China says Europe encourages “sloth, indolence.” Meanwhile in Singapore…

Perhaps the old Conservative (and now Tea Party) concern about the “welfare state” has found a new friend…in China?

Al Jazeera’s Teymoor Nabili recently interviewed Jin Liqun, the supervising chairman of China Investment Corporation, China’s $400bn sovereign wealth fund. Jin had this to say about Europe’s labour laws and welfare society:

“If you look at the troubles which happened in European countries, this is purely because of the accumulated troubles of the worn out welfare society. I think the labour laws are outdated. The labour laws induce sloth, indolence, rather than hardworking. The incentive system, is totally out of whack.

“Why should, for instance, within [the] eurozone some member’s people have to work to 65, even longer, whereas in some other countries they are happily retiring at 55, languishing on the beach? This is unfair. The welfare system is good for any society to reduce the gap, to help those who happen to have disadvantages, to enjoy a good life, but a welfare society should not induce people not to work hard.”

Meanwhile, on the opposite end from Europe, over in Singapore labours laws are perhaps slightly too lenient, as construction worker bosses send their workers to gamble on their behalf:

Five bosses – some with exclusion orders against them – told The Straits Times that they have been handing workers cash, notebooks and mobile phones, then dispatching them to the casino. They claimed to know several other employers doing the same thing.

The ‘proxy gamblers’, dressed mostly in company polo T-shirts and jeans, get a cut of the winnings, but if they lose too much, their pay is docked


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