Page 4 - Tiny Singapore News Today

>> tanya: maids, as in helpers. >> sudhir: helpers. >> tanya: i think youll find that actually, if you look at singapore, a lot of woman are in the workforce. and the reason why that is so is because everyones got a maid looking after their child at home. so maids are kind of like the opiate of the masses. >> anthony: wait, opiate keeps you slothful and laying on the couch. >> tanya: exactly! >> anthony: but if you have a maid, youre saying it frees you up to join the workforce. >> tanya: it fre...

The countrys public housing policy provides an astonishing 80% of singapores 5.6 million people with affordable homes, with 90% of the population owning their own home. >> donald: singaporeans would be hard-pressed to name a neighborhood that they would describe as a slum. they would be hard-pressed to name a neighborhood where they say of the people here are living relatively deprived conditions, with poor schooling, and poor amenities. and most of singapore feels, i mean even though economic i...

Have to follow the rules and regulations, thats the reason singapore is very good. same time, singaporeans are very hard working. as human beings, what we need? food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to sleep, you can get in singapore. so in other words, we have to continue work, you see. if youre working, youll get something, once lazy, youre out. >> anthony: by some measures, singapore is a welfare state, taking care of the less fortunate, but at its heart, its a cold blooded meritocracy. you f...

Pragmatic understanding that free trade is good for everyone. this is place is, after 50 years, is deeply imprinted in singapore. its remarkable how open and welcoming of diversity singapore still is. >> anthony: we are now living in times where globalism and globalization are bad words. we are seeing a rise of -- >> donald: yeah, i know, populism. >> anthony: -- of populism, of nationalism. >> donald: which is why, you know, im concerned about singapores future. this is a place that has been a ...

Singapore has fully embraced globalization. and thats proved in their case very rewarding. >> donald: singapore is an outsized economic port primarily because its so attractive to foreign entrepreneurs primarily in the form of multinational corporations. so right from the start, the economic strategy was always to attract foreign capital. >> anthony: donald low is an economist who spent over ten years researching and writing about singapores unique financial policies. >> donald: you know, this p...

We may well arrive at the conclusion that the current dispensation of the current order represents the best possible society for singapore. but lets have that debate. >> anthony: i mean, its a horrifying thought, "what if?" >> donald: its possible that the human mind, that the average citizen, cannot deal with that much diversity, that we need these curbs or restrictions on our freedom. >> anthony: what if free speech is like bad? >> donald: its like a drug, right? its too much of a good thing. ...

So far ahead, including myself. because sometimes, we need a reality check about what pace society can move at. so i think thats the tension, its that economic growth has happened so quickly and sometimes, social laws, social customs, might need to take a bit more time. >> anthony: you know, a place where everything works this well and a system so seemingly different than the one we are taught to venerate, thats generally confusing. so whats the best thing about singapore and whats the worst thi...

Problems and ethnic strife, street crime, drugs that singapore has managed to avoid, and you could think, "is this the life we want?" it aint my system. its not the world i want. but damn, it has its appeal. ♪ >> lady wearing purple: hi, this is singapore. hope you like it. >> anthony: jam-packed in between the carefully feng shuid architecture, the skyscrapers and office blocks are rich, deep, very old and deliciously funky remnants of the old world. chinese, indian, malay, and a culture that...

Meritocratic idea, this pragmatic understanding that free trade is good for everyone. this is place is, after 50 years, is deeply imprinted in singapore. its remarkable how open and welcoming of diversity singapore still is. >> anthony: we are now living in times where globalism and globalization are bad words. we are seeing a rise of -- >> donald: yeah, i know, populism. >> anthony: -- of populism, of nationalism. >> donald: which is why, you know, im concerned about singapores future. this is ...

British empire. soon thereafter, singapore grew, quickly becoming a economic hub and regional capital for the british empires new colony on the malayan peninsula. after world war ii, singapore clamored for independence, first becoming part of the malaysian federation, then a fully independent state in 1965. helmed by its first prime minister, lee kwan yeu, tiny singapore famously went from a third world outpost to a first world nation in a single generation. >> cab driver: in singapore, rules an...