【澄清唬爆米花教室:被大內宣淹沒的美國總統署名投書】
先說這篇沒有圖,因為太重要不能亂放圖
在歷史上,從沒有美國總統親自投書到中華民國的報紙。但是在109年10月22日,美國總統參選人拜登以「More Prosperous Future For Our Families」(定稿中文標題:為我們家庭更繁榮的未來),以華人為主體,台灣人為核心訴求,投書聯合報系的世界日報,強調他願意與中國合作而非對抗,鄙棄川普的仇中獵巫,願意與華人聯手,但更重視台灣人的健保經驗,不願台灣人為美國火中取栗而是共同繁榮。
但在一片大奇特的大內宣中,美國總統參選人的投書竟然在台灣地區被忽視。且不說拜登明明在聲譽卓著的 IBD/TIPP民調持續領先,比起川普根本鼓吹台灣人火中取栗(你對抗,我賺軍火,去跟大陸人死嗑來增加我談判勒索本錢)。
拜登不只親自署名投書,還誠懇說明他對台灣/兩岸的四大重點,根本是史上最誠懇與重要的待遇。既然親綠親川普主流媒體不報,那福編來報。
★
一、拜登堅持稱台灣是 leading democracy (領導性的民主政體),表示其無意支持台獨立場(不稱國家)
二、拜登大篇幅強調川普仇中、卸責不科學的推卸問題給中國,造成亞裔的困擾與災難,而這不是美國總統應為。(打了那些整天喊支那賤畜以為自己就會成為高等美國人的台灣地區背祖中國人的臉)
三、拜登大談健保對一般百姓重要性,表示他珍視台灣的健保經驗,也是未來與台灣的合作重心。
四、與其獵巫與仇中,他更重視與中國的合作,希望聯盟對世界更有幫助(雖然舉例醫療與氣候,但也只是舉例) 表示願意以兩大強權的合作,謀取更多世界利益。
其他我 不多說,請看原文與譯文。
#拜登給中華民國台灣與聯合報系的面子真的太大了
#聯合報系真正展現實力
#美國總統投書首中華民國系報紙
#大內宣只在意把我們當馬前卒的喇叭川普
為我們家庭更繁榮的未來/前副總統喬瑟夫.拜登
時局多艱,我們國家處在十字路口,正面臨疾病大流行、經濟大衰退,和一場將決定我們未來很長一段時間的選舉。
今年 我們看到美國最好的一面
今年,我們看到美國最好的一面引領我們向前:英勇的醫師、護士、日常雜貨商、餐館業主、必要行業工作者 — 而其中,包括許許多多的亞裔美國人。
今年 我們也看到美國最糟情況
但我們也看到最糟的情況:亞裔美國人誤因新冠病毒遭仇視的行為比比皆是,某種程度上,是因為川普總統發布的仇恨言論所致。亞裔美國人被責備、被唾罵、被攻擊;家園、商家和汽車被侮辱性標記破壞;年幼的孩童被刺傷,還有一名89歲的奶奶,在不斷升級的仇恨文化中遭人火焚。
這不該是我們原本的樣子。
亞裔美國人 使我們國家變強大
近兩個世紀以來,亞裔美國人使我們的國家變得強大 — 從掘金礦工,到加速我們崛起的鐵路和工廠工人,再到推動我們向前邁進的科學家、建築師、藝術家和企業家們。多年來,他們的勇氣、犧牲和成功,為美國夢注入動力,也讓美國穩為自由的燈塔與世界的希望。
川普卻不懂 傷了移民國價值觀
川普總統不懂這些。他帶頭攻擊我們作為移民之國的價值觀,甚至在我們的邊境,拆散成千上萬的孩童與父母。即便在這場大流行到來之前,我們的仇恨犯罪就已達到16年以來的新高。而如今,為了轉移自己抗疫失敗、未能保護我們國家的過失,無論是否因此導致上千反亞裔的種族歧視事件,他仍堅持把新冠病毒稱作「中國病毒」。
作為總統 我捍衛每人的美國夢
措辭很重要,總統措辭更為重要。作為總統,我將捍衛每個人的美國夢,讓每一勤奮努力的家庭,享有通向繁榮和美好未來的公平機會。我將反對任何形式的種族歧視,指示司法部優先處理仇恨犯罪,以彌合仇恨與分裂的傷口,而非煽風點火。
川普失敗 他讓我們的經濟崩盤
唐納德·川普早在今年1月就已知道新冠病毒的致命性,卻未採取任何行動。現在,超過22萬美國人因此失去生命,約3000萬人失去工作、工時和薪水,五分之一的小商家關門。川普失敗的領導力讓我們的經濟崩盤 — 他總統當得愈久,得以完全回歸正軌的時間也愈久。
我會控制疫情 讓我們重回生機
八個月過去了,川普仍然沒有(抗疫)計畫。而我有。
首先要擔起責任,努力控制疫情,讓我們重回生機。我將執行早在3月就擬定的計畫,擊敗新冠病毒。我將聽取科學家、專家的意見;保護我們的家庭;讓新冠檢測、治療, #以及最終的疫苗免費,並對所有人開放。
我會重建經濟 實質救助小商家
我將馬上開始重建更好的經濟,為數百萬遭受重創的小商家提供實質救助。他們是我們社區的生命線 — 但川普腐敗的復甦作法棄他們於不顧,只把紓困資金匯集到大公司手中。75%的亞裔小企業主,未能獲得任何首輪紓困金。這是錯誤的,我已要求確保員工在50人以下的小企業獲得紓困金,我也將增加他們獲得優惠和資金的長遠渠道,減輕阻礙移民業主的語言障礙。
我不會對年收40萬元以下者加稅
質言之,我的經濟復甦計畫將回報以工作,而不只是財富,將創造未來數百萬優薪工作。(信評機構)穆迪的獨立經濟學者發現,比起川普總統的作法,我的計畫會創造多出700萬的工作,以及超過1兆元的經濟增長。我也不會對任何年收入40萬元以下者加稅 —別懷疑。相反地,我還將確保超級富豪和大公司最終支付本應承擔的份額。
讓父母能付學費 讓醫保更平價
我一路走來,都在為工薪和中產家庭而戰;他們之中有許多勤勉奮鬥的移民,來到美國是為更好的生活。我將幫助父母有能力支付子女的優質教育、提高教師薪酬,並讓絕大多數家庭免費就讀公立學院。我將讓照顧年邁父母變得更容易,讓醫療保險更平價。川普現在要通過法院,廢除「可負擔健保法」,在一場致命大流行之中,剝奪數千萬人的醫療保險,這毫無道理。
與盟友並肩 深化與台灣的關係
同時,新冠病毒證明美國不能自外於世界。從重建我們最親近夥伴的關係開始,我們必須與其他國家攜手合作,應對影響我們所有人的國際挑戰。我們是一個太平洋強國,將與盟友並肩,增進我們在亞太地區共享的繁榮、安全與價值。這其中就包括深化與台灣這個居領先地位的民主政體、主要經濟體,以及科技重鎮的關係。台灣也是開放社會可以有效控制新冠病毒的閃亮典範。
更新領導力 符合美利益與中合作
我們應對中國的方式,會聚焦增強美國競爭力,再興國內優勢,並更新我們在海外的聯盟與領導力。我們將在符合美國利益的領域與中國合作,包括公共衛生和氣候變遷。
讓家庭團聚 修復破碎的移民系統
美國向來不只靠強大的國力,而是用身為榜樣的實力領導世界。要切實重現此景,我們也必須修復破碎的移民系統,讓家庭團聚,確保美國繼續吸引全球最出色與最聰明的人。
我將會傾聽 重塑我們熱愛的國魂
我競選是為讓美國更好的重建,重建美國作為一個充滿機會,團結和有全新開始的國家;一個由數代移民讓其強大的地方;一個所有人都能發聲、每張選票都有價值的地方。我將引領這些議題,更重要的是,我會傾聽。所以,請確保你今天將選票投出。
讓我們一起,重塑我們熱愛的國魂。
(世界日報華盛頓記者羅曉媛/譯)
More Prosperous Future For Our Families
by Former Vice President Joseph Biden for World Journal
These are tough times. Our country is at a crossroads, facing a pandemic, a recession, and an election that will decide our futures for a very long time.
This year, we've seen the best of America carry us forward: heroic doctors, nurses, grocers, restaurant owners, essential workers–including so many Asian Americans.
But we've also seen the worst: acts of hate against Asian Americans wrongly blamed for COVID-19, spurred on, in part, by hateful rhetoric from President Trump. They've been screamed at, spit on, and assaulted. Homes, businesses, and cars vandalized with slurs. Small children stabbed. An 89-year-old grandmother set on fire amid this rising culture of hate.
This is not who we are.
For nearly two centuries, Asian Americans have made our country strong–from the gold miners and railroad and factory workers who helped to power our rise; to the scientists, architects, artists, and entrepreneurs who are helping to drive us forward now. For years, their courage, sacrifices, and success have powered the American Dream and helped America stand as a beacon of freedom and hope to the world.
President Trump doesn't get that. He has led an assault on our values as a nation of immigrants, even tearing thousands of children from their parents' arms at our border. Hate crimes against people are at a 16-year-high, even before this pandemic. And now, to deflect blame for his failure to protect our nation from this crisis, he insists on calling COVID-19 the "China virus," no matter how many thousands of reported racist incidents against Asian Americans it encourages.
Words matter – and a president's words matter even more. As President, I'll defend the American Dream for everyone, so every hardworking family has the same fair shot at prosperity and a better future. I'll stand against racism in every form, directing the Justice Department to prioritize hate crimes, and working to heal the wounds of hatred and division, not fan the flames.
Donald Trump knew how deadly COVID-19 was back in January and did nothing to stop it. Now, more than 220,000 Americans are dead. Some 30 million have lost jobs, hours, wages. One in five small businesses have shut down. Trump's failed leadership has tanked our economy – and the longer he's president, the longer it'll take to get it fully up and running again.
We're eight months in, but Trump still has no plan. I do.
It starts with taking responsibility and doing the hard work to control this pandemic and get our lives back. I'll implement the plan I've laid out since March to beat COVID-19. I'll listen to scientists and experts; protect our families; and make testing, treatment, and any eventual vaccine free and available to everyone.
I'll get right to work building our economy back better – getting real relief out to millions of hard-hit small businesses. They're the lifeblood of our communities – but Trump's corrupt recovery passed them by, funneling funds to big corporations instead. Some 75% of Asian-owned small businesses weren't expected to get any first-round stimulus funds at all. It's wrong. I've called for ensuring small businesses with less than 50 employees get new relief funds. And I'll boost their long-term access to credit and capital, and work to ease the language barriers that can hold back immigrant entrepreneurs.
Through it all, my economic recovery plan will reward work, not just wealth, creating millions of good paying jobs of the future. Independent economists at Moody's found that my plan creates 7 million more jobs – and $1 trillion more in economic growth – than President Trump's would. And I won't raise taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000 a year – period. Instead, I'll make sure the super wealthy and big corporations finally pay their fair share.
I've fought my whole career for working and middle class families – so many of them hard-working immigrants who came to America in search of a better life. I'll help parents afford a quality education for their kids, boosting teacher pay and making public college free for most families. I'll make it easier to care for aging parents, and make health care more affordable. Trump is in court right now trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, stripping tens of millions of people of health coverage in the middle of a deadly pandemic. It makes no sense.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 is proof that the United States can't isolate itself from the world. We have to work with other nations to meet global challenges that impact us all, starting by rebuilding our relationships with our closest partners. We're a Pacific power, and we'll stand with friends and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values in the Asia-Pacific region. That includes deepening our ties with Taiwan, a leading democracy, major economy, technology powerhouse – and a shining example of how an open society can effectively contain COVID-19. And our approach to China will focus on boosting American competitiveness, revitalizing our strengths at home, and renewing our alliances and leadership abroad. We'll work to collaborate with China when it's in our interest, including on public health and climate change.
America has always led the world not only with the example of our power, but the power of our example. To truly do that again, we also have to fix our broken immigration system, keeping families together and ensuring the United States continues to draw the world's best and brightest.
I'm running to build America back better, as a country of opportunity, unity, and new beginnings. A place made strong by generations of immigrants. A place where everyone has a voice and every vote counts. I'll lead on these issues, and more importantly, I'll listen. So please make sure you get your vote in today. Together we'll restore the soul of this nation we love.
#福編編譯? (編譯個鬼,是世界日報了不起! 大內宣與遍地綠媒鬼遮眼)
「the best part of today was example」的推薦目錄:
the best part of today was example 在 Jabz Facebook 八卦
Today, we announce that Daryl “iceiceice” Koh’s contract with Fnatic has expired and he has opted not to renew it for the following year. The choice to not renew his contract with Fnatic was made by Daryl as he gained an interest in playing for another region while extending his break.
Daryl has been the heart of the Fnatic Dota 2 roster since joining in September 2018. Since then he has been an exceptional leader and example to the team, helping us become SEA’s best Dota 2 roster. Daryl drove us to achieve TI9 qualification, a 3rd place finish at the Stockholm Major, and our 5-tournament winning streak at the start of 2020. We will miss the classic iceiceice antics
We will also immediately be releasing Nico ‘eyyou’ Barcelon from our roster. After trialing Nico for one week as captain, we have mutually agreed that it’s best for us to part ways.
With that in mind, we will once again have Sangdon ‘Forev’ Lee stand-in for us for the remainder of BTS Pro Series 3 and we will move Kenny ‘Xepher’ Deo to helm the position 5.
When we entered Dota 2 with our SEA roster we had only one ambition: to become a truly competitive force on the international stage, winning tournaments and making a deep run at TI. At the start of 2020 we were on track to fulfil that ambition, winning the Dota Summit in LA and gearing up for a great DPC season and TI qualification.
Unfortunately, while the team was in LA for Dota Summit, COVID-19 forced us to return early after ESL One LA was cancelled. As the pandemic evolved, it became clear that it would change everything for the DPC calendar and beyond. TI 2020 was postponed indefinitely, and international events were cancelled, moving to online and regional events. For our roster, built to take on the world at TI, this caused lots of issues. We had a good run of form at the start of 2020, but after that motivation and a difference in personal long term goals started to cause issues.
To tackle these issues we tried to keep the same chemistry that led us to success, giving breaks to some players, and trying to patch our issues with short term fixes or trying to put players in roles they didn’t feel comfortable in. How quick our roster changes have become recently shows that chasing that same chemistry that we had at the start of 2020 hasn’t worked. Our results at BTS Pro Series and ESL One Thailand haven’t been good enough.
We know the future of Fnatic Dota is bright. Our mission to be a successful force on the international stage hasn’t changed. We have a core of dedicated players in MooN, DJ and Raven that we are confident we can build a competitive roster around. That’s why we will be trialing new players for the offlane and hard support roles until we find the right mix of competitive profile and team chemistry.
We understand that this is a long-term rebuilding process, and we are prepared to sacrifice our short term results to create the best possible Fnatic Dota 2 roster for the future. We believe this is the right move for Fnatic Dota’s long term success, and our best possible way to become competitive at international tournaments and at TI when they return.
Thank you to all our fans for your patience and understanding. The team appreciates your support now more than ever, and we know we will return to the top of SEA very soon.
the best part of today was example 在 Lee Hsien Loong Facebook 八卦
DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam presented Budget 2013 this afternoon. His theme was “A better Singapore: Quality growth, An Inclusive Society”.
Our immediate priority is to solve the housing and transport issues. At the same time, we must upgrade our economy through productivity and innovation. Budget 2013 will help our businesses cope with much lower foreign worker growth over the next few years. It also contains schemes to enable every Singaporean to benefit from growth. For example, the Wage Credit Scheme will incentivise employers to raise salaries of their lower-income workers, as the Govt will pay 40% of these salary increases for three years. We will also focus on promoting social mobility, especially through education, so that children from less privileged backgrounds are not disadvantaged in our society.
The Parliament will discuss Budget 2013 in the upcoming weeks. You can visit www.singaporebudget.gov.sg for more details about the Budget. - LHL
We had the Budget today. We are transforming our economy so that we can have quality growth – growth that all Singaporeans will benefit from, and which will allow a better quality of life. And we are taking further steps towards a more inclusive society – starting with the kids, helping lower-income workers, and providing greater economic security for our retirees, including those in the middle-income group.
Here's an extract from the Budget Speech that sets out the main directions our policies are taking. The specifics are in the full speech linked below.
http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget…/budget_speech.html
BETTER SINGAPORE: QUALITY GROWTH, AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
Many Singaporeans, through Our Singapore Conversation platforms, have been sharing their hopes for Singapore – the kind of home we want to build for our families and our children. There has been a rich diversity of views. But a common set of aspirations is emerging, a common vision of the future that Singaporeans want:
• A home with a strong Singaporean identity and sense of belonging
• A Singapore with a robust and vibrant economy, and with good jobs that enable a more fulfilling pace of life
• A home with strong families, and where our seniors can age with dignity
• A society that takes care of the disadvantaged
• A Singapore with affordable living
• A society with greater sense of togetherness, and where the Government and the people have a more collaborative relationship
This is the Singapore that we want to build together.
The Government is making major moves to support this endeavour. Since 2010, we have embarked on major steps to transform our economy so as to create better jobs and allow for a better pace and quality of life. We are also making important shifts in social policies, as announced in last year’s Budget, to foster a fair and more inclusive society.
We will need to make further moves. So that by the end of the decade, we will have a better Singapore, a better future for all Singaporeans.
Immediate Challenges: Housing and Transport
First, we have pressing challenges in housing and transport. The Government will spare no effort in resolving these problems.
We want to reduce the cost of housing relative to the income of young Singaporeans. Prices in the HDB resale market and private market have risen too rapidly in the cycle that began as we recovered from the 2009 economic crisis. We have taken major steps to cool the housing market. We have also ramped up the supply of HDB flats which will help first-time buyers book their flats faster as well as ease prices in the resale market. And we have increased supply of private housing through Government Land Sales. The Minister for National Development will speak more in COS about these immediate challenges as well as how we can ensure affordable, quality housing for Singaporeans over the longer term.
We have to make many improvements in public transport. Congestion and waiting times are a daily problem for Singaporeans. We are ramping up bus capacity, especially feeder services, to improve frequency and add new routes. We are accelerating the rollout of the additional 800 buses that we made provisions for last year. In addition, the Land Transport Authority will be tendering out routes to private operators.
Our rail network will expand by more than 50% by 2021. That is still eight years away. But in the meantime, we will see improvements that will help relieve congestion. Parts of the Downtown Line will start operating from the end of this year, and new trains will be added to existing lines from next year. We will also introduce other measures to reduce crowding, including significantly enhanced incentives for commuters who travel during the “shoulder” periods before and after the morning peak hour. The Minister for Transport will talk about these measures in the COS.
An Economy and Society in Transition
While we fix these immediate problems in housing and transport, we have to press on with our priorities to help Singaporeans have a better quality of life over the medium to long term.
We have to shift gears for an economy and society that is in transition.
We are no longer a developing economy, but we have not achieved the level of productivity and income of an advanced economy. At the same time, our own workforce is growing more slowly, and is gradually getting older.
We must make every effort to achieve quality growth: growth that is achieved mainly through innovation and higher productivity, and growth that will benefit all Singaporeans – our children, working families, our elderly and disabled.
Our strategies for achieving quality growth and an inclusive society are in fact tied inextricably together. Raising productivity is not just our most important economic priority, but enables us to build a better society. Higher productivity is the only sustainable way to raise incomes for ordinary Singaporeans, and provide jobs that give people a sense of responsibility and empowerment. Higher productivity is also necessary for us to shorten working hours over time and allow Singaporeans to enjoy a better work-life balance.
Our society is also facing the pressures of widening income disparities. This is happening in cities globally and in Asia, but it matters more to us because Singapore is not just a city but also a nation. We must take further steps to temper inequality. We also want to do more to enable our seniors to have a sense of economic security and fulfilment in their retirement years.
On both economy and society, therefore, we need to shift our thinking.
In government: where we are reshaping policies and driving new initiatives, especially to sustain social mobility and strengthen support for older Singaporeans.
In the business community: which has to innovate and adjust to the permanent reality of a tight labour market.
In our society at large: where we have to accord ordinary workers not just better pay but greater respect.
In the community: with non-profits and other voluntary groups pursuing the causes we all believe in, and working with an active partner in the government.
And for all of us individuals, to do our best to improve and to contribute to our country in our own ways.
Transforming Our Economy for Better Jobs
We are restructuring our economy. We began this in earnest in 2010, by:
• Tightening foreign worker inflows;
• Supporting enterprises in their efforts to upgrade operations and improve productivity; and
• Investing in our workers by heavily subsidising their training, in every skill.
We need to intensify this economic restructuring and skills upgrading so as to achieve quality growth. Although wages are going up in a tight labour market, productivity has lagged. If we do not do better in raising productivity, we will be caught in a situation where businesses lose competitiveness, and wages eventually stagnate. Both workers and businesses will be worse off.
We must help our SME sector revitalise itself. There are however wide divergences in efficiency amongst SMEs even in the same industries. Restructuring will unfortunately lead to some businesses being winnowed out, but the end result must be a vibrant and sustainable local SME sector. Every support must be provided to help the businesses which bring in more efficient techniques and service models, so they can grow in a tight labour market, and where possible make their mark internationally.
There are already many examples of SMEs transforming themselves, in every sector. For example in furniture manufacturing, local firms are training multi-skilled employees, relocating manpower-intensive activities, developing unique brands and carving a niche for themselves in overseas markets.
To make this economic transition, we must also harness the value of older Singaporeans and design jobs suited for them, as well as for other potential employees who are unable to work regular, full-time schedules. Flexible work practices must become more common, enabling employees to structure their work so that they have time for their families or for personal development like part-time courses. We should also make it possible for more employees to have the option of telecommuting from home or working from “smart work centres” near their homes, like what they have in Amsterdam and Seoul. The Government will work closely with businesses in these efforts.
Building a Fair and Inclusive Society
We are also taking major steps to ensure a fair and more inclusive society.
• First, to sustain social mobility. Meritocracy alone will not assure us of this. We therefore want to do more, starting from early in our children’s lives, to give the best leg up to those who start with a disadvantage. We cannot change the fact that children have different family backgrounds that bring very different advantages and disadvantages. But we want to find every way, at the pre-school and primary school levels, to help our children from poorer or less stable families to develop confidence and the self-belief that gives them aspirations of their own, and to help them catch up when they fall behind. And we will provide pathways to develop every skill and ability, so that every child can discover his strengths as he grows up, and can do well.
• Second, we must do more to mitigate inequality. We are making our fiscal system more progressive, by tilting our taxes and benefits in favour of the lower- and middle-income groups.
Currently:
i. A lower-income older worker receives a significant top-up of his income through Workfare each year.
ii. A middle-income family with a child in child care gets subsidies of $4,800 per year. If the child is in university, he can receive more than $8,500 in bursaries over the course of his studies, and get a subsidised government loan to pay off the remaining fees and cover study expenses. Children from lower-income families receive far more.
iii. Singaporeans with disabilities now receive substantially greater support. Both when young through early intervention under EIPIC, and as adults, where we provide a substantial incentive through the Special Employment Credit (SEC) for firms to employ them so that they can contribute and lead more independent lives.
iv. An older Singaporean in need of long term care can receive subsidies of $870 per month for home-based care or $1,200 per month if he is in a nursing home, following the changes we introduced last year. Those who need more help will get it through Medifund.
We will take further, significant steps in this Budget towards strengthening social mobility and increasing the progressivity and fairness of our system. In particular, with enhancements to Workfare, a low-wage worker who is 60 years old would receive a top-up of his pay of about 30%. This is in addition to what his employer can receive through the SEC, and the new Wage Credit Scheme, to be introduced in this year’s Budget, which will encourage his employer to up his pay.
While raising incomes is the best way to help lower- and middle- income Singaporeans cope with rising costs, this Budget will also include measures to help them more immediately. The most significant support will go to older Singaporeans, to help them with medical costs.
Taking all our measures together, including those which will be announced in this Budget, we are providing substantial benefits to lower- and middle-income Singaporeans. The full picture can be seen if we look at benefits over a lifetime, starting from a couple’s needs when they first have children, to the time they get old and need other types of help, especially with healthcare costs.
In total, over a lifetime, a young low-income couple with two children can expect to receive more than $600,000 in benefits in real terms (2013 dollars). (This comes from subsidies and other means-tested benefits for their children’s education, housing, healthcare, Workfare, the GST Voucher, and other schemes.)
This is much more than we used to provide in the past. In the last decade alone, we have more than doubled the lifetime benefits in real terms for such families.
When we take into account all the taxes that such low-income families will pay (mainly GST), they will get back far more in benefits. In fact, they will get more than five dollars in benefits for every dollar in taxes paid.
However, today’s generation of older Singaporeans will not benefit as much as younger Singaporeans from the enhancements in Workfare and CPF and other schemes. We want to do more for this senior generation of Singaporeans, who worked over the years, often with low pay, to build a better future for their children. They made today’s Singapore possible. We will do more for them. The Government is reviewing the system of healthcare financing and some other schemes to help them in their retirement years.
Finally, the Budget will make significant investments to nurture the sports and arts, which play a growing role in enriching life in Singapore. Over the next five years, we will invest 30% more in sports programmes, and more than double our investments to develop regional- and community-level sports facilities. The Government will also create a new Cultural Donation Matching Fund, to provide dollar-for-dollar matching for donations to the arts and culture.
In short, we are building a better Singapore: a more inclusive and caring society, with an innovative and dynamic economy, so that Singaporeans can have better opportunities and more fulfilling lives.
http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/budget…/budget_speech.html