Well it's finally happened: the CIA World Factbook reports that at over $50,000, Singapore now has a per capita GDP (at purchasing power parity) that is higher than the United States. When I lived there in the early 70s, the city was still relatively poor but obviously going places. Led by a nominally socialist ruling party: The People's Action Party, Singapore has gotten rich by doing what the US used to do before the rise of the Federal uber-state.
Actuarially sound pensions, free trade, no business or interest group subsidies, consumer choice in education, consumer driven healthcare and efficient, performance benchmarked public services.
Reads like the anti-Obama.
That's not to say that Singapore is a wonderland - it's commitment to democracy and civil liberties is - how shall I put it? - 'incomplete'. Although once it realized that it was losing the battle for the 'best and the brightest' it dialed down the control quite a bit. You can now chew gum and wear long hair there!
But the paradox is they fought and sweat blood to get the system that we had and cast away in a fit of greed and self absorption. We are paying a brutal price for swinishly swallowing the pearls of our success.
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