Toll of Long Work Hours & Low Productivity in Singapore

The charts below might be kinda outdated since they are in 2010 & 2011. I was wondering if there are statistics for 2014 but unfortunately i couldn't find any. Hence I uploaded the charts first without any commentary for this last blogpost in 2014.

The latest grim statistic in 2013 still paint a pathetic picture: S'poreans work the longest hours of 2402 hours annually in the world hence little has changed. Even the workaholic japanese with their term 'karoshi' which means death from overwork work around 27% less hours than Sillyporeans.

Except for Korea,  other countries with high standards of living are working at least 20% less hours than us. 

“You can't produce a baby in 1 month by getting 9 women pregnant.” ― Warren Buffett

Personally I find that the hybrid regime's mindset is stuck in industrial age. During the agrarian age of our great grandparents, working more hours in the field isn't going to produce more crops. Certainly there are times of the year when more hours are needed in order to reap in the harvest but working overtime in winter isn't going to sprout you new harvests.

To the hybrid regime whose mindset is stuck in industrial age, it's all about getting the workers to slave long long hours to produce more. Singapore Tourism Board Still Stuck in Industrial Age Advertising is a recent example that i've elaborated upon.

Curse of the Maid

Many well-to-do households & even middle classes employ maids to do housework. We don't see this type of phenomena in other first world countries because the labor costs of hiring domestic help is expensive. Thus workers in other 1st world countries have to be more productive during their shorter working hours so as to go home to do housework etc as well as have a life outside of work.

The hybrid regime has figured that:

1. Sillypore being located in a region of cheap labor from much less developed nations.
2. So Sillyporeans can employ maids so they can slave long long hours at work to up gdp at all costs.
3. Sillyporeans slaving long long hours = unhappy
4. In order to be happy, many resort to retail therapy (gdp up up up) but alas Overconsumption & Materialism Fueling Even More Stress for Singaporeans

“We've had enough of work more, enjoy less, pollute more, eat toxics, get cancer & increase gdp. How about we work less, enjoy more, have more friends & time for them, consume less, pollute less, destroy less, owe less, live better, longer & more meaningfully.”- John De Graaf

Other collateral damage (blogposts):

- 98% of S'pore Workers Are 'Bochup' aka Disengaged in 2010

- Zombie' Workers - Plenty of Them In S'pore

- S'pore 2nd Lowest Globally for Job Satisfaction

- Sinkies Least Positive in World After Most Emotionless

- Singaporeans Among Top 10 Pessimists, Overbuying To Misery

GDP/Hr Worked Is Far More Accurate Measure Than GDP Alone

The hybrid regime likes to boast about gdp growth in their govt propaganda mouthpiece. However if we look at the output/hour it is among the lowest among developed economies despite slaving long long hours.

A contributory factor for the low productivity is wasting time doing unnecessary stuff - Following Orders Blindly – A Reason Why Productivity Is Fucked in SG

Germans work around 40% less hours than Sillyporeans yet their country is Europe's economic powerhouse.

Most the of the western expats in Sillypore would not stay long term here due to the toxic working hours. Most use SG as a springboard to visit nearby tourist spots like Angkor Wat, Mt Kinabalu, Bali, Bangkok etc during their work stint here.

As for the immigrants working here, they can toil long hours for a couple of years before moving to other 1st world countries or back to their home countries to enjoy a more humane way of life.

Industrial age mindset has ended for other countries but not for SG. Their working hours have declined considerably.

Don't you loathe it when you have friends/family members around you who often can't keep you company because they have to work long hours else they would be fired?

Singaporeans have to compare with other 1st world nations & ask themselves whether they are having a better quality of life by slaving long hours under the hybrid regime being paid $M salaries.

Following Orders Blindly – A Reason Why Productivity Is Fucked in SG

The hybrid regime's education system is designed to churn out meek workers who shut up & following instructions blindly. It works great during the early years of independence. I have blogged about it in Singaporeans' No U-Turn Syndrome & Being Screwed by It.

Recently the issue of productivity surfaced again in the local papers. Socio-political sites have reported the issue of declining productivity with the huge influx of cheaper foreign workers. Many of these foreign workers will follow instructions blindly even more obediently as they are earning the mighty S$.

Sim Wong Hoo has written 5 examples of No U-Turn Syndrome in his book 'Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millennium' which i've recommended that you borrow his book to read. His experiences can vomit blood at the sheer meekness & stupidity of Sillyporeans following orders blindly.

I will share my example here. Can vomit blood with those nincompoops around. After reading my example you'll understand why our country is fucked with those 'Yes-men' ministers infesting the government.

I can be incisive when dealing with those nincompoops who can't see the big picture. Is a reason why those higher ups find me hard to manage. I am direct & to the point(don't waste time).

Those who can get through my bitter medicine advice will find me an asset.

In 2009, I lambasted on why be so stupid to comply with the Community Centre's bureaucracy in registering in order to play boardgames. 

Being on the 5th page of the discussion thread & 3 days into it, it shows nobody dare to question the stupid rule. Even those who do kept quiet about it. Is it any wonder why our productivity is still fucked in 2014 as that writer Benedict Ng wrote?

SOG = SG Open Gaming. No registration needed. Can walk in to play.

There are those who can't stand me admonishing frankly. They prefer sweet talk. The original heated exchange is at http://www.meetup.com/Boardgames-Singapore/boards/thread/7381908/40/

Their stomach is churning(can't stand bitter medicine) as i am challenging the status quo way of doing things.

I didn't bother to reply to their comments. It is already heated & i realized it is hard to make them see the big picture. Sim Wong Hoo wrote 5 examples in his book to hammer the point for a reason instead of 1 example.

The organiser TY can see sense in my advice with regards to the photos. With regards to my kiddy girl remark about her, she has since changed her photo when this screenshot is taken.

But alas she still carry on following the CC's bureaucratic ways(registration) till last year 2013. People already indicated Yes attending in meetup but she still want people to register as per CC's rule.

She only woke up after 47 monthly sessions.

Is so pathetic that Sillyporeans don't question nor have the guts to voice out when details like NRIC etc are needed just to go there to play boardgames. Bunch of sheep......

A nation of sheep begets a government of wolves.

No wonder the hybrid regime loves to fuck Sillyporeans through relentless price hikes.

If you are a boss, do you want these kind of dumb sheep with these type of productivity mindset?

People are advancing doing other things while Sillyporeans are stuck in registration process.

• Can you imagine how much time is wasted by those people for the registration process?
• What productivity is that?

That's almost 4 years status-quo of "Just Follow Instructions". The following are screenshots from her Games Sunday 47! (Play and Protest Special!).

How did she wake up?

It takes a 'disaster' to strike to wake her up as the community centre is asking her to move to a smaller room.

After being meek for close to 4 years, she protested 

4 fucking years passed & she used photo evidence of the crowded room which i proposed back in 2009 to prove she deserve the bigger room more.

Why the Enlightened Will Try to Avoid the Dumb

I have never attended her boardgaming sessions. I have a heated exchange with her & the rest of those who read my incisive remarks ain't going to be friendly to me since they can recognize me from my picture.

Another reason is why mix with those people who can't see the bigger picture? Those attending her sessions are very likely to be those who just follow the CC's instructions blindly in registering to play boardgames.

Likewise, the infestation of Yes-men in the govt repels other enlightened men from associating with them. When the hybrid regime is voted out or severe losses, other enlightened men will come forward to serve. I am just a small fry & there are others more enlightened than me who are 'hiding' & have no wish to associate with the men-in-white.

Singapore Tourism Board Still Stuck in Industrial Age Advertising

"We have more degrees, but less sense." - from Paradox of Our Time

Sillypore govt likes to emphasize paper qualifications. Look at the utter stupidity of those degree holders who are flushing taxpayers $$$ down the toilet.

They are stuck in WWII carpet bombing mindset by buying ads in traditional media like newspapers & magazines to bombard the readers in an attempt to convert them to tourists visiting Sillypore. I'll write about the much more effective method of doing it later on.

The commentator has pointed out about the folly of building artificial gardens & shopping malls to impress tourists. I've expressed the same sentiments of local uniqueness in blogposts:

- American Vice President Visit Hawker Centre - Tourist Attraction
Who gives a shit about Starbucks when there are thousands around the world?

- 'Potemkin Village' in S'pore
Fake setup makes a mockery but at least it shows the heartland attraction to the british royal couple.

In Era of Globalization, It's Even More Important on Local Uniqueness For Tourism
The governor of Penang, Lim Guan Eng said his move to ban foreigners as cooks was an effort to ensure the unique local taste & flavour of Penang's hawker fare is retained so as to attract tourists. This is common sense which he has which our grossly overpaid scholar ministers don't have.

Do tourists give a shit about globalized spam like Starbucks & shopping malls filled with those spam shops like McDonalds, Uniqlo etc?

By emphasizing hawkers in Penang, its governor continues to ensure affordable food for the locals(continued votes) while generating tourism revenues. It is a high return on minimal investment. A win-win. There is no need to spam shopping malls requiring hundreds of million dollars to build like in Sillypore.

These young 'opium' addicts are not reading newspapers & magazines.

Is even worse for adults on trains, buses & eateries.

So, why the hell still waste taxpayers $$$ by advertising in a british newspaper?

From Carpet Bombing to Precision Bombing
During the Gulf War & the War Against Terrorism in Afghanistan, warplanes do precision bombing using guided munitions. Times have change from the carpet bombing method of WWII.

Amazon increases its sales by inviting trusted reviewers to write reviews on new products to help customers make informed decisions. It is known as the AMZN Vine Program. AMZN send the new products to these trusted reviewers so $$$ is spent on people who are really using the product. This is a method of precision bombing. Does AMZN need to waste $$$ to buy advertisements to promote those products?

Lest you worry that those reviewers write glossy reviews of those products should the product be mediocre, we don't have to worry as the free market mechanism of reputation is in play. Different people have different experiences but too many phony reviews & that reviewer's reputation is hurt.

Precision Bombing Has a Better Bang for the Buck
Instead of flushing $$$ down the toilet by buying ads in those traditional media, the tourism board has a better bang for the buck perhaps by offering irresistible discounts or freebies to foreigners to try out Sillypore.

Target those trusted reviewers on travel websites & offer them like free Sillypore Airline economy tickets to Sillypore & a 6 day stay at a hotel. This way the taxpayers $$$ circulates in SG instead of going to the guardian newspaper.

Then those reviewers are to write reviews of their trip to SG. Most likely they have social media amplifying their trip to their hundreds of friends. Those friends are more likely to trust those reviewers than a faceless ad on a newspaper(bang for the buck).

Even if those friends don't come to SG, memories might linger on after seeing the pictures of their friends on social media(bang for the buck). Who can remember an ad from the guardian newspaper years ago? Who knows when a couple of years later those friends decide to stopover SG for a visit?

An Example from My Blog to Discourage Participating in Local Cycling Events
In middle of this year, i urged readers not to bother spending $$$ on Sillypore's commercial cycling events - Malaysia's Johor State Helping to Bring Down SG's Hybrid Regime

What's being said on social media/blog

Vs

Cycling Event 2015 ad on local newspaper

Which is the reader going to trust more?


Not only are the ads on guardian newspaper considered wasteful spending. The salaries for those degree holders at the tourism board are also wasteful. The hybrid regime needs to be severely punished at the polls to get rid of the emphasis on paper qualifications. Their mindset is stuck in the industrial age which is detrimental to SG's future.

The industrial age method of carpet bombing ads on newspapers & tv still has its uses but the effectiveness now has greatly diminished in terms of bang for the buck.

Resurgence of Reputation Economy – Thanks to Social Media

In my previous blogpost on Larkin Pasar Malam(night market),  there are comments about the hygiene of those street hawkers. I have pointed out the dangers of low pay in KSL pasar malam blogpost.

Since people brought up the hygiene issue, i will blog further on why the risk nowadays are much reduced as the customers' voice are louder due to the social media tool.

After the cockroaches infestation in high class food court in Marina Bay Sands, a fatal death had resulted from a food court stall. It shows that these nice looking higher class eating places are not any better compared to street hawkers.

How can the stallholders in these high rent food courts be happy when they are slogging their asses off to pay the rentals before earning a dime?

Those street hawkers are running their own mom & pop businesses. Their mentality is different from those who just want a job & don't give a shit about anything. Those mom & pop have more at stake & more pride at what they do hence i consider them safer than corpse workers.

The hybrid regime is hugely responsible for creating all these corpserations & to think one of their men in white is shameless enough to sing the praises of mom & pop businesses in the peasant heartlands.

Older towns such as Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Redhill, Tiong Bahru & Clementi are designed with neighborhood shops.

The 2 chinese medical shops in my town at Ave 2 are fine examples of mom & pop businesses. They were there since I was a kid. To survive to this day, they need to be trusted by the nearby peasants.

Is like butcher Ah Seng in the village market of our great grandparents time. Our great grandparents weren't so mobile(no cars, no motorbikes) so people tend to do business in their locales.

What happens if butcher Ah Seng cheated a customer a few times? That cheated customer would spread the word & soon the villagers would avoid Ah Seng like the plague. How can Ah Seng stay on to do business in the village?

As a result, close knit relationships are developed when one's livelihood depends on the 'village'. Pretty much every villager knows each other. Not to mention Ah Seng's family also live in same village.

Mom & pop medical hall shops. Kampung feeling unlike those corpse shops in malls.

Netizens reponse to that shameless minister:

All these peasant heartlands & their shops are tourists attractions. Spam so many shopping malls for fuck?

- American Vice President Visit Hawker Centre - Tourist Attraction

Who gives a shit about Starbucks when there are thousands in America?

- 'Potemkin Village' in S'pore

Fake setup makes a mockery but at least it shows the heartland attraction to the british royal couple.

Build more shops & do away with some shopping malls?  Someone is also like me – sick of those spam shops staffed with corpse workers wearing pretty much same uniform, speaking scripted salestalk in shopping malls.

The spamming would be curtailed upon voting the white men out. Their mentality has mutated beyond recognition as i've written about in How did the Vietnam War Affect the Psyche of Singapore's Hybrid Regime?

That's the hidden cost the hybrid regime has in building those new towns. Housing prices are cheaper there but peasants are forced to pay higher prices in shopping malls or hawker centres tendered to a big corpseration like Sengkang Kopitiam Sq's Absurb Prices(blogpost) for their necessities.

Back to butcher Ah Seng, back in our great grandparents era, good & bad news don't spread far & fast. Now with Web 2.0 which is social media, businesses are forced to listen to their customers else their reputation would be tarnished.

Butcher Ah Seng would also cut the selected meat in front of you unlike the prepackaged forms in supermarkets. As such, there is transparency in how he handle the meat in front of you like the street hawkers in Msia. If you don't like his way of handling it, you can walk away.

However for supermarkets, due to its prepackaged form, one doesn't know how the meat is handled by low paid workers behind the scenes in closed factories. That's something we have to live with. Machines can do the processing but when it comes to transparency it is lacking. Same thing goes for those food courts with mostly unseen kitchens behind the stallfronts.

Hawker centre stalls or street hawkers are more open since we can see how they prepare & cook.

The sinkie businessman who can take the top honors for his foul reputation in 2014 is the mobile phone shopkeeper in Sim Lim Square. He makes his living conning tourists as locals know the first two levels of Sim Lim are to be avoided.

Do you think he can survive if the bulk of his earnings are from village locals like during our great grandparents era?

It seems his mindset is in the industrial age when our great grandparents moved out of farms/villages to go work in factories in the cities. Back then there is radio & perhaps the start of TV as broadcast medium in which the voice of the men in the street are seldom heard or if it is heard - censored. What can our great grandparents do in those days after buying a defective product or get cheated?

Big companies with the introduction of mass production can thus sell plenty of products to lots of people. Losing customers due to defective products/complaints is a minor issue with the introduction of aeroplanes & container ships giving access to even more customers in foreign lands.

He would become 'mincemeat' in our great grandparents era from the way he do business.

During the Web 2.0 era, authorities are forced to act after netizens expose the bad news else they would still be sleeping. 

Caveat About Reputation

Economist Steven Levitt mentioned a pitfall about reputation though. He use the example of the penalty kick in football. I am not a football fan but his example is easy to understand.

His example is that most penalty kicks are to the right or left of the goalpost as the kicker sought to preserve his own reputation. Hence most goalkeepers leap to the left or right.

If the kicker kick to the center where the keeper stands & the ball is stopped by the keeper, his reputation is damaged. “Why the hell you kick the ball to center where goalkeeper is?”

By kicking to the left/right, the kicker is seen as having made an effort(reputation) instead of sending the ball to where the keeper is standing. It is this preserving one's reputation mindset that made the seldom used kicking to the centre the highest probability of scoring.

Such a scenario is preserving one's own reputation while neglecting the common good which in this example is scoring a goal for the team to win the match.

Be mindful of the selfish act to preserve reputation that neglect the common good which may occur.

Larkin Pasar Malam - Kids Tag Along While Parents Do Business

In october, I blogged KSL Pasar Malam -Why Tourists Shun Singapore's Spam Biz which is a local chinese night market held every monday.. The night market at Larkin is on every sunday & is overwhelmingly malay as i only saw 1 local chinese hawker(footwear).

The night markets mainly reflect the residents around the vicinity. Coming out of Larkin bus terminal towards Larkin Plaza, one can see high rise flats catering to the low income. Although you will be walking like a circle shortly afterwards, continue down the road & have faith you will reach the stadium carpark.

The night market hawkers begin setting up at around 4:30pm. Best time to arrive while there's still light is around 5:30pm.

Since one is over at Malaysia, one might as well turn off the mobile phone & enjoy some 'disconnect time'.

Click for larger map of Larkin Pasar Malam at stadium carpark.

Walking distance around 800m from Larkin bus terminal.

4 light bulb sockets but only 1 socket with bulb.

Look at his plastic glove on right hand.

One of the few local indian hawkers there. I presume the other guy is his son selling popiah(spring rolls). Livable earnings for a family selling popiah. In Sillypore, unless the popiah is sold overpriced, the rental would kill the hawker.

Malay guy operate his roast chicken rice business alone. He even installed an oven inside his vehicle. These hawkers have sunk much investment into buying & modifying their vehicles. When a location is no good, can easily relocate instead of being stuck. They have more pride too compared to those zombie low-wage foreign workers in Sillypore's overpriced foodcourt corpserations.

Foodcourt corpserations where got pride?

Pride is an emotional freebie that is getting scarce in Sillypore.

Is good to bring along the kids & expose the kids to their Papa & Mama's business. Nevermind that the kids do their homework at the back of vehicles.

It is the sight of kids like these that make pasar malams human compared to the stalls at shopping malls. It is what makes it unique for tourists. Sillypore's hybrid regime don't understand this with the building of another shopping mall at the airport.

Shopping mall operated by govt-linked corpseration, staffed with low-wage 'corpse' workers in high rental shops with no pride.

All must wear 'corpse' uniform! Some of those 'corpse' uniform like McDonalds & Starbucks are already seen until sick by the tourists in their own countries.

Wall of tin boxes of biscuit rolls.

RM45 for anti-mosquito baby cot.

RM25 for the cushion without the netting.

The anti-mosquito baby cot is something i've never seen before. I suppose these are sold to families living in the kampongs(rural village). The opening is via a zipper at the base as you can see the blue color cot above.

Wear their home clothes & layered with apron Is like Jedis who are unique compared to the clones of stormtroopers in StarWars. Tourists would much rather experience these hawkers than those spam shit food like McDonalds, Starbucks.

I get turned off by the zombie clones in foodcourts wearing the same 'stormtrooper uniform' mandated by the corpserations.

Other than satay, the food sold at Larkin pasar malam is not to my tastebuds as it is overwhelmingly malay. I bought fried noodles & french fries for dinner.

With camera strap hanging from my wrist, it is obvious i am a tourist, the malay hawker told me the final price in chinese. Make business sense for them to know some basic prices in order to earn from Sinkies.

[Left] Fixing up light bulbs to their tentage to sell clothes.

There are 3 rows of hawkers at the carpark - left, center, right. The right row which is furthest away from the stadium mostly sell clothes.

The outer 3 rows at the carpark are for vehicles & it spill over to the sideroads during busy times like 6:30pm.

Larkin pasar malam is not exactly worth visiting. Foodwise if you like malay street hawker food, there is more variety at Jln Meldrum near City Sq.

What's unique here is the malay atmosphere - mostly malay hawkers & malay crowd.

Look at msian guy pushing his luggage across the causeway!

Dumb sinkie sheep would rather queue for bus.

Smooth flowing for vehicles on both sides but the return bus crowd is horrendous - lack of buses!

At least 6 Years Never Walk on Causeway
I made a horrible mistake going to the pasar malam during the year end school holidays. Is smooth flowing going in after lunch though, it is the return trip at 7:15pm that is horrendous with the tour buses coming back.

Somehow, it appears public bus drivers for both SG & MY are in short supply as they are clearing their annual leave to be with family. Weekend peasants visiting JB central + tourists at the passport counters spill outside the immigration counters entrance. Luckily i brought a book along to read while on the train so i read while waiting in queue to get passport stamped.

After stamping the passport at the Msian customs, the queue for public buses stretched right up the stairs to the immigration clearance level. Not enough buses to clear the crowd which keeps building up.

As such i decided to walk across the causeway with some others. Most of those who walk are Msians whom i can hear from their accent as i walk passed them. As walking across would entail walking against the flow of traffic, being a dumb sheep indoctrinated with NUTS, few sinkies would dare to walk against the traffic flow.

Hence plenty of sinkies wait & wait & wait for the buses because there is no sign telling them they can walk against the flow of traffic on the causeway for a short distance - Singaporeans' No U-Turn Syndrome & Being Screwed by It.

Msian's mentality is:

• No Sign Forbidding Them =  Can Walk on Causeway
• No Sign Forbidding Sell Hawker Food from Vehicles =  Can Sell from Vehicles

After clearing SG customs, i have to wait 35mins in the queue for the bus to Kranji train station. Year end weekend trips are a nightmare.

Overconsumption & Materialism Fueling Stress for Singaporeans

"Too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence & consumption." - US President Jimmy Carter

Last week it was reported that Sillyporeans are like Sun Wukong(monkey king) being buried under a mountain - a mountain of stuff. Although the survey was done by a self-storage company, i consider the results accurate.

Why the results accurate? One can already see the expected consequence with shopping malls sprouting up like weeds all over the tiny island. 3 years ago i already sounded the alarm in blogpost: Warehouse Storage Solutions -Increasingly Cluttered Homes.

"Do we have stuff or does it have us? In a world filled with clutter, we too easily become overwhelmed, lose our way & get swept along in a current that carries us to the mall for more stuff."

"Possession overload is the kind of problem where you have so many things you find your life is being taken up by maintaining & caring for things instead of people. Everything i own owns me. People feel sad & what do they do? They go to the mall & they shop & it makes them feel better, but only for a short time." - Swenson.

Which is why i find it fantastic that Yahoo! News used an infested shopping mall picture last year to report Singaporeans Among Top 10 Pessimists, Overbuying To Misery.

Being a frugal person i feel like a misfit living in overly materialistic & consumption mania SG. I tend to repair stuff to save $$$ - Repairing Backrest of Chair & Punctured Bicycle Tubes. Many others would simply head out to buy a new one since Made in China cheap products are flooding the market.

"What the bored person really craves is a meaningful, authentic life. The ads suggest that such a life comes in products or packaged commercial experiences. However is more likely to be found in such things as service to others, relationships with friends & family, connection with nature & work of intrinsic moral value."

More material possessions doesn't make a person much happier after basic level of stuff is met. Going from none to 1 bicycle makes one happy a great deal. However happiness decrease with the buying of 2nd, 3rd, 4th bicycle.

More Reasons Why Sillyporeans Succumb to Materialism

"Swelling expectations lead to a constant effort to keep up with the latest products, to compete in the consumption arena. That, in turn, forces us to work more, so we can afford the stuff. With so many things to use & the need to work harder to obtain them, our lives grow more harried & pressured. As 1 pundit put it, "if you win the ratrace, you're still a rat & you may be a dead one."

"We've mutated from citizens to consumers in the last 60 years. Trouble with being consumers is that consumers have no duties or responsibilities or obligations to their fellow consumers. Citizens do. They have the obligation to care about their fellow citizens & about the integrity of the town's environment & history." - James Kuntsler

"Greed & materialism. These kids don't feel like their lives would be worth anything unless they have the hottest product that's being sold in the marketplace."

"At least 3 in 10 flee to the mall when things get out of control at home or work. Others come without a particular purchase in mind, just wanting to be around people, to feel less lonely."

"The more we buy, the faster natural species disappear. & the damage accelerate every minute."

In October, WWF reported that it would be GAME OVER:

"If every person in the world lived like Singaporeans, 4.1 planets would be needed to sustain our needs."

The resources on the planet are simply not there for the future & increasing middle classes of China & India to live like Sillyporeans or Americans. The planet is close to tipping point with regards to climate change.

I reckon the hybrid regime knows the limits to growth which is a reason why they are cashing out by selling as much stuff as they can - Creepy Construction Mania - Choa Chu Kang 

To understand why current economic growth model is unsustainable please watch the video in my blogpost: Super Hurricane Sandy & End of Current Economic Growth Model

"To live, we buy. Everything (except, of course, 'free air' at the gas stations). But this way of life is not sustainable. You can withdraw only so much money from a trust fund (or fossil fuel & fossil water from underground). You get only so many miles out of a vehicle-even a high-end racecar. American racecar lifestyle is fast approaching burnout because it requires long, stressful workweeks that eat up chunks of life, natural resources & health. It programs us to substitute consumption for both citizenship & companionship. & it tries to meet non-material needs with material goods, a losing strategy."

Why I'm Fed Up with the Hybrid Regime's GDP as Prime Indicator of Progress

“We've had enough of work more, enjoy less, pollute more, eat toxics, get cancer & increase gdp. How about we work less, enjoy more, have more friends & time for them, consume less, pollute less, destroy less, owe less, live better, longer & more meaningfully.”- John De Graaf