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I fully regret not appreciating GP (or school, for that matter) when I was in JC. Though hanging out with Bench, Shuyuan and Jiefu have often led me to listen in into engaging discourses about random affairs (as well as inane discussions about weapon systems and physical phenomena), I haven’t been able to contribute much to any of them.

Now that I’ve left JC, and woefully free of any academic bindings or curriculum, I’m finding GP a very intriguing and beneficial subject. And it is the difference between the GP that we learn in JC and the expository writing that we learn in Secondary School that is the essence of what GP is all about: having a personal voice.

Since I haven’t read much about history (in general), I’m hoping time will pass really fast so all the current affairs I read about now will, by definition, become “history”. Okay, just kidding.

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While reading up on the Greece debt crisis and consequently, the role of the IMF, I’ve stumbled upon the World Databank, a database filled with indicators, statistics and other data about 228 countries in the world. I’m planning to do more data-mining and research from the site, but an initial appraisal on Singapore did fetch up a few results, which is in-line with what the government has been saying: We need to increase productivity.

• Singapore’s GDP growth (annual %) for 2007, 2008 and 2009 have reflected the international state of economies (8.35%, 7.77%, 1.15%)
• Conversely, GDP growth per capita (annual %) for 2007, 2008 and 2009 have not reflected the above (5.01%, 3.37%, -4.10%)
• Singapore’s Gini coefficient is fairly average at 0.425. (0 indicating complete equality in wealth distribution, 1 indicating complete inequality)

A no-brainer takeaway from this simple observation is the fact that Singapore has been experiencing phenomenal growth, yes, but it comes at the “price” of exploiting a cheap import of Singapore’s main usable resource: human capital. We can measure the cost and benefit of “importing human labour”. Simply put, accepting foreign expatriates (oh my gosh I spelt it right the first time okay I fail) comes with it a certain marginal cost. They will take up accommodation, congest public roads while communing and consume public goods in general. In a Keynesian model of an economy where said public goods have not reached bottle-necking quantities, it is safe to say that such a marginal cost is virtually zero. Of course, it is absolutely essential that the government considers the security and cultural impacts such expatriates will make, but in an economic context I will not take them into consideration.

The benefits are fairly obvious. They come here to work, earn a salary and pay taxes, which fills our nation’s coffers. They bring with them that forms of capital that can help expand and specialise the economy. Especially in a small and resource-starved country such as Singapore. Importing human capital have been a viable, effective and necessary strategy that Singapore have taken.

But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that we’re way past the Keynesian point of expansion in the economy. There are dangers of property bubbles forming due to the entrance of speculators from our foreign neighbours and the expatriates that work here. Transportation is quickly reaching a bottle-neck as well. The recent slew of front-page reports on the Straits Times reporting on the government’s measures in preferential treatment to citizens suggests that there is a worrying trend of xenophobia that may be emerging from the changing demographics in Singapore. Simply put, we cannot sustain growth with just an increase in the population of the workforce.

Where can we go next? Well, with the workforce at such a size and of such importance to the economy of Singapore, we could improve the productivity of each worker. Essentially, this is a supply-side policy, and it is the best long-term strategy that Singapore can hope to adopt. However, it is not easy to apply, and it would be even more difficult to apply it uniformly across Singapore’s workforce (which would be essential to avoid bottle-necking and inflation [though you could say that Singapore mainly imports her inflation]). –

I’m information-and-inspiration-starved right now, and Wordpress’s egregiously small textbox for writing a post is preventing me from analyzing the entire essay in a comprehensive manner. Okay I’m just lazy to write it in Word first.

I’m going to indulge in TVTropes now. TCS!

(19) String theory doesn’t have enough dimensions to describe the ways you blow my mind.

(20) Our love is like pi, and it definitely isn’t i.

(21) We mapped Cloud Nine in a week.

(22) Other people intersect once, have it parallel or become asymptotic; we travel on the same line with a positive gradient.

(23) The whole spectrum wouldn’t cover all the emotions we ever had.

(24) You’re divine; you’re sublime; you always blow my mind.

(25) everytimeanywhereYOUniennonnotNOWyesyesyesOVERLOAD–; end;

(26) I love the way you always kiss my life away.

(27) Cosmic love lost.

(28) I love the sunk cost spent between you and me.

(29) I fealty to thy insanity.

(30) KEEP CALM AND STUDY HARD.

Okay can has to return laptop. BAI.

(14) I hate you. (:

(15) Only your silence would be so deafening.

(16) All it takes is you, but you’re all it takes.

(17) I love the way we play with semantic Mobius strips; no matter how much we argue, we’re always on the same side.

(18) Don’t leave your memories behind; they pine for your wistful smile.

TIME finally came. It broke my wallet. ):

(10) I relish our interminably aeonian exchanges that are perpetually infused with esoteric embroilment. J’adore.

(11) lalala makes the heart grow lalala.

(12) Absence lalala fonder.

THANKS BRO~~ PHOTOS ARE <3 Does Fudge miss my AF-S 50mm/f1.4? :D

Didn’t know roses were so damn expensive. $107 for 26?? Ouch. Potatoes plz.

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HUANGCHENG 2010 IS COMING~~ Okay I think I’ll go take a day’s leave for Friday or something. And BOB will have lots of fun in VT I’m sure.

For those who don’t know yet BOB is my new NIKON D90 (HOTHOTHOT) and Zack’s this really cool pair of IN-EARPHONES I got from JABEN. It’s quite full on bass but heck I’ll live with it.

J’s introduced me to all sorts of random songs. Currently addicted to Love Lost by The Temper Trap and Dogs Days are Over by Florence And The Machine. And here’s a picture of the badass ECHO:

TATA Out. (:

(2) I love our physics references.

(3) I love the way you deny me an inertial reference frame every moment we are together.

(4) I love the way we can play Schrodinger’s and yet still unequivocally trust each other.

(5) I love the fact that our dimensionless love can’t be expressed in SI units.

(6) I love how we communicate through music, arguments, late night phone calls and kisses.

(7) General relativity fails to explain why time flies when we are together.

(8) I love that gravity was not held responsible for us falling in love.

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HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON in 3D reminded me what I hate #D movies :b And the Clash of the Titans poster was epic: ALSO SHOWING IN 2D. What the hell is happening to movies!?

Realised I haven’t blogged in ages, but nothing’s really happened much. Think things are settling down for the long run, ORD doesn’t seem so far away anymore HEHEH.

OH OH and I watched 500 Days of Summer. The randomness of Summer totally reminded me of My Sassy Girl.

And I realised indie = independent. /facepalm.

AND I’M HALF JEDI. I CAN HAS USE THE FORCE. /forcepoke.

And I now has a D90! MEET BOB. Along with Zack, he makes music so much more enjoyable. Apple earphones are teh fail, srsly.

Shall build a photoblog someday. SOMEDAY. I love my 50mm/f1.4 it’s so awesum. I hope I didn’t scratch it cleaning it today. He’s taken 7.2gb worth of photos so far :O

KK random updates end. BRB IN A FEW DAYS. BUARK OUT.

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