside? wtf… sounds more like, “if you see the ‘real’ world you will bitch more about life with us’ ”
Siaoz: even if you do call it legalized corruption , Siaoz, at least it is leagalized OPEN corruption. after all, what is corruption? you forget that corruption is really corruption when a payment is made to do something that is NOT already enshrined by law. there is at least the rule of law even in this dumb scenerio you painted.
i know tis view is also cynical, but im trying to point facts here. would you rather have the wild wild west in indon?
warhammer: lol. US… you are right. id take a PAP over a US congressman anyday. after all, Plato did say that a benevolent dictatorship (or in our case, authoritarian govt) is way better than a democracy, which is a second most shitty govt. of cos, a shitty dictatorship which makes little attempt at being benevolent is worse.
to all: but really, this is Asia man, and we got one of the best stuff around, like it or not. stop whining!
December 2nd, 2006 at 11:05 am
In my opinion, the more talented we are, the more merit we should receive. It is just isn’t it? So what is wrong with high pay? I agree with Malcolm Neo, what is wrong with high pay as long we have a good government?
I agree with the statement, “You only have yourself to blame if you are not successful.” Unless you mean to say you depend on others to be successful.
Pardon me for being a little ill-informed, I think we can compare ourselves to be as well as the Western European countries and American countries or even better off. What makes people think that although these countries have lower salaries in the civil service than ours, they don’t have additional perks? I think they do.
Anyway, I thank Mr Brown for another fine podcast. I really liked it for its hilarity.
December 2nd, 2006 at 2:46 pm
I find it funny when people support the high ministers pay- with the argument that the rich get rich because they deserve to and made themselves successful. By that kind of reasoning, we shouldnt bother with raising GST to help the poor then, since they deserve to be poor too. Why penalize everyone when some people rightly deserve to be unsuccessful?
Is everyone who is highly paid- deserve to be? Surely you cant be THAT naive???
December 2nd, 2006 at 3:46 pm
Hello (Su) Mengde (comment #19),
I refer to your 2nd paragraph.
Ironical though it might seem to you,
we _do_ depend on others to be successful.
We depend on our customers for success:
they don’t buy much, we don’t earn high pay.
We depend on how others see our qualifications, for success:
when society changes, such that people no longer regard highly
what we have studied & amassed work experience for,
we can no longer earn high pay, until we re-train.
And we do depend on others in our government for success:
when they shape law,
such that your way of life is no longer deemed acceptable,
you don’t even talk about earning high pay;
you either have to change your ways, or exit the country.
Still, I find the “blame” game very confusing;
I agree with you that it does not make sense to blame others
for our own failures.
At the same time, stopping the “blaming” should not stop us from
examining our woes in the first place:
after all, people & circumstances here & everywhere can make it
easier or tougher to carry on with life.
Talking about & then tackling our problems should be encouraged,
and is not always plain whining, complaining, or bitching.
December 3rd, 2006 at 11:40 pm
haha “tok gong ” song love it
December 4th, 2006 at 7:26 am
Well done for many reasons! Nice spoof of the Three Wise Men hymn is one. And the other reasons… Hehe…
December 4th, 2006 at 12:41 pm
Other spoof ideas =)
White Christmas - Lols. Pun not intended.
All I want for Christmas is my 2.2 (two front teeth)
More, more!
December 5th, 2006 at 4:38 pm
it is a shame that these so called successful people has no compassion for their fellow citizens who are not as successful. I wonder what they will become when one day, tragedy befalls on them and they ended up being not as successful. will they go begging their MP for handouts? Will they “whine” here and there? or will they jump off the track?
no matter how successful you are, you still live in the same society where the less successful lives as well. successful or not, you come to the world with nothing, you live the world with nothing too.
December 6th, 2006 at 8:12 am
The “You only have yourself to blame if you are not successful” mentality among us is what make me worried about the future of this little red dot and also think of it as a side effect on the over emphasize of meritocracy in our society. It’s also a weak excuse used for personal greed.
Some of us had forgotten that we are human being, born with a soul and compassion. Instead some of us actually choose to live like animal in the wild believing that the fittest survive and the weakest don’t. If this is the kind of animal in human skin that our education is shaping our next generation into, then our education had failed miserably no matter how many A-scoring scholar our first world world class system had managed to produce.
December 6th, 2006 at 10:45 am
hEY YOU Guys know how to talk and complain but complain with your gaps only. If so not happy, do something lah, talk with GAP no use lah….. TALK GAP! TALK GAP! TALK GAP! USELESS CHAPS!!!
December 6th, 2006 at 11:47 am
lol DISAPPOINTED, then why you add to the talk haha
December 6th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
This podcast has no sponsor…
OF COURSE LA…who dare sponsor? hahaha…
December 20th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
How come only civil servants get their income increase?
All our young graduates went to sign on cos their starting pay are higher, no one wanna join private sector. All u need to sign on is a good cert and you will be guranteed a “rice bowl”. Have anyone notice tat those who married as young as 23-28 are mostly civil servants? those working in private sector cant, they have to work in their field for at least 5 yrs in order to get a reasonable pay.
Government always encourage young generation to start a family early but can we afford? If we can, who dont want to start a family early, retire early, have kids early.
Example, I work in a shipping line after completing my NS, that time i am 22yrs old. I had a diploma. My starting pay is $1600 (market rate). after 5 yrs, 27 yrs old now. My current pay is $1800. I am planning to start a family soon and i am worried abt the GST hike and the family load that I am going to carry.
My younger Bro, he signed on when he went in NS. That time he is 19 yrs old. He is also a diploma graduate and his starting pay is $1800 + “Guranteed” Perfomance Bonus and increment of $100 each month every yr. Now, 5 yrs later, he is 24 yrs old with a pay of $2300 + “Guranteed” Perfomance Bonus. He is getting married in 2 months time. He is under the “Government encouragement policy”
I am really puzzled by the decision to increase civil servant pay to match the market rate. but has anyone take a closer look at the private sector pay?
November 14th, 2007 at 7:34 am
[…] (Thanks to the Mr.BrownShow for the image). […]