When your best idea is a vice

As a trained economist… you start to be extremely cynical when you look at the newspapers… statistics are never true to you (econometrics are our playground for “creative” analysis) … economic reports are always skewed to the flavour of the month (they are still true … but truth is very subjective) … all forms of profit taking can be masked by terms like “progress” and “good for the community” …. however… we are not exactly an evil lot (well at least not me … cos i am not a practising economist … hahaa) … but … its just irritates me to no end when i find that the country that i live in … is in some way running out of ideas for real progress …

 yes .. casinos are fun … (my years as an undergraduate has been wasted in a “donation” drive to slot machines too) … but that is just a minimal distraction … casinos make money…. but we can always make the distinction that gambling is essentially a vice …. but in business talk this vice is always welcomed but should never be encouraged … after all …. profit motivated entities will always do what is in demand … but we always seem to look at authorities (especially in Asia) as the vanguards of social responsiblity …. but why are they embracing such “progress” …

i am fine with theme parks … after all they still make lots of money (disneyland and movie world can’t be doing that badly) … we may even start our own brand of “kiasu” park .. or something like that… with no need to resort to vice … hey …. if we are actively doing casinos … why not let sammyboy have a go at running our famous Geylang and turn it into a theme park for adults (idea idea…. hehee) ….

but i digress… i always admire the tenacity of our malaysian friends … they have the right stuff when it comes to the “never say die” attitude …. for example … we were probably laughing our arses off when they built their F1 circuit at really high prices .. but now when they are reaping their just rewards for persistency …. we are doing the same (yeah … most of my friends would be horrified if our little land isn’t first to beat the malaysians in anything we do) …. but … they are very the “can” … hence the “malaysia boleh” … slogan… and besides… hey … we’ve never had a problem with them on a friendship basis … most of my best friends are from across the border … so why not applaud their successes… instead of doing the one-up-manship that we have been doing for eons ….

yes i may sound like a gay cow with way too much time on my hands …. thats how i feel at the moment ….

we may be seriously running out of ideas… we may need help … but are we too proud to admit it? … dunno … i may think so …but hey.. what do i know…. i am just a cow … i just hope everyone will work together… forget about their differences and share new ideas … after all … one can only gamble so much … sit on a ever BIGGER faris wheel… or watch so much racing on TV …

have a good weekend everyone