What do you expect your government to do for you?

Hi Thanks, the best way to initiate change comes from within the government. It is not impossible, but it requires a brutal approach. Look at the way the China government changes the policy gradually to open the economy. In just a few years' time, the economy growth is enough to make the governments of the world terrified. In the 80s and 90s, the educated Chinese leave the country, vowed never to go back. Now they are flocking to return. Even common people ask their kids to learn Chinese. While the overall approach is right, the Chinese who cannot keep pace with the development suffer. I think if the government is wise enough to see a need for change, and brutal enough to push through, it is better in the long run.

Hi Thanks1961, I agree that is the best thing a government can do. There is no point in them taxing us so high, and starts to meddle into everything. It is good enough if they just employ enough policemen and soldiers to keep the streets safe for us. Once the governments start to get into the healthcare and business world, the whole world is really messy.

Hi dear, In fact I am too angry with the present set up and system of government functions. It is 90% corruption and 10% pure politics. Keeping everything in mind, no government can do a better job in these days. So many out dated formalities and functions are there. It should be abolished and start with a new one. But as this is based on the humanity, they cannot do it like, demolish like a house and build a new one. It has its own limitations. As and when new and more complicated requirements are coming up, the govt. system cannot run along with it. Also, the changes in the government periodically will make everything under a stagnation. Even in your country also the things may not so different. Whatever we say an do is not good enough to do anything. We cannot start from 1 and it is practically difficult to run. Even if we say for a 100, page suggestions also make no good. That is why I commented with one sentence in the earlier discussion. As an individual, we are totally handicapped to make any suggestions or recommendations. Thank-s

Hi Kingparker, I agree with your sentiment. I find it ridiculous for the government to tax us on our income, and still tax us when we spend money. That is on top of the import tax already levied on many imported products. I wonder how a government can tax so much, yet still cannot balance the budget. Wonder how they spend the money.

Hi kingparker, I agree %100 percent! I think that we should not be held back in any way by the government. They tax us like crazy and they don't always cover health care costs(especially in america). It feels like as long as their happy we are happy. They think that everything is good when it's not. The only thing i expect from my government is democracy and a little more voice when it comes to making decisions for the country.

I sympathize with you guys.. yes, tax is the blood of each country but to tax people in everything they do id stripping off their rights to access their needs. Due to this deprivation from their NEEDS and WANTS happened. We became slaves in our own land, sad to say.

Hi! So true, there's a big difference with what we desire in a government and what we get. I think only God can provide a proper government so we will have to wait for the ideal. In the meantime we will have to be content with what we get, though far from ideal. It would be a lot worse if there were no governments, knowing the behavior of people when the police have gone on strike as happened several times where I live.

Hi Stanley, I think the part that the government has done very well is to impose tax on practically everything. They are simply very good at collecting taxes and making us poorer. When we earn money, we pay income tax. When we spend money, we need to pay goods and service tax. This is on top of taxes for imported goods, and other commodities. Other than collecting taxes, the government has to do many other things. However, they are not so good in that. For example, the crime rate is getting higher and higher, and the number of unsolved crime is also getting higher.

Hi Sjlskl, I think the policy in your country makes the rich richer, since the rich are the owners of the companies, and the poor will get poorer since they cannot get a job that pays them well enough to survive. I just hope that someone in the government will reserve the jobs for locals first, before hiring foreigners.

Hi Sjlskl, I did not realize you come from Singapore as well. I agree that the foreign workers issue is a big issue. It seems that our government is using foreign workers to lower the salary for the locals, yet at the same time, the influx of foreign laborers push the price of housing to a new high, making even the hdb flat out of reach for many newly wed.

You got a point scheng... even flats aren't affordable for newly wed.. so people think getting marry isn't that easy these days... thus it leads to another problem...

Hi Ysao, I think you are right. The government seldom reduces tax, no matter how clean they are. Even though my country, Singapore, has one of the least corrupt government, they still make us poorer. The government seems to think of different ways to impose taxes so that we cannot keep money and get rich.

Hi Shamrack, I think when a government can bring peace to its own people, that is good enough. No government is powerful enough to bring peace to the whole world. If the government can make sure that everyone feels safe, and reduces the crime rate to zero or near zero, that is a fantastic achievement.

Hi Dragon54u, I agree with you, even though i have slightly more expectation for the government. I expect a safe and clean environment. It is fortunate that my country is considered one of the best in Asia. At least we can go out in the middle of the night without any fear. I expect the government to maintain a higher standard of education by training the teachers well, and to provide different systems so that children of different talents can benefit from the system. Here the education system is too rigid, too much knowledge taking, and not enough creativity. I do agree that your government is doing too much, and not doing it very well. It has promised too much, and the politicians spend too much time and money on election campaign, and getting on TV.

Hi Bianca, I think that is almost an impossible task for the government. After all, they cannot control the weather, and the international price of commodities. It would be good if the government controls or subsidizes food or give the poor some food stamps and coupons. That is easier than to control all the price of basic food items.

Hi Greenwbird, in term of housing price, nowhere is worst than Japan. If a Japanese family wants to buy a house, they have to take mortgage for three generations. The price is simply too high, out of reach of every working adult. Can you imagine your grandparents buy a house, and you need to pay until your retirement? That is the situation in Japan. Here in Singapore, we are in similar shoe as you in China. The housing price doubles every few years, and our salary basically stagnant. If this continues, nobody can afford to buy a house.

Hi Coldfireblade, I think if the government just get out of the commercial world, that will be a great blessing. The problem with government messing with healthcare, education, jobs and banking system is that everything gets so complicated. Those people in the government are not business-minded in nature, that is why they tend to create barriers for the business community, rather than to help them develop the business. The bailout of big banks is the worst the governments can do. They are protecting the culprits by taxing the ordinary people.