Critical Reflection (Final)

                The essay writing experience in this course has truly enabled me to enhance my academic writing ability. In this learning process, I was taught to do various preparation work before the actual essay writing, such as analysing articles to obtain significant information, writing a reader response which is a thought provoking practice, and doing citation exercises to avoid plagiarism. From these preparation exercises, I realised the fact that there are certain techniques behind the production of a good essay, and it is not merely about bombastic language and abstruse content.

                At the start of the course, my essays tended to be more descriptive rather than critical. Most of the time my arguments were also too vague or beating around the bush due to phrasing problems and the lack of solid examples. In this essay writing exercise, I have learned to present arguments more distinctively by providing clear thesis statement and topic sentences, following by coherent elaboration with evidence. This is achieved by doing a lot of reading and writing practices throughout the module. I learned to sieve through readings such as articles and journals and filter the important information needed for essay writing, and through these readings I see how good writers present their ideas in a logical and systematic way. Previous summary practices are also helpful in identifying crucial information and improving my paraphrasing skills, while reader response practices strengthen my evaluative writing ability. When equipped with abundant and analysed information, it is much easier to develop arguments gradually in an essay.

                However, there is still room for improvement for my writing, particularly grammar and sentence structure. Although I learned common mistakes in grammar in class and did online grammar exercises, it is a long cultivated habit to write in my usual way and commit the same mistakes. Therefore, it is not easy to change in a short period of time, but I should continue to do more grammar exercises and if possible, do peer review of essays and assignments in the future so that I can be aware of my mistakes and prevent making the same error.

                In conclusion, the essay writing process enhanced my essay organisation skills and the ability to demonstrate more insightful arguments. However my writing skills are still not mature enough and I should continue to improve and strive for excellence.

Essay On Globalisation (Final Final)

           In today’s world, borderlines of nations have become increasingly undefined due to the characteristics of globalisation. It has largely impacted the way of international interactions, and the mobility of globalisation has created various problems, including environmental destruction, media and cultural erosion, and even widening income gap. This essay would pertain specifically to the problem of widening income gap, with particular focus on Singapore’s society and its current tax policy.

           The rise of globalisation has accelerated the formation of Multinational Companies (MNCs), which are companies with a worldwide approach to markets and productions (Globalisation, 2013). MNCs often adopt the policy of production outsourcing, which indirectly leads to income inequality between the skilled workers and the unskilled (or less-skilled) workers. Both were hired in large numbers as a result of the policy, however the former is more valued and favoured, receiving a much higher salary as compared to the latter. Therefore it becomes a problem, which is particularly common in the developed countries, as the gap between the skilled and unskilled workforce is even greater than the developing countries. On the surface, it seems that income inequality is not a serious problem as it only shows the difference between the higher and lower end income within a country. Indeed, a certain extent of inequality actually encourages investment and maintains the country’s economic competitiveness. However, studies from the University of Birmingham have shown that income disparity has a correlation with health and social problems, where greater inequality leads to greater status anxiety as “it places people in a hierarchy that increases status competition and causes stress, which leads to poor health and other negative outcomes”  (Rowlingson, 2011). There is also a potential risk of increasing crime rates and decomposition of social cohesion due to psychological anxiety. Therefore it is important to raise public awareness on this issue in order to prevent these problems from arising.

Singapore, as a fairly developed country, has also been affected by the waves of globalisation. Looking at the Gini Coefficient, a calculated figure ranging from 0 to 1 determining the extent of income gap within a country, Singapore has a high ratio of 0.437, which is not very far away from the world’s highest value of 0.7. Thus the Singapore government places much attention on this issue, and has been implementing various policies to ease the problem of widening income gap, such as the progressive tax policy. Under this policy, tax rates are determined based on different amounts of income earned by each individual.  Households whose income is below a certain amount are allowed to be exempted from paying taxes, and simultaneously receive government subsidies to assist them in meeting financial demands. This policy is effective in equalising the income gap by placing a greater responsibility on the high earners, thus lessening the wealth disparity after the reduction of tax payments. However in recent years, personal income tax rates were readjusted in an attempt to attract foreign professional workforce and at the same time retain its own talents. Marginal tax rates were modified, ranging from the lowest end of 2% to the highest end of 20% in 2012, as compared to the range of 4% to 22% in 2005 (IRAS: Income tax rates, 2013). The problem with this policy is that it ultimately benefits the people at the higher end much more than the lower end, which leads to an even greater income gap. To improve the situation, the government can re-establish the tax rates on the higher income categories, which proved to be more effective in the previous years by comparing the Gini Coefficient. They can also refer to the United States and Canada’s earned income tax credit (EITC), a refundable tax credit for low- and medium-income individuals and couples (Earned income tax credit, 2013), to further balance the income gap.

Besides, faced with the grim reality of globalisation, the policy to exclude taxes on capital gains in Singapore has exacerbated the wealth disparity as well. Capital gain is the income generated from selling assets, including buildings, equipment and shares of a corporation. These incomes are categorised under the capital income, which is separated from the taxable revenue income. However those who possess these capital assets are usually affluent or high-net-worth individuals, by selling capital assets they gained even greater wealth. Without taxing the capital gain, the high earners are getting richer, while the low and middle earners remain relatively the same.  As such, the government should revise their policy and impose a taxation model similar to the progressive tax system on capital gain. Although this might lead to attempts to avoid tax, it is still a way to garner budgets in assisting the poor and balancing the unequal wealth distribution.

           In conclusion, globalisation has worsened the problem of income inequality which can lead to severe social and economic consequences. However in Singapore, the existing policies are insufficient in countering the broadening gaps. By considering reinstatement of tax policies with the aim of shifting the financial burden from the less affluent to the more capable high-net-worth individuals, the situation can be largely improved, creating a more stable and prosperous society.

References:

Earned income tax credit. (2013). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_income_tax_credit

Globalisation. (2013). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization

Income Tax in Singpore. (2013). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_Singapore

IRAS: Income tax rates. (2013). Retrieved from Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore : https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/page04.aspx?id=1190

Rowlingson, K. (2011). Does Income Inequality Cause Health and Social Problems? Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Week 9 Essay on Globalisation (Final)

          In today’s world, borderlines of nations have become much less easier to define due to the characteristics of globalisation. It has largely impacted the way of international interactions, and the mobility of globalisation has created various problems, including environmental destruction, media and cultural influences, and even widening income gap. This essay would pertain specifically to the problem of widening income gap, with particular focus on the Singapore society and its current tax policy that relates to the problem.

          The rise of globalisation has accelerated the formation of Multinational Companies (MNCs), which are companies with a worldwide approach to markets and productions[1]. MNCs often adopt the policy of production outsourcing, which basically means to purchase goods or services from an outside vendor rather than producing in-house[2]. This in turn leads to income inequality between the skilled workers and the unskilled (or less-skilled) workers – both were hired in large numbers indeed as a result of the policy, however the former is more valued and favoured, receiving much higher salary as compared to the latter. Therefore it becomes a problem, which is particularly common in the developed countries, as the gap between the skilled and unskilled workforce is even greater than developing countries. On the surface, it seems that income inequality is not a serious problem as it only shows the difference between the higher and lower end income within a country, indeed a certain extent of inequality actually encourages investment and maintains the country’s economic competitiveness. However, studies have shown that income disparity has a correlation with health and social problems, where greater inequality leads to “higher levels of psychosocial stress and status anxiety which can lead to depression, chemical dependency, less community life, parenting problems and stress-related diseases[3]”. There is also a potential risk of increasing crime rates and decomposition of social cohesion due to psychological anxiety. Therefore it is important to raise awareness of this issue in order to prevent these problems from arising.

          Singapore, as a fairly developed country, is one of the nations that have been affected by the waves of globalisation. It has a high Gini Coefficient of 0.437, which is not very far away from the world’s highest value of 0.7. Thus the Singapore government places much attention on this issue, and have been implementing various policies to alleviate the problem. The most known policy would be the progressive tax policy, where tax rates are determined based on different amounts of income earned by each individual.  Households whose income is below a certain amount are allowed to be exempted from paying taxes, and simultaneously receive government subsidies to help them meet financial demands. This policy is effective in equalising the income gap by placing a greater responsibility on the high earners, thus lessening the wealth disparity after the reduction of tax payments. However in recent years, personal income tax rates were readjusted in an attempt to attract foreign professional workforces and at the same time retaining its own talents in Singapore. Marginal tax rates were modified, ranging from the lowest end of 2% to the highest end of 20% in 2012, as compared to the range of 4% to 22% in 2005[4]. The problem with this policy is that it ultimately benefits the people on the higher end much more than the lower end, which leads to an even greater income gap. To improve the situation, the government can re-establish the tax rates on the higher income categories, which proved to be more effective in the previous years by comparing the Gini Coefficient. They can also refer to the U.S and Canada’s earned income tax credit (EITC), a refundable tax credit for low- and medium-income individuals and couples[5], to further balance the income gap. Although the feasibility of these policies is still unknown without experimentation, the notion is that Singapore could pick up some ideas from foreign countries’ policies such as the U.S, which handled the inequality issue slightly better than Singapore.

          Besides, the policy of not posing any taxes on capital gains has indirectly exacerbated the wealth disparity as well. Capital gain is the income generated from selling assets, including buildings, equipment and shares of a corporation. These incomes were categorised under the capital income, which is separated from the taxable revenue income and considered as non-taxable income. However those who possess these capital assets are usually affluent or high-net-worth individuals, by selling capital assets they gained even greater wealth. Without taxing the capital gain, the high earners are getting richer, while the low and middle earners remains relatively the same.  As such, the government should revise their policy and impose a taxation model similar to the progressive tax system on capital gain. Although this might lead to attempts in tax avoidance, after all it is still a way to garner budgets in assisting the poor and balancing the unequal wealth distribution.

          In conclusion, globalisation has worsened the problem of income inequality which can lead to severe social and economic consequences. However in Singapore, the existing policies are insufficient in countering the ever-accelerating gaps. By considering reinstatement of tax policies in the aim of shifting the financial burden from the less affluent to the more capable high-net-worth individuals, the situation can be largely improved, creating a more stable and prosperous society.

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[1] Wikipedia (2013). “Globalisation.” Retrieved 10^th October 2013.

[2] Kenneth Boyd (2013). “To Outsource or Not to Outsource: a Cost Accounting Decision”. Retrieved 10^th October 2013. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/to-outsource-or-not-to-outsource-a-cost-accounting.html

[3] Wikipedia (2013). “Economic Inequality.” Retrieved 16^th October 2013.

[4] Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (3^rd June 2013). “IRAS: Income tax rates.” Retrieved 16^th October 2013.

[5] Wikipedia (2013). “Earned income tax credit.” Retrieved 16^th October 2013.

Week 6 Reader Response (Final)

In Nayan Chanda’s article “The Double Edge of Globalisation”, the author mentioned that increased international trading incurs negative impacts to the environment, but it also gains widespread attention from the public. I would like to pinpoint one of his arguments, that the largest factor contributing to the current situation is the inefficiency of current system in controlling the situation, that crucial world forces are either reluctant or incompetent to devote their power. I do agree to this point, although we cannot solely blame the inefficiency of world governance for the effects of globalisation.

It is always a matter of choice when it comes to the decision of policies, and in this case the decision is between economy and environment. Standing on the government’s position, it is understandable that they choose the economy growth over the protection of environment, because it affects the living of people in the nation. Moreover, if anyone is to be blamed for environmental problems, ordinary people like us are also largely responsible since the use of electric equipment such as refrigerator and air-conditioners produce large amount of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which depletes the ozone layer. However, although it is understandable, it does not mean that the decision is necessarily justifiable. The government is indeed still responsible for the control of environmental damages, since they possess the power to implement policies in limiting the destruction caused, such as setting a cap for every logging companies based on their size, or subsidise factories for more environmentally friendly technologies of productions.

In conclusion, crucial world forces do possess decisive power in controlling environmentally related activities, but speaking of responsibility, every person regardless of social status is liable for environment issues.

Week 5 Summary Assignment: The Double Edge of Globalisation (Final Draft)

The article states that globalisation contributes to the destruction of the environment. International trading brought by globalisation promotes consumerism, resulting in increased productions throughout the world, leading to a rise in fishing, deforestation and even expansion of factories. In fact, pollution generated by one country passes on to other countries, especially in the case of air pollution. Although globalisation is not the sole factor of global warming, it serves as a catalyst. However the situation is not as bad as it seems, provided that there is effective global governance. The current system is inefficient in controlling the situation, and crucial parties are either reluctant or incompetent to devote their power. Although non-governmental organisations’ efforts are remarkable, the cooperation between global forces in addressing environmental problems is still of the utmost importance.

(131 words)

Week 5 Summary Assignment: The Double Edge of Globalisation (draft 1)

The article states that globalisation commits to the destruction of environment. International trading brought by globalisation promotes consumerism, resulting in increased skidding throughout the world, such as fishing, deforestation and expansion of factories. In fact, pollution generated by one country passes on to other countries, especially in the case of air pollution. Although globalisation is not the sole factor of global warming, it serves as a catalyst. However the situation is not as bad as it seems, provided that there is effective global governance. The current system is inefficient in controlling the situation, and crucial parties are reluctant or incompetent to contribute their power. Non-governmental organisations’ efforts are remarkable, but the cooperation between global forces in addressing environmental problems is still of utmost importance.

(124 words)