Feb 21

Thursday, Feb 21

Today I went with about 20 other LLL on a guided tour of “Singpore—a city in a garden”. While we were gathering, I was chatting with the others and got quite a shock. I learned that they are good friends of Bruce and Marilyn Konkler—long and big time friends of Megan and mine! They live in the same town as the Konklers in Wisconsin.

About the tour—we wenet to the largest display of tropical orchids in the WORLD. It was a very large, cozy garden, and great for taking pictures. We also went to Hort Park which has large landscapes and a cement walkway that would take you 4 or 5 hours to walk.The tour guide really didn't focus on the gardens so much as general information about the nature of today's government and society in Singapore. It's a country & city run by many rules, for instance, people can't chew gum—anywhere. This has been true for over 20 years, so that children don't know what gum is. Children are raised to work hard and be obidient, and that has created a society with people who work 14 – 16 hours a day to get ahead. However, because people, in general, a tired and don't cook at home. Instead, they have five days either catered or pick up food on the street, so they don't need much of a kitchen. Also, it is cheaper to eat out than cook at home!

Most people live in apartments that are purchased, however, some have inherited houses from their families. In this case, they are taxed 3% on the value of their home per year, so it's hard to be an owner of a home. In the case of those who make less than $20,000 a year, they rent an apartment for very low rent. It is illegal to be homeless in Singapore. The government knows how much is in everyone's bank account, and it is believed that families should take care of the unfortunate members. They send family members a bill to help take care of family members that have had hard luck.

In fact, the government knows so much about the financial affairs of citizens that people don't have to do their income taxes. They are simply sent a bill when it is time to pay taxes. Take that, you accountants!!

The government also sets up a retirement account for the citizens. However, now people have to work until they are 80 years old! Man, do I feel like a slacker!! The government wants people to have more children—currently, there are 1.2 children per family, but people don't want to have more. Why? Because they are too tired from working long hours!!

Gardens and landscapping is very important in Singapore. For over 20 years, land is being “reclaimed” from the sea. Dirt is brought in from Burma and Vietnam to build up the reclaimed spaces. Some years back, people farmed and ate what they raised, but then the government built high rises and housing. All the food in imported into Singapore—nothing to eat is grown here. Because people had forgotten where food comes from, a demonstration farm was created to teach people about food.

Most of Singapore's economy is built around shipping and tourism. There is an enormous amount of land reclaimation and building near the port. Cranes are everywhere and the ships have to dodge them.

Tonight an American couple who live in Singapore said that Singapore is an example of how good government can change society. It is a young country, 49 years old, and was a third world country in 1965. It's a mesh of Malay, Chinese, and English cultures, and the government takes safety seriously. In other words, society is more important than the individual.