Curiously, there is more biodiversity in Singapore than in all of the United States. From the early days, Singapore recognized the threat posed by cars. Hence, both ownership and use of cars are severely taxed. A limited number of COEs are auctioned every month, to control car population growth. This penalization of car transport is balanced by the provision of efficient subway and bus services, which, surprisingly, are not subsidized.
Bus companies make money because the word subsidy is virtually taboo in Singapore.
This careful attention to meeting the physical and material needs of the population is matched by equal care and concern for the people s social and spiritual needs. In this, however, Singapore has consciously moved away from the welfare-state prescriptions of OECD societies. There are no homeless, destitute or starving people in Singapore. Remarkably, the poorest 5 percent of households have about the same levels of ownership of homes, television sets, refrigerators, telephones, washing machines and video recorders as the national average. Singaporean society emphasizes the importance of the family.