Search the Community

The Straits Times, Published on Nov 06, 2012 No true democracy with [antiquated] US Electoral College system TODAY'S presidential election in the United States raises the question of whether the country is really a democracy with the Electoral College system. Does every vote count? The US uses the Electoral College, which consists of 538 state electors to elect its president. So it is not individual Americans who vote to pick the president, but the 538 electors of the Electoral College. In the 2000 US presidential election, Democrat Al Gore received the popular vote, but lost in the Electoral College vote count to Republican George W. Bush. Technically, Mr Gore won that election as more Americans voted for him than for Mr Bush. This has happened three other times in past US presidential elections. Will it happen again this time? Will the candidate with the popular vote not become the next US president? There cannot be true democracy with the Electoral College system. Cho Yan Fatt Copyright

The Straits Times; Published on Dec 07, 2012 FOREIGN LABOUR: Try COE-style bidding for productivity boost THE current system of a fixed percentage quota with an algorithm of escalating tax levies does not promote competition and the efficient use of scarce manpower ("Forum gathers public views on next year's Budget"; last Friday). Unproductive employers often hide under the protection of an assured quota of cheap foreign labour to survive, making the productivity drive fruitless. To improve productivity in a sustainable way, industries should adopt a bidding system for labour like the auction for certificates of entitlement (COEs) for cars. There should be separate categories for different industries. Work permits or high-income employment passes should be divided into the following categories: Construction/marine sectors; Manufacturing sector; Service sector; Open category for industries that have exceeded their quota limits; Maids for permanent and foreign residents; Maids for families of citizens with a combined income of more than $8,000 a month and/or are private property owners; and Maids for families with a combined monthly income of under $3,000 and/or who own up to a four-room Housing Board flat, with children under 10 years old. Disabled Singaporeans and elderly parents should be exempt from the bidding scheme and be allowed to hire a maid at a concession. The hiring of maids is a luxury, like the owning of cars. Families which wish to obtain such a luxury should be charged stiff fees to discourage usage. To cater to the eventuality of there being fewer maids, more neighbourhood eldercare and childcare centres should be opened in residential areas. Businesses, including charity organisations, must bid for the labour COE. The Government can allocate special subsidies in the form of credits for deserving companies which serve the public interest. It can also consider giving special credits to companies in which citizens make up 80 per cent of the workforce. Lai Yew Sin Copyright

All banks should perhaps operate a central webpage/ site with various options: No unsolicited advertisements via: Phone, SMS, Email [choose accordingly]. No circulation of personal details to any other external agency or bank subsidiary. e.g.: [pict source]

From ST Forum: The feedback: Step up parking enforcement Published on Feb 13, 2012 RECENTLY, the Ministry of National Development said it may try out different mechanised parking systems in housing estates by the end of the year to ease a mounting carpark crunch ('Auto-parking trials likely in older estates'; Jan 13). But if the authorities are aware of the parking crunch, why hasn't the HDB increased its enforcement efforts to deter errant parking, especially parking in season parking spaces by non-season parking ticket holders? On weekends the situation is even worse where I live, Block 211 in Serangoon Avenue 4, with horns blaring as vehicles jostle for the right of way. In the end, the residents who pay season parking have to park at the hourly parking spaces located farther away. An array of parking rules is pointless without effective enforcement. Boey Oi Lin (Ms) *********** The response: http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Online...ory_769130.html 200 summonses in one month at Serangoon carpark Published on Feb 22, 2012 THE carpark that Ms Boey Oi Lin referred to is carpark SE12, near Blocks 211 to 222 Serangoon Avenue 4 ('Step up parking enforcement'; Feb 13). HDB is aware of the parking situation there, and has stepped up enforcement actions at the carpark, with close to 200 parking summonses issued last month. Besides enforcement action, we have also implemented several measures to better meet the parking needs of season parking ticket (SPT) holders in SE12. For instance, SE12 is grouped together with carpark SE13 to allow residents to have more spaces to choose from. HDB has also extended the hours of the reserved spaces for SPT holders to include the whole day on Sundays and public holidays, and put up supplementary signs at this carpark to emphasise the reserved hours of these parking spaces. We urge motorists to observe the parking rules in HDB carparks and to be considerate towards other carpark users. Tan Ai Ling (Ms) Head, Bishan Branch Office Housing & Development Board