dance with the devil and the devil don't change; the devil changes you.
written: 9:19 p.m. on Monday, Apr. 18, 2005

You know, they could've picked another day to announce this, like, I don't know, tomorrow, when Desperate Housewives isn't on immediately after News Five Tonight and Highlights from Parliament (like anyone is remotely interested in these lack-of-drama sessions). All thanks to today's important announcement, Desperate Housewives has been pushed back for twenty minutes. What a pain in the ass.

Anyway, I found the whole casino debate quite hilarious and I find the fact that MPs debated over the issue even further after the decision to build two casinoes have already been made even more hilarious, but what really gets me is how this announcement is supposedly earth-shattering and like, the biggest announcement, like, ever. I'm like, gimme a break. It's just a stupid casino; who cares?

Personally, I think this is long overdue and I'm looking on the bright side, ie. more places to have fun in after Orchard Road's appeal is into its last stage of decomposition; but then again, I'm not the gambling type and rich people who swindle their money away on idle endeavours seriously turn me off so I guess I won't be playing in these new playgrounds anytime soon.

Oh, and for those people who have that silly bumper sticker on their cars that goes something like, "Say NO to CaSINo", my comeback to you is, "Say YES to SINgapore!" Hahahahahahaha. I don't have much respect for pretentious, holier-than-thou people who try to play the moral card in such debates; in fact, I don't play very well with stuffy, rightist people. I'm not exactly Michael Moore left-field but I do lean heavily towards the left and I just cannot relate to the right at all. So, yes.

But what really got me thinking today after my dad reminded me that the decision was announced at 3 p.m. today was the fact that this, like all things that we do in Singapore, was done in the name of Economics. The truth is, our only way of life is Economics and it's always been Economics and sadly, it will always be Economics. Without money, we'd die as a country. Gambling can never be justified morally, and socially, it's like a time bomb waiting to explode; and so the government justifies this with the line of argument that it will stimulate the economy and create 10,000 jobs.

Of course it will stimulate the economy, and anyone with half a brain will tell you that when investments and businesses pour into a country, the creation of more job opportunities will certainly come with the package as well. And hey, this would probably spell double prosperity for the country, since an increase in employment logically translates to an increase in local consumption, right?

But then again, a population of a mere 4 million is too insignificant in influencing the size of the all-important multiplier; the real stinker here is, I think, foreign investment and foreign consumption. That's all this casino thing is about, if you want my honest opinion. It looks fine and dandy on the surface, but if you really think about it, the direction in which we're heading is looking rather perilous and precarious.

The problem with Economics is that it's removed from the heart. I've mentioned this before when I was doing it in junior college, and although I eventually grew to like it, it still doesn't change the fact that Economics is cold and calculative, with little regard for human welfare. How can we ever place a numerical value on something as elusive and intangible as satisfaction? How can we possibly call a 4% unemployment rate 'insignificant'? Like I said, Singapore survives on Economics because it has nothing else. And because it's always dangerous to put all our eggs in one basket, the government's beginning to diversify...the economy? All that crap about wanting to transform Singapore into a centre of the arts: I'd begin to buy it only when economics doesn't figure into the equation. It's precisely because we're still thinking about numbers and figures and dollar signs that little progress has been made.

All too often, we end up prostituting ourselves in the name of economics and attaining that seemingly elusive thing called positive GDP growth (what kind of crappy euphemism is 'negative growth' anyway? fuck that). I'm not saying that the casino will turn the whole country into one infested with bankrupt gamblers, and I don't even have a moral issue against it or anything; I'm just saying that this, like many other initiatives adopted by the government to improve this or that, really shows the true nature of this country. That whole Speak Mandarin to do Business with China shit? God, how I hated the economic value the government audaciously and shamelessly attached to something as sacrosanct as Chinese.

This is but another of many reasons why I am extremely keen to leave this place. This entry sounded way better in my head but oh well, I tried. The title of this entry was a Joaquin Phoenix line from 8MM (crap movie, save for Joaquin's hot character Max California).

before sunrise // before sunset

Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010