No, we don't have a Barack Obama in Singapore but we have some highly articulate, capable ministers who can hold their own in their fields against almost anyone in the world. Just watch Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugartnam speaking in Switzerland on the government's role in the light of the financial crisis. This clip appeared on the popular Singapore blog, The Online Citizen, which also has a writeup on what he said.
Of course, even Homer nods. So when the minister talks about globalization as a recent phenomenon, he is off the mark. Globalization goes back to colonial times when his ancestors arrived and settled in Singapore. And it's not quite right to say globalization has led to greater prosperity across the board in the last 25 years or so. Real income has been falling in America, economic disparity increasing in countries like Singapore.
But the minister is right when he says globalization has been good for newly emerging economies like China and India – and it is absolutely essential for a city-state with an export-oriented economy like Singapore to survive.
What is so good about this video, however, is you realize the speaker is at the top of his game.
He knows what he is talking about – even though for his own reasons, he puts a spin on it. He talks about good financial regulation in Singapore. What else can he be expected to say as Singapore's finance minister and former central banker?
He is also a bit unfair when he blames the former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan for the meltdown. If Greenspan didn't see the crash coming, neither did Singapore. It wouldn't have then invested in Citibank and Merrill Lynch.
But you are won over by the way he speaks. The humorous opening, the easy, informal manner, the plain speaking, and, yes, the accent! Is it a tad more clipped than when the minister speaks in Singapore?
The minister is at his best when he talks about the regulator's role. He explains it so well, having been a central banker himself.
But what I like best is his candour at the end of the video. When he says social mobility is decreasing in Singapore because the brightest and the best have already moved up the social ladder – and their children start with an advantage over others.
I wish the minister would release the full text of his speech. He takes the trouble to explain things and make them easy to understand.
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