Creating jobs

We are now in an economic recession. More workers will be retrenched. There will be a bigger pool or unemployed people and first time job seekers competing for a diminishing number of new jobs. 

We need an innovative way to create new jobs that never existed before. These are jobs that exist in the community, for example, to take care of the environment, to take care of elderly people and children, to improve education, to run errands and to work in small businesses in the nerighbourhood. They will not be full time work, but part time work that is  paid by the hour.

We need a new way to match the people who are willing to do the part time work with the employers who have work to be done. The employer should look for workers that live nearby, so as to reduce travelling time and cost to get to work. This matching has to be done in an efficient and inexpensive way. 

I have created a new portal that will allow the matching to be done. It will be launched soon. Meanwhile, interested workers are invited to register in this portal.

This portal is also targeted at students who wish to have part time work during the school vacations.

The part time worker has to register in the portal and provide a mobile number as the contact. A potential employer will send a SMS to contact the part time worker for a telephone interview.

I hope that the publicly funded organisations will take the initiative to create some of these part time work in the community.

Tan Kin Lian

Debt Advice Tips

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Survey: How will you vote in the General Election (2)?

Take part in this survey. 

Here are the survey results based on 219 replies.

Here are the comments given by some respondents. 

Key finding

If the alternative parties are able field credible candidates, 89.9% of the respondents will vote for the alternative parties. 

The main reasons are:

> alternative voices in Parliament 80.2%

> make PAP listen more to the people 72.0%

> more active debate in Parliament 64.3%

> dislike high salaries of ministers 62.3%

> a more just society 48.3%

Reasons give to vote PAP are:

> stablility in Singapore 66.9%

> PAP has been a good government 45.8%

> ensure Singapore's continued prosperity 38.1%

These scores are quite close to the previous scores based on 121 replies.

Survey: Suicide in universities

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Here are the survey results (48 replies)

Better than the free market

Many people think that the free market is wonderful. It allows people to work hard, accumulate wealth and improve their standard of living. This is only partly true.

The free market is also a place where the strong exploit the weak and smart, dishonest people  get away by cheating the naive. For example, look at the complicated financial instruments introduced by dishonest people to make hundred of million dollars, which led to many ordinary people being financially destroyed. This is the bad aspect of the free market.

As we rebuild the future, we have to find an alternative to the free market. I like to introduce the concept of the "fair market", which has the positive aspects of the free market, but it inclujdes the restraints to prevent cheating and exploitation. 

The fair market requires the elected leaders to discharge their responsibilility in looking after the interest of the ordinary people. The leaders cannot just sit by and leave matters to be decided by the "free market". These leaders with a clear vision of what is good for society. They have to embody the values of honesty, fairness, public service and courage.

We also need the people to understand that they have to be more self-less, rather than be selfish or self-centered. This is best explained in the following poem by Martin Niemoller.

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Tan Kin Lian