Chitchat Why Jamus Lim join Workers' Party ?

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

Jamus Lim​

22 mins ·
https://www.facebook.com/WPSengkang...-mQHOIQLM03dZLF-l6fe0NUI_CUlQ&__tn__=<<,P-y-R

Sengkang GRC
​

56 mins ·
Sengkang Town Council to directly manage Anchorvale Division
https://sktc.sg/sengkang-town-council-to-directly-manage.../

SKTC.SG
SENGKANG TOWN COUNCIL TO DIRECTLY MANAGE ANCHORVALE DIVISION | SKTC – Sengkang Town Council

 

[jw5]

Jamus speaks about wealth taxes.

Jamus Lim​

16 hrs ·

The Workers' Party​

22 hrs ·
In his Adjournment Motion, Jamus Lim spoke about introducing wealth taxes to Singapore. Such taxes can diversify the government’s revenue sources, while managing societal dislocations due to rising inequality. Wealth taxation have been applied before in the past, and global developments mean we need not worry that such taxes may compromise our economy’s competitive position for the future. It is an idea whose time has come. (1 Nov 2021)
Vid Credits: Mediacorp

 

[jw5]

Jamus has some interesting thoughts on wealth taxes.

Jamus Lim​

32 mins ·
Wealth is a tricky subject. At some level, only those with the deepest schadenfreude (locally, we call it chao kuan) would begrudge another’s success, especially when it was hard-earned and deserving. Secretly, many wish to break into the ranks of the wealthy, too. Even without directly contributing back to society with gifts and donations, many wealthy folks would already have done so, by virtue of having delivered a product or service that many, many people desire enough to pay good money for. Think about the benefits we’ve received from our ownership of stuff like software, smartphones, and sports shoes. While there are detractors, most would agree that Microsoft, Apple, and Nike have made our lives better, and their founders deserve to be rich.
At the same time, if we reflect carefully, we will recognize that society played a role in fostering any individual’s success. They may have gone to public school. Their businesses may have received public startup funding. These firms also operate in a business ecosystem, with public infrastructure like roads and bridges and power lines, developed financial markets, and rule of law. Taxpayers were the silent investors in companies that succeed.
So there is some justification for society to recoup some of this “risk capital,” in the form of taxes. The question is how. There is already some recovery, of course, via progressive corporate and income taxes, along with other fees and charges. We can also tax capital directly. But should the wealthy pay more, on top of the taxes they and their companies already pay? There are other reasons why they should (besides the obvious fact that they can afford to). Doing so helps stabilize our public purse, so we aren’t reliant on a narrow bunch of sources for tax revenue. It can also help control rising inequality, which can lower economic growth, raise educational divergence, and feed political instability.
The tricky part of taxing wealth is that the rich have the resources to try to avoid taxation. Some hire accountants and lawyers who are very good at this. They relocate their assets, exploit tax breaks, uncover loopholes. But this hasn’t stopped even global wealth hubs, like Switzerland, from deploying wealth taxes (indeed, the canton of Zurich, the heart of Swiss asset management, is even more aggressive in its wealth taxation). And capital flight in the aftermath of political instability in Hong Kong shows that low taxes aren’t sufficient reasons to keep wealth from relocating. A recent PWC report lists 12 factors that matter for an asset and wealth management center, and not one of them was “taxes.”
Tax competition is a model better suited for the last century. Modern, advanced economies already apply a smorgasbord of taxes on wealth, and it won’t be surprising if a global agreement on wealth taxes emerges soon, just like one on the minimum corporate tax. A 21st century wealth tax can be designed to appeal to the philanthropic spirit, while also taking steps to assure the wealthy that their hard-earned fortunes would not be depleted. #makingyourvotecount

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

Jamus going to search for his favourite Indian dessert.

Jamus Lim​

7 hrs ·
Today is the first day of Deepavali/Diwali, and if you celebrate, may your road ahead be full of light and laughter, lined with the sweetness of memories past and those to be made in the future.
It is traditional to enjoy sweet treats as part of the feast. So sometime over the course of the next 5 days, I plan to search out my own favorite Indian dessert, laced with memories: gulab jamun. We used to stuff our faces with the milk-and-sugar waffle balls every Friday at the Royal Taj, which served an all-you-can-eat lunch that, being poor grad students, we happily made into our breakfast, lunch, and dinner (before subsequently passing out in our office from food coma).

 

[jw5]

Jamus Lim​

1 hr ·

The Workers' Party​

2 hrs ·
In his speech on the Government Borrowing (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, Jamus Lim spoke in favor of the simplification objective of the bill, but raised questions on whether a consolidated debt limit (even with distinct account limits) could be considered, and whether one of the clauses could inadvertently limit the flexibility of the MAS to act in a modern macroeconomic environment. (3 Nov 2021)
Vid Credit: Mediacorp

 

[jw5]

Jamus has been actively walking the estate.

Jamus Lim​

4 hrs ·

He Ting Ru 何廷儒​

4 hrs ·
Following the move to a direct management model for #Anchorvale division, Jamus Lim has been actively walking the estate with our new staff to take stock of the situation on the ground. I dropped in on them mid-way through their all-day estate walk on a rainy drippy day earlier this week to see how things were going. There remains work to be done, and I am very grateful to the #SKTC team who have been working hard over the last few weeks during this transition phase.
#TeamSengkang #SengkangGRC

 

[jw5]

Jamus walks the estate with Ting Ru.

 

[jw5]

Jamus enjoys running.

Jamus Lim​

Yesterday at 13:18 ·
I try to get a run in at least once or twice a week. When I was in school, we did a bunch of running for PE classes and during rugby trainings, but it was never something I (or anyone else in the team, for that matter) generally enjoyed. It was only in grad school, when I started taking my host family’s dog out for a run in the woods, when I truly found pleasure in exercise (Sadie was an old dog, and so her pace inherently suited mine, especially on that final uphill before we got back to the house).
It was also about this time that I discovered that I would be able to go longer by focusing my thoughts on something other than my labored breathing (for obvious reasons, I’d only recommend such semi-distracted workouts on dedicated footpaths or a treadmill, where one is safe from traffic). So I listen to podcasts. My playlist is usually pretty boring stuff; economics and finance, but with a mix of science and technology, political science/international relations, history, investigative journalism, and a smattering of pop culture (if you can call the New Yorker and NPR pop culture). I have such a backlog that I usually listen to them at double speed, which my wife complains gives her a headache everytime she accidentally catches it on speaker.
If you’ve never tried it, I may be worth a shot. We can all do with a little exercise. At the very least, it may help motivate an activity you’re not always inclined to do. And if you’re like me, you may get to the point where you look forward to going for that hourlong jog, at a comfortable pace, just so that you can get through that next episode, and the next. I’ve never been blessed with outstanding innate abilities in almost anything, so in many ways, that’s a metaphor for how I’ve lived my life: just keep plugging away, play your own game, and look to best nobody else’s expectations, but your own.

 

[jw5]

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

Jamus Lim: Workers’ Party will continue to voice out for those unable to be vaccinated​

Singapore—Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) revealed over social media on Tuesday morning (Oct 26) that he received his Covid-19 booster shot at the Sengkang GRC Community Club.

In the same post, he reiterated the commitment of the WP to “voice out” on behalf of the people who cannot get vaccinated “for medical reasons (along with many, many other questions on COVID19-related public health policy).”

In his post, he underlined his belief that vaccination provides more benefits than costs, even as he acknowledged that there may be risks involved.

Associate Professor Lim encourages everyone “comfortable” with taking the booster shot to get it, adding that for him, protecting his loved ones — including his 70-year-old mother and two-year-old child — is “a big motivation” to get the jab.

He acknowledged that not everyone can receive the Covid-19 vaccination shots and added that he is “glad that the government has already taken some steps to ensure that there isn’t inadvertent discrimination of individuals that are unable to choose.”​

The MP also said he hoped the government “will continue to review its protocols to ensure that any unfairness is minimized” as Singapore moves toward normalization in daily life.

Netizens agreed with him in the comments to his post.

Singapore has one of the highest Covid-19 vaccination rates in the world, with 84 per cent fully vaccinated, and 85 per cent having received one jab.

Other WP leaders have also encouraged Singaporeans to get vaccinated.

As far back as late July, WP chief Pritam Singh said in a Facebook post that he asked his predecessor, Mr Low Thia Khiang, to record video messages in Teochew and Mandarin, to encourage seniors to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

These video messages published on Aug 1 were targeted at older Singaporeans who may not be so comfortable in English. A message in English was also released.

An important point that Mr Low made in his message is that senior citizens who remain unvaccinated and get infected with Covid-19 could pass the infection on to their grandchildren.

Mr Low’s video immediately went viral, garnering over 63,000 views in less than 24 hours. The former WP chief remains highly respected, especially among older Singaporeans. He had been the de facto opposition leader from 2006 to 2018.

 

[jw5]

from msn.com:

Jamus Lim admits hard truth: “Many wish to break into the ranks of the wealthy, too”​

Singapore — Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) proposed a wealth tax of between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent in a motion in Parliament on Nov 1, followed up by a Facebook post containing his points a few days later.

But perhaps it’s his caption that stands up the most, as he bluntly states that “Secretly, many wish to break into the ranks of the wealthy, too.”

The MP, an Associate Professor in economics at Essec Business School, argued that a wealth tax would result in a decrease in income and wealth inequality as well as diversify sources of revenue for the country.

He argued that “inequality is a real and pressing issue” in Singapore, adding that “we can do more to address our inequality problem.”

And while there were some who responded positively to his motion, many others questioned the points Assoc Prof Lim made, expressing doubt that a wealth tax would reduce inequality and wondering if such a tax would be “fair.”

© The Independent Singapore

© The Independent Singapore

Others seemed to think that there are better ways to “help the poor.”

The MP seemed to address misgivings about wealth tax in his latest post.


“Wealth is a tricky subject,” he wrote. “At some level, only those with the deepest schadenfreude (locally, we call it chao kuan) would begrudge another’s success, especially when it was hard-earned and deserving.

Secretly, many wish to break into the ranks of the wealthy, too.”

He added that many of the rich have already given to society in terms of quality products and services, and cited companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Nike, saying their products “have made our lives better, and their founders deserve to be rich.”

However, Assoc Prof Lim pointed out that in actuality, society has also contributed to these founders’ success.

“They may have gone to public school. Their businesses may have received public startup funding. These firms also operate in a business ecosystem, with public infrastructure like roads and bridges and power lines, developed financial markets, and rule of law,” he explained, adding that “Taxpayers were the silent investors in companies that succeed.”​

Therefore, taxing the wealthy is at some level justified, but how to do so remains the question. And he pointed out that those who are wealthy have the means to avoid taxation.

However, he seemed to be optimistic that “a global agreement on wealth taxes” would emerge soon.

“Tax competition is a model better suited for the last century. Modern, advanced economies already apply a smorgasbord of taxes on wealth, and it won’t be surprising if a global agreement on wealth taxes emerges soon, just like one on the minimum corporate tax. A 21st century wealth tax can be designed to appeal to the philanthropic spirit, while also taking steps to assure the wealthy that their hard-earned fortunes would not be depleted.”