SINGAPORE : Household income from work fell in real terms across all income groups in Singapore last year.  This is according to figures released by the Department of Statistics on ‘Key Household Income Trends, 2009′.  Findings indicate that Singapore’s bottom 10 per cent was the hardest hit.  2009 was a rough year for all. Each member of the poorest group of households got a monthly income of S$334, down from S$340 in 2008.

Source: CNA

The fall across the various income groups is accounted for by the weak labour market conditions last year, which saw higher unemployment rates and lower wages. This also led to an increase in the number of persons not working in a household.  

Singaporeans are still recovering from a tough year, made tougher by fee hikes in ITE and Poly fees kicking in on 1 April.  Tuition fees were last raised in 2006.  Republic Polytechnic principal Yeo Li Pheow said: ‘The Government decided to keep fees at the status quo last year because of the economic recession but this year, as the economy turns, it is timely to raise the fees.

Clearly, the government continues to be slow to lower but quick to raise fees.  I wonder what is the proportion of ITE students that come from lower income families.  While the hikes are lower compared to PRs, it’s still a burden for our less well-off families.  Such is the compassion of the PAP government.  Or lack thereof.

 

In a survey report – released on the heels of Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong’s exhortation to well-performing firms to consider reversing wage cuts – Dr Stephen Choo, regional director of Hay Group Insight, warned: “Companies may soon face a talent exodus as soon as the economy strengthens, if nothing is done to reward and recognise the ’sweat debt’ that employers have accumulated over the last year.”

Source: TODAY

When the state media published Manpower Minister Gan’s call to employers to reverse pay cuts last Sunday, many saw it as a prelude to the reinstatement of ministerial pay packages.   To recap, it was reported earlier this year that the annual salaries of Singapore’s ministers and senior civil servants were expected to fall by 12 to 20 percent in line with the shrinking economy.   Given the expected pickup in the economy, there were of course suspicions that our talented ministers are now beginning to feel that their ’sweat debt’ must be duly (and of course quickly) rewarded. 

Earlier today, our esteemed PM Lee announced that Singapore should avoid another recession next year as demand from abroad stabilizes.  This is good news for all.  But in reality, many Singaporeans will instead expect a deepening of the social divide as they continue to sweat it out against rising public utility, transport and housing costs.  Who will repay our sweat debts as we Pay And Pay for those in the ivory towers?

 Jasmine

 

MM Lee had to say what is favorable for his political party and we cannot expect him to admit that something has gone wrong here. For those who have time, I suggest you look up research papers by academics who have looked closely at the problem. I said in my previous posting that globalisation is half the explanation and the other half is our govt policy response to globalisation and the widening income gap. The PAP did not change their old schemes in a big way as the world transformed in the past 20 years. Where did I get this from? Some of it from researchers in LKY School of Public Policy! They took a good look at the problem and concluded that the PAP policy responses were the main cause of the social divide.

Source: Lucky Tan

The income divide in Singapore is real and sad. The senior government officials and Ministers would not nor dare admit it because most of them are looking out only for their own pocket. Once the system is greased through and through, who would want to rock the boat?

To change the situation, it has to start first at the ballot box. However, to make changes at the ballot box, voters must first decide, are we happy with this system? Do we want our children to live in this type of society in the future?

When everything is just money and money and people at the top flush ?? conscience down the drain, then I think this country is doomed.

Arthur

A TOTAL of 12,760 jobs were lost in the first quarter, government data showed on Monday, pushing Singapore’s overall unemployment rate to a three-year high of 3.3 per cent.

Source:  ST

A total of 95,700 residents were unemployed in March.   Amd the number of people re-employed also fell, with only 51% of those retrenched in Q4 2008 re-employed by March 2009, compared to 70% in Dec 2008 and 67% in March 2008.   Elsewhere, retail sales suffered their biggest drop since 1999 as shoppers cut back on big-ticket items such as cars and furniture amid the city-state’s worst ever recession.

These residents and their families are probably worrying about their meals and the roof over their heads.  Youth Olympics, F1, Integrated resorts, 3G Army and the like probably mean nothing to them.  And don’t be fooled by the slight ’surge’ in the PC Show crowd - many may have ended up knee-deep in credit card debt.

Singapore expects its economy to shrink up to 9% this year, which would be its worst contraction since splitting from Malaysia in 1965.  The income gap may have eased in 2008 thanks to government aid, but these unemployed residents need immediate and sustained assistance now, in 2009, and in the months ahead.

SINGAPORE has become a more expensive city to live in, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit .  It moved up five notches – from 15th spot six months ago – to become the 10th costliest city to live in the world, said the EIU in a survey on the worldwide cost of living released on Monday.

Source: The Straits Times

Conversely, London has become cheaper to live in than New York for the first time since 2002.  London fell to the world’s 27th most expensive city from eighth place six months ago. New York rose to 23rd most expensive from 39th.   According to the EIU, the changes in rankings reflect currency moves, including sterling’s 22 per cent decline against the dollar in six months, and the yen’s gain.

What about Singapore?  I don’t usually follow the SGD so I checked up the MAS website and found this chart:

The MAS allowed the SGD to appreciate from Jan through to Jul before easing sharply in Aug 08.  This drop was also reported in the SDP website last August: “The Singapore dollar had its biggest monthly drop in seven years, after reaching a record high in July, as concerns about a slowing economy spurred traders to bet that the central bank will rein in currency gains.”

I guess this is a simplistic explanation for our current ‘plight’ , although I still see crowds thronging shopping complexes every weekend (oops, guess I ought to be included in the number too!).  I say “simplistic” because intuitively, there ought be other reasons why Singapore is the 10th costliest nation, shouldn’t there be?  Prices of goods pushed up by those who can spend (the number of millionaires in Singapore are in the hundreds, I believe)?  Anyone care to enlighten this economics-delinquent? 

WASHINGTON — From front to back and on nearly every page, President Barak Obama’s new budget plan delivers a message that’s seldom been heard in American politics for more than three decades: It’s time for the rich to pay their fair share and lighten the load on the middle class.

It’s not just Obama’s long-promised middle-class tax cuts. In education, health care and an array of other proposals, the new budget strategy would focus more benefits on ordinary Americans and look to the affluent for more help in paying for them.

The change is meant to reverse a long-running trend in the opposite direction.

Source:  Chicago Tribune

Since the 1980s, when President Reagan began an era of tax-cutting that continued for more than two decades, lower-class incomes have stagnated, middle-class incomes have increased only slightly, but the incomes of the richest Americans have skyrocketed.

Obama believes that if the country is going to recover from this economic crisis, the middle income earners must get help. “Throughout our history, the United States has grown and prospered when all Americans have shared in the opportunities created by our economy.”

Currently, the top 20 percent of taxpayers pay 80 percent of all taxes and 40 percent pay no income tax.  Under Obama’s plan, the top 20 percent of tax filers would pay 90 percent of all taxes; the number of families that owe no tax would climb to near 50 percent. 

Obama will face resistance from the Republicans and probably from many wealthy Americans, I’m sure.  While we can’t be sure if his plan will succeed, we must hand it to him – he is not afraid of change and he has the courage and will to carry it through. 

Credit should also go the American public.  Many would have anticipated fundamental changes to public policies when they voted Obama in (’change’ was his campaign theme after all).  It takes courage to step out of our comfort zones, to try out new things and challenge existing structures and mindsets. 

How do Singaporeans fare in this department?  Let us know.

http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2009/01/since-independence-day-independence.html

posted by LuckySingaporean

It has been several decades since we gained independence from the British. What “independence” meant to our forefathers was taking control of their destiny – to be independent of their British masters who governed them. Since our independence from the British, our govt has taken our independence to a whole new level….

Recent discussion surrounding the independence of our judiciary tells us how accomplished we are as an independent nation. Our judiciary is now independent of decisions from the Privy Council in England and it is independent beyond all doubt…anyone wearing kangaroo T-shirts is jailed for breaking the law for committing judicial blasphemy. Our AG engages in verbal and legal warfare against the Western media which constantly attacks ours judiciary like barbarians in our civilised world. The independence of our judges are so unquestionable that any worries about them being beholdened due to the appointment process can only be dismissed as conspiracy theories.

Now there will be an independent panel to decide on which party political film will be allowed in Singapore. I’m sure they will be as independent as the team that investigated Mas Selamat’s escape and their views will be as independent as that of the Straits Times.

Having set high standards for independence in our institutions our govt constantly lament that Singaporeans are too dependent on the govt. You may wonder how this is possible when we are not a welfare state…when there are no safety nets like in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. We are dependent on the govt for housing, transport, water, electricity and medical care…..and the PAP govt is so tired of the people being so dependent that it has hindered its ability to raise prices. An outstanding govt like the PAP ought to be able to raise prices to whatever it wishes and not have all these dependent people screaming at those price hikes. When our govt laments that Singaporeans are too dependent on the govt, it expresses the desire of our elite leaders to break free from a citzens who they see as hindering them from realising their grand achievements.

Yes, the PAP govt has created an independent judiciary, independent civil service, numerous independent panels,…and now it wants its citizens to be independent enough to be able to accept those price hikes without screaming the 4 letter word – PAIN.

http://www.mrbrownshow.com/2009/01/06/the-mrbrown-show-helping-us-cope/

Sound bites:

“I COPE”
“I SNAP”
“I HOP”

We help ourselves. Don’t expect others to help

Tom Wright painted a bleak picture of Singapore’s property sector going forward at The Wall Street Journal. His article ended with the following:
“I’m yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel [for Singapore],” says Mr. Tan, the high-end broker.
We would expect people to continue to dig the dirt and tell it to [...]



Our skin isn’t as thick as it should be

The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) organised a seminar on March 4 to discuss Singapore’s political blogosphere.  Tan Tarn How, Senior Research Fellow and Research Assistant Tan Simin presented their paper on trends observed in the blogosphere.  As reported in the TOC, the researchers identified the following limitations:

The online-offline firewall, while somewhat alleviated by offline [...]



Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew – The answer to the African problem?

Recently, I followed a thread “Democracy and Economic Growth” which started in PoliticsForum.org.   Apparently, members there often question the role of democracy in a developing nation. “During the wave of democratization in Africa during the 90s, many people had renewed hope for the continent, immediately equating newly established democracies to economic growth. Are these democracies [...]



Tell Singapore government: Ask them a question or give a suggestion

We informed people about the “Tell Singapore Government” subsite and have received some interesting reaction at some forums.
See: 3in1 Kopitiam, Sam’s Alfresco Coffee, Singapore Kopitiam, SgForums
Our responses to some of the comments are listed below. If we are not answering some other specific questions, that is because we do not know how.
 

Petitions

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I don’t know

Our Singapore

As seen by people

• 
  

• Purpose

To observe, analyse, present our position, and call for action. Read our articles, give your views, and learn together with us.