The task was for us to come up with an original story about three people and their positions in the supply chain/ GPE. I'm sharing this simply because I am proud of my essay (except for the convo part... was aiming for something more realistic but was constrained by the word count) regardless of the lacklustre grade. Based on the feedback, I got a B mainly because I did not have any citations and that there are some parts where I could have summarised and developed my story further. Anyways, please enjoy:
Mr. Taxi Driver (Inspired by a true story)
Part 0: The Vehicle of …?
This is a story centred on this car below:
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| Figure 1: Taxi car. Credits to the author. |
If you do not recognise this vehicle, you are probably not a Singaporean because this is plausibly the most common vehicle on the street (they usually vary in fashion but the LED crown on the roof is pretty standard). If you take this vehicle on a daily basis, you are probably richer than the average Singaporean, or simply have bad time management. This vehicle is one of my most necessary tools of survival right after air, water and food – which supplies may depend on this vehicle as well. I depend on this non-living metal produce like a baby depends on her mother’s milk. ‘Milk’ being the metaphor for money and everything else that comes with it, of course. My father has been a taxi driver for as long as I can remember and the one question that I ask him most often is: Why do you drive taxi? The answers that my dad gives comes in several variations like: “To earn money lor”, “To pay for your school fees”, “To put food on the table”, etc. But what my dad does not realise while answering this question is the true intended meaning behind my question. What I really wanted to know was WHY – Why, a taxi driver? His ‘answers’ can be achieved with other types of jobs too. So, why, a taxi driver?
Biographical insert: My father was born into a family of
seven, him being the eldest son. His mother (my grandmother) worked as a
dishwasher while her husband (my grandfather) patronised illegal gambling dens
around the country. My father never found the need to study hard, nor did my
grandparents. I guess for my grandmother, she simply did not have the time and
energy to care. He dropped out of school at fifteen and signed on to 5 years of
national service. His career choices were limited, so he only tried out two
other sales-related jobs before settling down as a taxi driver, a husband, and
a father of three. We are not doing too badly; low-middle income, all kids in
school (one in, supposedly, the most prestigious university in Singapore), albeit
still trying to pay off a few bank loans. As you can tell, we are quite the
average family (though not quite the kind that the government would feature on
National Day).
My father always says that I need to study hard or I will end
up like him. He likes to tell his friends that he has a daughter in university
and that he can look forward to retirement. I think he places all his hopes on
my siblings and I because he knows that he is stuck with being a taxi driver. ‘Mr.
Taxi Driver’, that is his label in society. I understand that with my degree, I
am more likely to be better off in terms of material and probably, non-material
well-being (which is often made possible by money too). My father even tells me
that I can change the world if I want to, and that my background does not
matter, but what can a university degree guarantee? There are so many more
factors involved in the journey to world domination. Am I bound to become just
another worker (albeit paid higher) like my father? For whom am I working for?
Am I simply a product of the capitalist production chain that is fated to
become the factor of production for an even larger production chain?
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| Figure 2: Human Capital Map. Credits to the author. |
PART 1: The Taxi, The
Driver and The Creator
One day over dinner, my dad shared with us that he drove his
first billionaire. As my father recalled, these two men in suits, one visibly
older than the other, entered his taxi and then just sat there, as if waiting
for something to happen. It was obvious that they have never taken a taxi
before because for the first time in a long time, my father had to ask, “Going
where?”
They sat in silence throughout the journey until the older
man asked if my father could turn up the air-conditioning (which was already at
its maximum). My father apologised, and then went on to explain, “Sorry, FomfortGelgro
taxis not very good these days.” The older man flared his nostrils (yes, so
much so that my father saw it happen through the rear-view mirror) and said,
“What are you taking about? This is FomfortGelgro, the best taxi company in
Singapore, if not, the world!”
My father then replied, “Sir, I think you really haven’t
taken taxi before. FomfortGelgro rental so high but taxis break down so easily!
Always have to waste my time to go repair!”
“How can you say that about my company?!” The older man
bellowed, “You should be thankful that we even offered you a job!” My father
cannot stand arrogant people and so, despite the fact that this man can (and
probably will) make him lose his only source of income, he continued the
argument and it went something like this:
Father: Just because you’re CEO doesn’t mean you can be so hao lian (arrogant) hor! Why do you think you are where you are right now, earning
millions and billions of dollars?
CEO: Because I am capable, I am the one who brought FomfortGelgro
to a position that no one can beat.
Father: Could you have done it without taxi drivers?
CEO: …No, of course I will need workers. But it is because of
the brand that I built that people would even be willing to tap on your labour.
Which person in the right mind would board on a brandless vehicle? There is no
assurance for them as to whether this particular service will be credible or
effective! My status packages your taxi service and my high social status is
passed on to the service that you provide. A service that people are willing to
pay $3.40 the very moment they engage with it.
Father: Yes, but who created this perception of credibility
and efficiency? We taxi drivers are your spokespersons! Without us, you and
your brand are nothing.
CEO: All I know is that I don’t need a spokesperson like you!
You are just another driver, there are hundreds of people who can take over
your position. Have fun living in the bottom of the food chain!
Strange enough, my father is still driving taxi hitherto.
Perhaps ‘The Creator’ left in such fury that he forgot to note down my father’s
licence plate.
PART 2: The Thermos
Flask
“Pa, this is your birthday present this year,” I said as I
passed him the $50 (god knows why*) Thermos Flask that I bought from the
department store. He asked me why I bought it for him, and I said it was
because he sits in his air-conditioned taxi all-day. He then said my gift was
redundant, because it would make him go to the toilet more often. Does he hate
going to the toilet? No. My father avoids drinking water because it makes him
go to the toilet which then leads to less chances for him to drive people
around and make money. I wish I was exaggerating, and it hurts that it is true,
but on a daily basis, my father drinks less than 500ml of water over a period
of 12 hours (usual shift). How can he work so hard, to an extent that threatens
his own well-being, and yet earn so little? It never made sense to me. Same
goes for blue-collared workers like construction workers and factory workers;
why are they all succumbed to such conditions? We are all human, but it is
perhaps inevitable that we carry different sets of skills, skills that are not
equally valued in the society. Because of this, we have to accept unequal
conditions. I am reminded of that dark-humour quote from Animal Farm: “All
animals are equal, but some are animals more equal than others.”
Before my father became a taxi driver, I used to complain
about how high taxi fares are, and that people who spend their money on taxis
are just spoilt rich people whom cannot think of better ways of spending their
money. But of course, now that my own father is a taxi driver, I know the
sacrifices taxi drivers have to make and I complain about how taxi fares are
not high enough given the profit margin. Yes, it is very ironic but it goes to
show how one’s perception of value can be biased and may be subjected to
change.
In other words, an average consumer probably does not value
the taxi service as much as I do. Taxi fares are deemed ‘too high’ when the
average consumer finds that it is given more value than it should and if we
talk in terms of simple economic principles, the demand of taxi service would
drop with relatively higher taxi fares. Even if the taxi company does not start
retrenching, my father would probably still earn less money than before (given that
taxi services are not exactly necessities to the average consumer due to the
availability of public and private transport). Moreover, driving is just
driving; technically, anyone who has a driver’s licence can be a taxi driver.
My father’s labour is very replaceable and high in demand (i.e. labour can even
become its own determinant). What matters is the end product; as long as they
are able to reach their destinations, who would care about who is driving? Who
would request for taxi drivers who give better customer service when they are
rushing to get to work? And if the consumer does not care, the firm would not
need to care either since their perceived value is derived from that of the
consumer. There are, however, times when the consumers are constrained by the
producers (be it workers or firms), especially in cases where the consumers
place such high values on certain goods and services to an extent that is
disadvantageous to themselves. Every actor in the global political economy is
so intrinsically bound to one another that it is sometimes difficult to
identify who is being played and who the player is. I feel that the power of
the individual cannot be underestimated yet cannot be overestimated either. It
all ends when you overestimate the power of certain actors.
*I know I said 'god knows why' but it's really just for comic effect. Me no Christian or Methodist or whatever subsidiaries they have.
