The situation of high costs of living is a serious one. It is so
serious that
(a) Lower income families cannot pay utility, public transport,
housing and medical not to mention the meals. Smaller assistance
will not help this group to tie over current subsistence-living
problems.
(b) Middle-income families cannot make ends meet usually incurring
credit cards debts and will have to downgrade. Smaller assistance
will also not help this group tie over problems.
The urgency to help the lower-income group is there. The
middle-income group too is in a quandary.
To the first group, the proposed $1 billion workfare assistance
will help.
To the middle-income earners who are squeezed by dropping assets
and the high costs of living due to double-charging on land,
triple-charging on vehicles, etc, help will be welcome if there are
not at the expense of creating a deficit.
How to collect just the necessary taxes and fees without burdening
the middle-class with exorbitant excise duty on vehicle even after
it was agreed that COE and/or ERP would be the final measures to
cope with road traffic congestion.
We need leaders who can understand how the economy works and who
will realize that by over-taxing and over-recovering costs in all
kinds of fee increases, there economy will not grow and there will
be no jobs.
Our great leaders, who keep trying to claim themselves as world
best, our Ministers, MPs, grassroot leaders, who are supposedly
scholars and our oppositions should fight for the citizens and not
hide behind some hypes about welfare or wrong assumption that
paying our highest ministers' salaries will prevent or reduce
corruptions.
Many past assumptions behind our major government policies such as
pointed out remain assumptions. I am sure Singapore can do with
less and less extravagant spendings on concrete arches or more rain
shelters or other big projects unhelpful to job creations to be
scaled down or stopped.
I am sure given the will be many good solutions e.g. not to
over-spend and collect only the necessary taxes without bankrupting
the middle class.
The middle-income group is presently suffering from severe drop of
asset values due to bursting of asset bubble caused partly by
government's own mistakes in pushing up public sector salaries
under Dr. Goh Keng Swee's doctrine...which is a doubtful doctrine
on hindsight.
Citizens may argue ceaselessly and uncertainly among themselves on
a lot of issues because of pros-and-cons and cannot come to
conclusive views but leaders must surely have the larger
perspective and visions to see larger picture and not use citizens'
dilemma over necessary help to the middle class.
Solutions lie in not over-taxing the people, over-paying the public
sector salaries or over-spending on extravagance. Both lower-income
group and middle-income group stand to benefit if costs of living
are not pushed up unnecessarily by these past wrong policies which
should be corrected fast..if economy is to grow again.
