Economics and the Cycling watchdogs
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Let me squeeze in a post today before i prepare for badminton. (YAY!) In the newspapers today, a follow-up article on the much-hyped 40km park connector in the east had this to say. Apparently some tampines citizens have taken it upon themselves to from a group called The Tampines Cycling Wardens, who will "cycle round routes to dispense cycling and safety tips to fellow bikers." They appear to wear all the safety gear, complete with cute little helmets and those aunty bikes with a basket in front, that proudly spells "Tampines Cycling Warden". I must say. They look almost entirely like retarded people with far too much time on their hands. Halfway through typing this, i realized i did not have sufficient information on the subject to make studied comments. So i went back to actually read it and here are some excerpts.
"...volunteers have been coming forward to help forge co-existence between cyclists and pedestrians"
"Since the trial's launch...these volunteers have been dishing out safety tips to riders, such as giving way to those on foot, and pushing their bikes across pedestrian crossings"
I must say that although these two sentences are flushed with humour and contain little seriousness, that i think those who do not have the courtesy to do so (in giving way) will not do so even with such wardens around. Many will think it is making a mountain out of a molehill and deign to listen any further, pleasing the warden by only doing whatever he or she wishes while around. Who can take them seriously anyway?
In another article that my father asked me to read a few days back, from the Business Times, i read up on some economics and here is what i want to share. He probably asked me to read it since he wants me badly to study economics in Junior College, hoping i will follow his footsteps and get a job in the financial sector.
"Singapore's GDP has expanded largely on infusions of foreign labour. Secular long-term growth can only be sustained if Singapore's productivity increases. Our productivity performance has been mediocre . MAS's (Monetary Autority of Singapore) catchphrase in its half-year review is that it will allow a modest appreciation of the Singapore dollar over time. Such a policy stance is realistic if only there is a steady increase in productivity growth. The central economic challenge for Singapore is therefore raising productivity. At its core, productivity is a mix of efficiency and effectiveness. The key ministry in the present phase of our economic growth is The Ministry of Eudcation, not the EDB or Ministry of Finance."
While readable, i would admit it takes time to fully absorb. Singapore has in reality attributed much of its growth to foreign labour. We need to keep up the growth pace, that is at best, average. The MAS targets for a non-demanding slow but steady growth. We therefore need to increase productivity, and this is implemented in the form of a strong foundation of Singaporeans throught the educational system, and not other methods. (Yay. English summary all over again. I hated that task in the exam. Totally repetition and i usually didn't score well.) The article is still interesting and does highlight the cost effective decisons that the government would make. For example,
"Dr Goh Keng Swee (First Finance Minister) established Singapore's Bird Park in Jurong before the Zoo at Mandai because, as he points out, bird seed costs considerably less than meat for the tigers and lions at the zoo."
Finally, (if you have become incredibly bored) here is the highlight of the article. Highly interesting, i might add.
(Albert Winsemius is, from Social Studies knowledge, a finance advisor sent from the UN to help Singapore's economy in its infancy.)
"One figure that he (Albert Winsemius) watched like a hawk was our unemployment rate. In the early days, we did not have the resources to do labour force surveys on a regular basis. Instead, he asked us to subscribe to The Straits Times, to be delivered to him by airmail in the Hague where he lived."
"When i asked him what he found so interesting in the newspaper, which was, after all, a parochial (very limited or narrow in scope or outlook-i just looked it up) Singapore newspaper, he said that he did not read the newpaper for world news. As our economic advisor, he was more interested in the density of the job vacancies columns. He got his young grandson to plot the changes. He told me that the chart his grandson produced told him far more about the state of Singapore's economy than economic statistics i(the author, Ngiam Tong Dow, a former civil servant) dutifully sent him each month."
If this post has been incredible boring then please forgive me.
posted by joseph at 7:12 PM