A Few Random Ideas For Singapore's Economic Future

[Frodonomics]

(BTW this is my first post. I didn't see an introductions forum)



ROUGH DRAFT

A Few Random Ideas For Singapore's Future Economy.

Hey Hardwarezone/Singapore,

I heard a couple of people were discussing my blog on this site. I've
only spent a couple of weeks in Singapore, so I'm far from an expert.
But I lived in London most of my life, and spent some time in Hong
Kong.

London, Singapore, Hong Kong.

All hyper expensive city states (H.E.C.S.) with large immigrant underclasses. The social strains are similar. This essay could work in HK or London just the same.

Social problems are similar in all fortress economies:

i) Severely overcrowded population with infrastructure barely meeting
the demands of the populace (cramped public transport, no affordable
healthcare etc);
ii) Tensions between "citizens" and foreigners -- severe lack of integration;
iii) Lack of communcaition between policy makers and the citizenry,
between policy makers and folks on the ground like social and health
workers.

*

New Revenue Streams

I won't bore people with a long expatriate beer fuelled socio-economic essay. I just want to show young people some interesting grassroots technology. Ideas that might indirectly solve a few social tensions over the coming decades.

This short essay is taken from a collection of longer essays. I cut it right down.

*

Future Grassroots Technology

Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Fog Collectors, Liposomal Vitamin C, Vertical
Axis MagLev Wind Turbines, Magnesium Oil, Low Tech Vertical
Farms.....and more. Over 50 underreported technologies at last count.

A lot of these ideas can cost less than one hundred US dollars to set up.

[Sorry, no links, I don't have enough post count!]

*

Hyper Expensive City States

I believe cities like London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo will only
find economic peace if they help other regions raise their standards
of living. This seems to be both a karmic situation and stark economic fact.

If H.E.C.S fortress states don't turn outward, internal income disparity will increase, immigration will get out of hand, politicians and the electorate will become increasingly estranged, and these economic fortresses will end up cannibalizing themselves. I saw it myself in London and HK.

*

Cram All This Cool Technology Under One Roof

All of my writing can be boiled down to six ultra-simple aggregative businesses:

1) A Solution Supermarket.
2) A Solution Wholesaler.
3) A Solution Media Hub.
4) A Solution Online Store.
5) A Solution Wiki + Forum.
6) A Solution School.

The ideas are already out there, somewhere. Why are we researching franken bio-tech when simple hydroponics, aquaponics and solar dehydration can make massive inroads to agricultural stability? K.I.S.S. Keep it Simple.

It comes down to PRODUCTS.

The following list of products may not be directly applicable to modern
Singapore high rise housing, but they might work a charm in Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China, the Philippines and other minority cultures represented
in SIN, HK and London.

Vast revenue streams are waiting for early
movers and agile entrepreneurs.

A cute throwaway idea like a handcranked light in SIN, is a godsend to a kerosene dependent family in the mountains of Indonesia. Likewise, Fog collectors, mag lev wind turbines and individual packets of Liposome coated Vitamin C could drastically raise standards of living somewhere.

No one is talking about this stuff. Why?

*

What is a Solution Supermarket?

I want to be able to walk into a warehouse and find aisles full of
simple, mindblowing solutions:

Shelves Crammed With Products That Fix Problems.

One Global Problem Per Aisle

Seven Sections/Aisles:

1. Water.
2. Agriculture.
3. Nutrition.
4. Anti-Pollution Technology.
5. Finance.
6. Cafe.
7. Grassroots Live Knowledge Market.

*

1. Water:

Lifesaver bottles.
Lifestraws.
Iodine purification kits.
Ozone machines,
Charcoal filters.
Ultraviolet water treatment pens.
Bicycle water filters.
Sand Filters.

*

2. Agriculture:

100 dollar vertical farm kits.
Modular solar dehydration kits.
Non-GMO rapid growth seed kits.
Sprout farms.
Growing guides.

*

3. Nutrition:

i) No toxic fillers. ii) No bulk bottles.

Individually wrapped sachets of high
quality minerals and vitamins:

Liposomal Vitamin C
Magnesium Oil
Nascent Iodine

*

4. Anti-Pollution Technology

Mag-lev wind turbine kits.
Low priced solar chargers.
Bicycle chargers.
Hand Cranked Lights.
Hand Cranked Radios.

*

5. Finance:

Live consultants and classes, or books and how to guides:

Crowdfunding Consultants.
Crowdfunding Classes.
Small Business advisors.

*

6. Cafe

Meet other changemakers.

*

7. Grassroots Live Knowledge Market:

New customers will have 100 questions:

Wait, how do I sell this stuff?
What are the licensing laws in my state?
Can Alfalfa grow in subtropical villages?
How can people on a dollar a day afford any of this?


Rows of Grassroots Consultants

Charging per 15 minutes. Sit down, ask and learn.
Freelancers pay 10 per cent of their takings to the house.

*

Hey Laowai! Wind-Turbines and Rooftop Gardens Are Useless in Singapore


We can't use wind turbines, fog collectors and roofgardens.


Wait.

I know hyper-expensive city states (H.E.C.S.) won't make a dent in
their gluttonous energy, food and water consumption with a few fog collectors and portable solar panels.

That's not the point.

Again, 90 percent of the world has much more modest needs:

Energy

Most households will be drastically improved with a couple of light
bulbs and a smartphone charger.

Water

Water, half the world still dreams of a couple of liters of drinkable
water per day.

Food

Food, solar preservation and other simple technologies would make a
massive difference to food spoilage.

*

Problem Solvers Make Money

Basic needs problems abound in all directions: N,S,E and W. People are lost.

H.E.C.S. can provide leadership, and innovate new revenue streams:

1. Education
2. Media
3. Consulting
4. Wholesale
5. Research and Development
6. Selling Products
7. Conferences

Education: Conducting lessons through Skype, Mp3 and in private classes.

Media: Syndicated articles and audio broadcasts, localised in dozens
of languages.

Consulting: From the grassroots to corporate level, this technology is
new, exciting, and overwhelming. Everyone is way out of their depth.

Wholesale: Organising large scale batch deliveries of 100 types of technologies.

Research and Development: How can solar dehydrated food be kept bacteria free? How can you make a mag-lev VAWT out of salvagable parts?

Selling Products: Connect buyers and sellers without shipping through Singapore. Maintain customers with excellent sales staff, support, localized translation and educational videos.

Conferences: Network, drink, enjoy. A regional hub? Education, media and wholesale is the way forward.

*

Work with Immigrants.

I've read plenty of articles about social tensions in HK, SIN and London. I stayed in Little India a while back. IMO, there's a good side to living in a multi-ethnic melting pot. You can get hold of someone from any country in the world in 15 minutes. Maybe the immigrants who do all the dirty jobs no one wants to do, will end up as translators, local advisors and wholesale clerks. Who cares if their English is scrappy? They can learn. There's a wealth of knowledge to be picked up from these people. Today's street cleaner is tomorrows hydroponic cashier.

It's got to be better than steel cage ethnic tensions. Again, I saw this in London. Maybe I'm naive, but H.E.C.S have an ability to transform and shift quickly, given the right plan. Look what Raffles did in a few short stays.

I've kept this short. I tend to ramble. If anyone's interested, I can write more.

*Please tell me how to improve this article. I don't want to bowl in and look like I have all the solutions. I don't. I'm clueless in many areas, like law, science and languages. If you give me honest feedback, we can improve this essay together.*

Nice meeting you all, and please tell me what you think.

Best,

Frodonomics

 

[cherry6]

U can spell out the link at bottom/ list your post if posted at another forum, so some kind soul can cut n paste the link on this thread for U.
E.g. tinyurl:hG6kmn or forums:hardwarezone:com:sg or something

Didn't go through the entire post details cos too broadly encompassing. But your point is that the only way for hyper expensive city states to earn their worth in fees/ other intellectual property charges is to solve the world problems: I.e. improve the environment, help the poor live better lives: correct?

I do not disagree. The holy bible says:
~ Matthew 25:40: "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"- (NIV)
:::::::::::::::::
So until and unless the city folk use their resources (education, internet research, libraries, religious institutions, educational institutions) etc to improve the lives of the poor, life in the city will get no better....

Rgds,
C6.

 

[monopole]

Focus on one issue at a time instead of 100s at once.

It is one thing to suggest ideas, but the engineering effort to make it realizable with the amount of resources we have at hand is orders of magnitude larger.

In any case, I don't really support the idea of spending our tax dollars to do R+D that benefit poor nations - we have big urgent problem ourselves, such as MRT breakdowns, 2 day hospital waits at the corridor to solve.

I would rather solve these problems first.

 

[sunzoner]

Focus on one issue at a time instead of 100s at once.

It is one thing to suggest ideas, but the engineering effort to make it realizable with the amount of resources we have at hand is orders of magnitude larger.

In any case, I don't really support the idea of spending our tax dollars to do R+D that benefit poor nations - we have big urgent problem ourselves, such as MRT breakdowns, 2 day hospital waits at the corridor to solve.

I would rather solve these problems first.

First, there is a huge potential market in the poor. They are too poor to buy the Iphones or the note 3s, but some of them can afford the redmi or the nokia standard phones. It drives their revenue...

Second, we have a large underclass here too. Look at the FWs in the dorms in Jurong/Boonlay. or those picking up cardboards or drink cans in HDB estates.

Yes. Focus on one thing at a time.

The problem is... Why sell to the poor when one sale to the rich is more than 100 sales to the poor? This is why Sentosa cove and other condos are built when there is not enough 1 or 2 room housing for the poor.

 

[monopole]

It's not about selling to the poor, but empowering them. It doesn't make sense to be one of the 1% super rich selling to the 99% poor. The poor would be so hard up to eke out a living that they wouldn't have the free time and space to do improve their standards of living.

To do this we must improve productivity. It is not about working longer hours for lower pay. We must work shorter hours for higher pay. It must be because of the technological tools that we are provided with, and the expertise in which we are trained to wield them.

First, there is a huge potential market in the poor. They are too poor to buy the Iphones or the note 3s, but some of them can afford the redmi or the nokia standard phones. It drives their revenue...

Second, we have a large underclass here too. Look at the FWs in the dorms in Jurong/Boonlay. or those picking up cardboards or drink cans in HDB estates.

Yes. Focus on one thing at a time.

The problem is... Why sell to the poor when one sale to the rich is more than 100 sales to the poor? This is why Sentosa cove and other condos are built when there is not enough 1 or 2 room housing for the poor.

 

[sunzoner]

It's not about selling to the poor, but empowering them. It doesn't make sense to be one of the 1% super rich selling to the 99% poor. The poor would be so hard up to eke out a living that they wouldn't have the free time and space to do improve their standards of living.

To do this we must improve productivity. It is not about working longer hours for lower pay. We must work shorter hours for higher pay. It must be because of the technological tools that we are provided with, and the expertise in which we are trained to wield them.

Actually facts in developing countries shows giving the poor access to knowledge and some simple things like cheap credits allows them to improve their life.

 

[Frodonomics]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm busy translating into Mandarin right now.

Focus on one issue at a time instead of 100s at once.

It is one thing to suggest ideas, but the engineering effort to make it realizable with the amount of resources we have at hand is orders of magnitude larger.

In any case, I don't really support the idea of spending our tax dollars to do R+D that benefit poor nations - we have big urgent problem ourselves, such as MRT breakdowns, 2 day hospital waits at the corridor to solve.

I would rather solve these problems first.

I understand it's a pretty dense post, but I wanted people to get the whole picture. You're welcome to go to my website and look at the essays in detail.

I can't post links yet...

You won't be spending your tax dollars to do R + D for poorer countries.

1) This isn't about reallocating tax dollars, it's about stimulating entrepreneurs and ethical start-ups, and generating income. Education and media are vital first steps for any Renaissance.

2) The R + D has already been 95 per cent done. These ideas have been sitting there for ages. Hydroponics, cayenne and Pauling therapy for heart disease, Fog collectors, Maglev VAWTS and so much more...

*

I can't do anything about your MRT problem.

2 Day Hospital Waits

The typical politician's solution, throwing money at the problem won't do anything. It didn't in London, I don't see why it should in SIN.

Did you know there's a wave of preventative healthcare that has been ignored by the mainstream media? Case in point, Linus Pauling Therapy for heart disease. It was discovered decades ago by twice Nobel prize winner Pauling, but has been ignored for financial reasons. Same with Budwig therapy.

If you wait for the corporations to solve your health problems you'll be waiting a very long time. But if you study the human body, you might be able to catch illnesses before they become serious. For example, there are serious debates over Iodine therapy now. A growing wave of practitioners are recognizing it's value in solving many health issues. It saved me from serious heart disease.

I wrote a 1 page micro article called "6 Doctors for a Medical Revolution" it's on Medium now. Focusing on 6 qualified doctors who've solved many health problems, and who've been ignored.

If anyone out there is proactive enough, that small essay can be a jumping off point to a year of grassroots public research.

It's up to people to decide whether the doctors I wrote about are quacks or geniuses. They are all very qualified, but the mainstream media has nothing but scorn for them. Do you trust the MSM? Everyone has to do their own research and make up their own mind. I won't force anything on anyone.

*

Please feel free to ask me any specific questions, and I'll do my best to respond. I don't have all the answers, but I can normally try and point people in the right direction.

There will be a book coming out in a couple of months. It'll be on Telos publishing. These materials have a lot of sponsorship.

 

[abelang82]

The free market will solve all the problems if government do not hinder it.

Take for example the problem of peak hour pack-like-sardines buses and bus-stops.
If the market is free, an enterprising business-owner will see the demand is high for certain routes at certain times and ply the routes with his own bus.
But currently need to get license, get approval, go through government process... it is just not worth it.

 

[Frodonomics]

The free market will solve all the problems if government do not hinder it.

Take for example the problem of peak hour pack-like-sardines buses and bus-stops.
If the market is free, an enterprising business-owner will see the demand is high for certain routes at certain times and ply the routes with his own bus.
But currently need to get license, get approval, go through government process... it is just not worth it.

I can see there's not much interest here so I won't force this stuff on anyone. I was told there were some people enthusiastically discussing my writing in SIN, but when I asked for the website my contact would only give me this site, (after three weeks of me asking her, and numerous vague answers) and there's no discussion here at all. Shrug.

I understand that bus routes are licensed, but products like water filters, nutrients, hydroponics etc are sold on ebay all the time. I can't solve everything, but I left some info that *if you followed it up* could dramatically lower the incidence of heart disease worldwide. That has to be a good start.

I might leave one more article, but I decided to focus on China and Indonesia for now. I mentioned an essay about 6 doctors that could radically transform your preventative health care but there's no real enthusiasm, so I won't push it. I'm a volunteer with little free time.

If you go to Medium and look for "Six Doctors for a Medical Revolution." you can find it.

Next time you hear of someone who has heart disease, remember a cure from a Nobel Prize winner has been in the public domain for decades, but no one bothers to research it or follow it up. That's a free will choice.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I'll be sure to focus on one topic at a time in future.

Peace