Where do our leaders get these ideas from?

From a naive statement calling for the flooding of goods in the market to lower prices, we have golf being proposed for common folk.

COMMENT

By TK Chua

Sometimes I wonder if our political leaders are capable of thinking holistically and sensibly when they speak about policies, proposals and suggestions.

They cannot seem to differentiate between idealist statements and workable proposals; desire and reality; or facts and fancies.

To bring down the prices of goods in the market, one suggestion was to “flood the market” with goods. Who does not know that if the market was “flooded” with goods, that prices would come down? It’s akin to someone telling you that to increase profits, you must keep your revenue up and your costs down. However how this is to be done is never contemplated or disclosed.

So in this case, how do you flood the market with goods? Which traders, suppliers or manufacturers are going to do it? And if they are doing it, at what cost and at what profit margin?

The decision to increase or decrease supply is an economic decision. It is based on factors like input, costs, profit margins and demand. In a market economy, surely these pertinent factors are not based on decrees or directives from the government.

In a market economy, price signals, potential profits and ease of entry and exit are about the most important factors determining supply. When profit margins are good, more businessmen will be attracted to enter the market to increase the supply.

These are tried and tested economic principles. Hence, it is useless to direct, monopolise, control or regulate the market. It is always better to ensure that the market is free and open to competition. Competition, with some exceptions, will take care of supply, demand and prices.

We blame the government for many things – for not controlling the prices of goods, for not punishing profiteers, and now, for not “flooding the market” with more goods. These are distractions frankly. We should just blame the government for one thing – for not ensuring that our market is free and fair and subjected to intense competition.

Then we have the suggestion that golfing should be made a sport for the common folk. Again this is a suggestion that is totally unrealistic.

You see, golf cannot shed its image of being an elitist sport, period. You cannot re-package or re-label golf into a game for common folk. How many public golf courses do we have in this country? How much time is required to play a game of golf? What are the average membership and green fees like?

This is my take; I think the common folk in this country today cannot even find the time (given their long working hours and traffic congestion) to take a quick walk in a park, much less play a round of golf.

And for many of our students in schools, let’s not talk about golf. I think we should first and foremost find more decent football fields for them.

But if some of you think it is economically and morally justifiable for the government to produce professional golfers, then I have nothing further to add. Maybe some rich and well-connected individuals are already looking forward to the government to finance their children’s golfing profession.

TK Chua is an FMT reader.