Up, Up & Away
Thu, Nov 27, 2008
Over the past one and the half years, since the last elections,
life in our little red dot of a country has been anything but
generally one of stress, anxiety and uncertainty. Our
cost-of-living shot up to 7.5% in May, the highest in 26 years.
Thanks to the PAP Government for leading the way by thrusting up
the GST rate by a massive 40% which netted an extra $990 million,
virtually immediately after their “resounding” victory at the
polls. They were also smart enough to raise their own
remunerations, not much later, by another massive 15% - 20%, to
help cushion the impact of the anticipated rising costs.
Then came the explanations for their inconsiderate actions,
followed by attempts to pacify the bewildered populace. The blame
was conveniently cast on factors beyond their control –- of course
-- namely the sub-prime crisis in the West and the blooming price
of fuel oil.
One smart aleck of a minister even suggested that the poor could
substitute rice with tapioca or sweet potato! Harvard-trained
scholars groomed in posh, aircon ivory towers can be pretty
ignorant of wet market prices at the ground.
Both tapioca and sweet potatoes are often more expensive than
rice. Some simple checks with hawkers, before blaring and blasting,
could save loads of embarrassment.
Dow Jones said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 7.7% in
May, on a month-on-month basis. The Singapore Purchasing Index
(SPI) also slid for the 6th consecutive month, the lowest since
December 2001, owing to a decrease in new orders and output. A
survey by DP Information Group showed that Pharmaceuticals were
down by 48.5%, Electricals by 30.6%, and Semiconductors by
12.6%.
Unemployment Rate Up
Factory output was down by 12.8% in May, compared to last May. It
was the biggest fall in 7 years. Retrenchments went up, and the
unemployment rate grew to 2%, up from 1.7% last December.
And when employers tried cutting costs in order to survive,
workers’ woes escalated further when their remunerations and work
benefits declined correspondingly.
Fuel oil prices jetted to a record US$144 per barrel by end-June,
despite Saudi Arabia’s promise to increase production.
Subsequently, pumps prices went up for the 13th time -- nearly
doubling that a year ago. Grade 92-Octane petrol costs $2.203 per
litre, Grade-95 at $2.236/litre, and Grade-98 at $2.31/litre.
Some 1800 owners rallied to an official suggestion to use the
“cheaper” compressed natural gas (CNG), and either bought or
converted their vehicles, only to find themselves facing rising CNG
prices by 16% - 26% over the last four months.
SIA and SilkAir recently raised their 3rd fuel surcharge hike, to
an additional US$10 for regional trips and US$60 for long haul
trips. Coach fares to Malaysia now carry a surcharge of $5 - $15
per trip. Local premium bus fares are also up by 30 - 60 cts per
trip, while private buses upped their fares between 10% -
20%.
More ERP Gantries
LTA meanwhile installed an additional six new ERP gentries. There
are now a total of 65 gantries all over our little, very “fine”
island, with more being planned to “tackle” the traffic
congestions. While it is uncertain how the gantries can really
solve those traffic problems, they will certainly contribute
another large cache to the Government’s coffers.
Compared to that last year, the price of Cooking Oil shot up by a
whopping 47.6%, Rice & Cereal by 19%, Utilities by 18.7%, Eggs
& Diary products by 13.6%, Accomodation by 12.6%, Food by 9%,
and Health Care by 6.1%. Education, Childcare and Kindergarten fees
also flew up, some by 35% in this year alone.
Electricity bills went up by 5% in July to 25.07 cts per kilowatt.
The power tariff is reviewed on a quarterly basis, and has
increased by 8.83% since last July. On the average, a HDB one-room
flat has to pay an additional $1.20 per month, while the 5-room
flat pays an extra $5.
Higher Property Tax
Property Taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Authority of
Singapore (IRAS) increased by an estimated 10% since last
September. The tax is based on the potential annual rental returns
of properties, as evaluated by the Authorities.
However, most homes are owner-occupied, and since there is no
rental income, the homeowner is “penalized” for living in his own
home! The Government, on the other hand, continues to encourage
greater home ownership as a national pull.
The Straits Times Index continued to head south, with a 15% slide,
the biggest first half fall in market capitalization since the
Asian crisis of 1998. It translated to a massive loss of $120
billion in the market value of Singapore Listed Companies.
These do not include any gains/losses from the $30.67 billions
which the Government Investment Corporation (GIC) and Temasek
Holdings had “invested” in helping to rescue some American and
Swiss banks, around the beginning of this year.
On the social front, more and more young adults (20 – 30 yrs old)
are being bankrupted, many due to share trading misfortune. They
formed 15% of those mired with credit woes during the first
quarter, upped by 2% from the same period last year. On an average,
each owed at least $55,000 to seven creditors.
Rich Got Richer
Though the entire scenario is not generally rosy, the rich do
get richer and the poor poorer. At a recent count excluding
dwelling properties, there are now about 77,000 Singaporean
millionaires, an inspiring growth of 15.3% over 2007.
And out there, many bright-eyed youngsters aspire to join the
band-wagon by becoming a minister someday. To each his own then.
Materialism is a double-edge sword as many will find out to their
peril later in life. Meantime, we do wish them well.
http://www.nsp.sg/articles.php?
Hopefully since you posted their article, you
have some contacts with them.
Tell them that PAP can do much
better to revive the economy. They are doing some things right but
they are also doing some things wrong.
They are doing dishonorable,
legally corrupt things as well.
So tell them, the opposition, to expose the
legally corrupt things that PAP is doing that is not helping the
economy, if not damaging it.
But then the dishonorable
despot and asson might come suing them if they are too vocal... so
let it be, let the PAP damage the economy and destroy the
country.... as a punishment
for the apathetic silliporeans (ignoraing despots
persecuting dissidents and opposition) and the dogs of the despots
so keen on tasting their
sh!t.