My last post may have seemed like I'm very down on Singapore. I should clarify, I actually think the SGP government has done an amazing job with the infrastructure - both physical and economic.
I must say, the country is not for everyone, especially those looking for true free speech, but in terms of the average family living a suburban life, it's not bad. In fact, my mom loves the place since it's so orderly and clean and friendly for families. Isn't that why the American suburbs developed in the first place?
The physical infrastucture really is amazing. The train system, called the MRT, is extensive, on-time, and very convenient. Not to mention cheap. Same goes for the bus lines. This is clearly by master plan. The SGP has made it so exceedingly expensive to own a car in this country, that most people really don't have any choice but to take public transport. And with the critical mass that results because of this, the SGP public transport system is heavily used and the resulting funds and pumped back into the system to make it better and extend lines, etc. It seems like there's a debate about BART every year. I'm sure if it cost $50000 to own a Honda Civic and thousands in annual registration fees, more people would take BART and the local governments would be left no choice but to expand and improve the system. Instead, we've got a shitty excuse for a train system that's too expensive to use and very inconvienent unless you live in very specific spots.
Anyways, more later...
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