Too much

I believe people should always have just enough - too much of anything is bad.
Too much KFC ice lemon tea gives me tummy aches. Too much chocolate gives me pimples. Just as if a person has too much money, he might indulge in more sins and in turn get into much more trouble like getting drunk.

Too much money drove NKF and many other Singapore charities to improper handling of finances, which eventually led to first class air travels, golden toilet bowls and the unforgettable "peanuts". I bet if their finances are just sufficient, there won't be any money to mismanage or abscond with.

I believe just as our town councils and many more government bodies who have excess cash will all start to behave like mini-funds, mini-Temaseks and mini-GICs and play the role of fund managers wanting more and more {I am sure they do not personally gain from this, but then again I bet KPIs (Key Performance Index) of their performance is part of their annual bonuses}. Would we have blamed them if they had grew the S$2 billion treasure chest instead of losing S$16 million? My only finger pointing is with S$2 billion, why am I still paying SC&C? Why are the subsidies such paltry sums? Are they really subsidies? Or like NKF, the cost of $3 medicine is sold at $4 and is subsidised based on market rates of $6?

The solution to having too much of a "good thing" is accountability and transparency.

1) Be transparent, show the cost of maintaining the Towns - do we really need S$2 billion in reserves? The recent national propaganda media has been showing US universities losing huge sums of investment and are saying it is acceptable in these times to lose lots of $, so we should accept our town councils' mistakes but the US universities have been transparent in their accounts which are published online and made available.

2) Let's be honest, if the government came clean with what they have been doing and apologized for their mistakes then perhaps it would have been easier to swallow. As we all learn from mistakes when we acknowledge them. Not just put on a defensive front and tell everyone to move on. I have been guilty of this many times as it is probably a guy thing but then again it is no excuse. But hey I am not paid millions by the people thus I am not accountable to the people.

I believe our government, town councils and many other GLCs have forgotten who pays their salaries and who gave them money to invest in the first place. I bet my grandfathers/parents and my tax/ERP/SC&C/CPF dollars have contributed some sweat into it and I should have every right to criticize any wrong doings.