Thanks to all who voted PAP
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think we will die and our savings all gone...Originally posted by lionnoisy:2.If CSJ run Spore,he just sell all in Temasek and GIC and declare
Spore 5 years tax free period,
In next election,99.9999% people will vote for him again.
Cheers!!
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yar and progress package just before elections will sway so many supporters?
WTF WTF WTF.. -
Originally posted by Rock^Star:
This list should be kept alive for at least 3.5 years more.
[b]The relentless rising cost of living in Singapore
Posted by theonlinecitizen on August 27th, 2007
The following is a collated list of price increases which TOC could find – from various news reports, blogs, websites, forums, etc – since Jan 2006 to the present.
If we have left out any, please do let us know. If you have observed any price hikes around your neighbourhood (or anywhere else) please let us know also.
We can be reached at [email protected]
The list may not be comprehensive and any clarification is welcome.
2006
Jan 9: Pump prices at all 29 Caltex stations will go up from 11pm on Monday night. Prices will go up by four cents per litre for all three grades. (link)
Feb 13: Polytechnics and ITE increase fees by $50 and $10 respectively (link) (link)
Feb 14: NTU, NUS to raise tuition fees by 3% from next academic year. Tuition fees at both the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University will go up by S$180 for the next academic year. This 3 percent increase comes on the heels of a 5 percent hike just last year. (link)
Mar 6: Expect annual tuition fee increases. Hostel fees will also go up by 10% to 11% from next academic year. (NTU) (link)
Mar 9: Retail pump prices for Synergy petrol and diesel at all Esso and Mobil service stations in Singapore were increased by 6 cents a litre. (link) (link)
June 1: NTUC Car Co-Op raises fuel surcharge: We cannot continue subsidizing the fuel price increase in the long run without compromising the quality of service. Thus, the management has decided to implement a fuel surcharge of $0.30 for every 10km free with effect from 1 June 2006. (link)
June 27: Electricity tariff to go up next quarter. Domestic users, for example, will have to pay 21.15 cents for every kWH of electricity, up from 20.49 cents currently. (link)
July 10: Comfort Delgro raises taxi fares. Besides raising the flag down fare and the peak hour surcharge from $1 to $2, ComfortDelgro is also making distance-related adjustment. (link) (link)
July: Taxi companies raise fares. (link) (link)
July 17: SMRT hikes taxi fares. (link)
Aug: SMRT, SBS apply for fare hike. (link)
Aug: NUS hikes tuition fees by between $180, $220, and $510, depending on faculty. (link)
Aug: ERP rates to go up at six gantries, mainly at CTE. (link)
Oct: Public Transport Council approves 1.7% fare increase for bus and trains. Adult EZ-link fares for buses and trains will increase by 1 to 3 cents, which amounts to an overall fare hike of 1.7 percent. (link)
Nov: SingPost revises postage rate. (link)
Nov 12: Rates for HDB rental flats pegged to income. (link)
Dec: Govt spells out fees to be frozen. (link)
2006: Loan sharks cases rise by 19%, to 10, 221 cases. (link)
2006: A total of 419 people committed suicide in 2006, up from 346 in 2003. The suicide rate per 100,000 residents - a sobering indicator in population statistics - is also on the upswing, growing from 9.3 in 2003 to 10.3 in 2006, figures from the Registry of Births and Deaths reveal. It is the fourth straight rise in as many years. (ST, Aug 13, 2007) (link)
2006: Islandwide, home rentals climbed 10 per cent in 2006. (ST, Aug 6, 2007) (link)
2006: At Alexandra Hospital, A&E charges went up from $55 to $60, as did C-class ward charges — from $21 to $23 — and subsidised specialist outpatient clinic consultation rates, from $18 to $20. (link)
[/b]
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You'll welcome.....
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Is this list to be categorized under PAP's achievement?Originally posted by LimSianTong:This list should be kept alive for at least 3.5 years more. 
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please dun make hasty conclusion that these price increase = voting pap is wrong
cannot anyhow link arguments like that. only look at the negative sides of course you will create your own self fufiling prophecy. -
Massive internal corruption is the price to pay for voting PAP.
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Hello Friends,
As a consumer , price changes affects me.
I like to know how I have been spending money. How prices have changed. Price patterns and its evolution. I need to also factor in Inflationary effect.
As cost of living has risen to 1st world standard and recently so many prices hiked, I need to revise my plans, my savings plan, my expenditure. I need to see how much more am I spending , need to spend so that I can plan for retirement.
Thus, I would suggest that its of value and even sellable if someone compiles all the news articles about when price hiked and what hiked based on a chronological order and relating to events which caused the hikes, if any, and sell it as a consumer price index kind of reference material. So that we will never forget and at appropriate times, can rely on this book of facts to assess price hikes. Like if operator A wants another price hike, I can refer to this book of facts to see the pattern of price hikes over the years and see if its justifiable and from this book i can decide to support or not the price hike.
I think this kind of book should not be considered political as it is consumer price book of facts.
what say you? -
U should seen the parliamentary debate last night when MP Lily Neo questioned the MITA Lim Hng Kiang over the inflationary problem, he quicklyOriginally posted by reddressman:Hello Friends,
As a consumer , price changes affects me.
I like to know how I have been spending money. How prices have changed. Price patterns and its evolution. I need to also factor in Inflationary effect.
As cost of living has risen to 1st world standard and recently so many prices hiked, I need to revise my plans, my savings plan, my expenditure. I need to see how much more am I spending , need to spend so that I can plan for retirement.
Thus, I would suggest that its of value and even sellable if someone compiles all the news articles about when price hiked and what hiked based on a chronological order and relating to events which caused the hikes, if any, and sell it as a consumer price index kind of reference material. So that we will never forget and at appropriate times, can rely on this book of facts to assess price hikes. Like if operator A wants another price hike, I can refer to this book of facts to see the pattern of price hikes over the years and see if its justifiable and from this book i can decide to support or not the price hike.
I think this kind of book should not be considered political as it is consumer price book of facts.
what say you?
zhao after briefly answering. -
What abt the mother of all rise? the minister pay rise? or did i miss it from the list?
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I think I am not against anyone who never fail to support PAP.Originally posted by Rock^Star:Thanks for giving the PAP a mandate. This is so that the national culture of price increase at the slightest trigger can continue to thrive.
2008 price increase? Sure, why not?
2009?
2010?
2050?
2100?
Of course! Thanks a million.
Everyone has their rights to choose.
What I am more concerned about is whether are we not giving enough mandate to the other parties to allow them a chance to have more say in parliament for groups of people, to help them raise their concerns.
And we need to ask ourselves, is it really better to have an overwhelming mandate for 1 party such that it gives some people the impression of a 1-party state? Not that it exists.
What is Democracy?
In a democracy, must everyone agree on everything?
No need for objections since 40 years ago to eternity?
Which scenario is more healthy?
Check and Balance. What is it?
NKF. Why got so many rotten tomatoes? Never expect right? Well, its the Truth there are rotten tomatoes. You have to swallow these rotten tomatoes now.
Never say never. There is always a place for Opposition in a truely healthy and vibrant society.
Nothing stays forever. What if a rotten tomato emerge in future? No Ying to Balance the Yang, how?
Last but not least, we should admit the situation, the status quo and then give ourselves the responsibility that its our decisions that will affect our future and the kind of democracy we want and so we need to do what is necessary to have a Balanced life. -
seems like ppl here don't understand economics. for every developed/developing countries, inflation is a norm. Deflation or stagnation or hyper-inflation can mean that the country is slipping into crisis. A small amount of inflation is often viewed as having a positive effect on the economy. One reason for this is that it is difficult to renegotiate some prices, and particularly wages, downwards, so that with generally increasing prices it is easier for relative prices to adjust. many prices are "sticky downward" and tend to creep upward, so that efforts to attain a zero inflation rate (a constant price level) punish other sectors with falling prices, profits, and employment. Efforts to attain complete price stability can also lead to deflation which is generally viewed as a negative outcome because of the significant downward adjustments in wages and output that are associated with it.
not that i'm being pro-govt but just a little information about why prices are increasing. singapore has an mixed economy and there are many factors why inflation is occurring. the rich poor divide is another problem that is existent in every developed country today. unless singapore closes itself like north korea or make itself communist to distribute wealth 'equally', it will always exist in a globalised economy as millionaire businessmen continue to make more and more money. So even if the opposition take over or PAP continue to rule price will continue to increase unless the govt is willing to let our country slide backwards or turn us into a welfare state.
sorry to those who cant understand -
Oil / Fuel prices is something that concerns me deeply.
Transport companies applied before for increase in fares in view of raising oil prices, its true that the oil prices did hit a high, but thats what the market is about, highs and lows.
The application went through despite plenty of discussion, but on the period of implementation, oil prices are already back to the norm.......
the bigger picture is that , if they are apply for fare hike because of oil price increase, could we , citizens apply for fare decrease when oil prices hit a low?
Since they are rather privatized companies, why are we citizens suffering for their profitability? In a normal competitive marketing scenerio, with "real" competition, you cant just any-o-how increase ur price to make more money, as you have to deal with competition! With unesccesary price increase, consumer have the choice to buy another fairly priced competitor's products.
However, in our transport scenerio, we have sadly not much options but to submit. Why can the transport companies look at themselves? how to function more efficiently? How to reduce cost internally? why cant their CEO and directors take a pay cut to increase company's profitablitly? there are many ways, not just to increase selling price, which in a real competitive market doesnt permit. -
that's for the ministers. as for the peasants, 30% increased to the C wards hospital billsOriginally posted by carrotsoup:What abt the mother of all rise? the minister pay rise? or did i miss it from the list?
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This is really silly.
Which country has gone from cheap to cheaper from year to year, year on year?
Which country has the price of a cup of coffee, say 50cents to 40cents to 30 cents to 20cents to 10 cents to 5 cents, and then 1 cent? and next year will be even cheaper?
Rising prices is a fact.
We are all going to die, is also a fact.
So what's the beef? -
dont u feel that pay is getting lesser n lesser when all this shit increase..u noe how many local company make use of this increase to say they dun earn at all must cut payOriginally posted by mancha:This is really silly.
Which country has gone from cheap to cheaper from year to year, year on year?
Which country has the price of a cup of coffee, say 50cents to 40cents to 30 cents to 20cents to 10 cents to 5 cents, and then 1 cent? and next year will be even cheaper?
Rising prices is a fact.
We are all going to die, is also a fact.
So what's the beef? -
u tink if no vote for PAP we now all will be living better ma?
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X3Originally posted by dbowie:I smell sarcasm. -
I think many think like you.Originally posted by FireIce:u tink if no vote for PAP we now all will be living better ma?
I feel the urge to draw people's attention to an aspect regarding voting.
If people keep thinking like you, there would be no need for opposition.
Opposition has a role to play in all Democratic society.
Do you disagree with this statement? I suppose so.
Somehow, they have a lot of money to employ people whose qualification looks very good. With money, this is possible.
I am not talking about replacing the PAP. I am concerned about an Imbalance of power situation. You know what this situation can lead to dun you? just open your eyes and see what's happening.
No one owes WP a living. She should fight and strive to win more voters by delivering results and showing their capability.
But to do this, they need to be able to reach out to voters.
In current situations, how are they going to be able to do that compared to PAP?
WP recently applied for permission for an outing. What happened?
If PAP applied, what happens?
This is the kind of issues I like to draw people's attention to.
Its not about which party should win or which should loose. Which to hate and which to love. This is not soccer. Its our society and we have a part to play.
When I see a blind man trying to cross the road, I will lend a hand to help him cross the road safely, regardless who he is.
Its only the People who can balance the Ying and Yang. We need to look into ourselves and find the calling to do what is right. Every 5 years there will be voting. If things don't work out right, we the People shall fix it by making it right again. Without some help from the People, political parties are nothing. -
As citizens of a developed nation, one does not ask for zero inflation as this would lead to an erosion of corporate profits and growth. A loss of employment will ensue as well. Inflation is definitely inevitable.Originally posted by ah_kwang:seems like ppl here don't understand economics. for every developed/developing countries, inflation is a norm. Deflation or stagnation or hyper-inflation can mean that the country is slipping into crisis. A small amount of inflation is often viewed as having a positive effect on the economy. One reason for this is that it is difficult to renegotiate some prices, and particularly wages, downwards, so that with generally increasing prices it is easier for relative prices to adjust. many prices are "sticky downward" and tend to creep upward, so that efforts to attain a zero inflation rate (a constant price level) punish other sectors with falling prices, profits, and employment.
Efforts to attain complete price stability can also lead to deflation which is generally viewed as a negative outcome because of the significant downward adjustments in wages and output that are associated with it.
sorry to those who cant understand
However, inflation has to be accompanied by rise in wages. Sadly, the only wages that really rose were for the civil servants. Singapore middle class is actually facing an income stagnation whereas the rich are getting richer.
It is only normal of a developedcountry? Think again. With Singapore's heavy reliance on Foreign Direct Investment, we are just a hunting ground for cheap labour. A lot of middle income workers can only look forward to the paltry annual inflation increment every year.
FDIs are normally ideal for developing countries where rapid knowledge impartation is required for the country's economy to grow and for the workforce to become skilled. Singapore has failed to move away from this framework and therefore is prone to regional financial crises.
On the other hand, a glance north-east up to Taiwan reveals her strong entrepreneurial ability and corporations are more willing to pay their citizen employees higher than their Singaporean counterparts.
Therefore the key is:
Inflation has its postive effects on the economy but by giving the PAP a mandate every election, are we constantly giving them the green light to raise prices at the slightest of reasons?
The public transport is one example. With SMRT and SBS registering increase in profits year after year, how does this justify relentless fare hikes?
The ERP is another issue. In recent years, it seems that the ONLY method to curb road congestion is to introduce ERP charges.
What happened to the good old of days of 20% complusory downpayment for car purchases? A lot of young people are going on credit these days and it certainly bodes ill for long term retirement planning.
Abolishment of this ruling and the manipulation of COE prices allow Singapore to increase its car population and hence more revenue for fines, road taxes and ERP charges.
Why collect millions from high COE prices over ten years when you can earn millions in one day through ERP charges?
The last thing Singaporeans want is to have this habit of price increase as a quick fix, embedded into our national culture. If every damn thing can be solved with a price increase, why the need to pay our ministers millions? -
Extracts from an essay by Gary Dean (who specialises in the culture, economics, history and politics of SEA countries):
This ability to innovate is crucial to an economies ability to extract rents from the market for new products. Because Singapore's export economy is dominated by non-Singaporean transnational corporations (TNCs) who have not been burdened with the need to directly share their technologies, Singapore's capability to innovate is said to be much less than that now displayed by Taiwan and South Korea.
Along with the other NIEs, Singapore shared certain factors that tended to increase its international competitiveness, among them stable macroeconomic policies, sound financial systems and good infrastructure, an educated workforce, a work ethos, and policies which encouraged entrepreneurial activity. However, in the area of foreign investment Singapore took quite another path compared to South Korea and Taiwan. In fact, the Singapore government's treatment of foreign investors -- at least in the early years of development -- was almost preferential when compared to indigenous capital. Through infrastructural subsidies and tax incentives to foreign exports, the local Singaporean business class was to an extent marginalized.
In both cases, a huge anonymous underclass of cheap labour supported the superstructure; in the case of Singapore, Malaysians (of every race, not just Malays) and other Southeast Asians, who are offered only the barest of legislative protection by the government.
However, one important weakness in Singapore's approach is the question of technological innovation, considered the last stage of technology transfer.[10] For a variety of reasons, state-of-the-art R&D by TNCs is nearly always concentrated in a few developed countries, and high technology tends not to be developed outside the TNC's home-base. Cutting-edge R&D in particular is usually undertaken close to management and decision-making centres where there exists a large local market, and a pool of advanced and specialist technical skills.[11] Another important weakness is that the very presence of strong TNCs can inhibit local companies from deepening their technological capabilities, preferring to import foreign technologies that are proven and ready-to-use, rather than invest in their own R&D.[12] This is arguably what has already happened in Singapore as a consequence of their developmental path.
The cost in human terms of this success has been high: Singapore today is an authoritarian corporatist state that intervenes in virtually every aspect of citizen's lives. Singapore has become a nation of functionaries who serve the interests of the TNCs and the Singaporean state elite. Within such an environment there exists very little true entrepreneurship.
FDI has not assisted in the development of an innovative population; rather it has assisted in the creation of a self-satisfied, arrogant society that seems content to live off its natural advantages.[23] Singapore today resembles an enormous air-conditioned shopping mall, with squeaky-clean streets and traffic so orderly as to border on the bizarre.
http://www.okusi.net/garydean/works/fdising.html -
that is why i am telling people not to jump to conclusion using their own mix and match knowledge.Originally posted by ah_kwang:seems like ppl here don't understand economics. for every developed/developing countries, inflation is a norm. Deflation or stagnation or hyper-inflation can mean that the country is slipping into crisis. A small amount of inflation is often viewed as having a positive effect on the economy. One reason for this is that it is difficult to renegotiate some prices, and particularly wages, downwards, so that with generally increasing prices it is easier for relative prices to adjust. many prices are "sticky downward" and tend to creep upward, so that efforts to attain a zero inflation rate (a constant price level) punish other sectors with falling prices, profits, and employment. Efforts to attain complete price stability can also lead to deflation which is generally viewed as a negative outcome because of the significant downward adjustments in wages and output that are associated with it.
not that i'm being pro-govt but just a little information about why prices are increasing. singapore has an mixed economy and there are many factors why inflation is occurring. the rich poor divide is another problem that is existent in every developed country today. unless singapore closes itself like north korea or make itself communist to distribute wealth 'equally', it will always exist in a globalised economy as millionaire businessmen continue to make more and more money. So even if the opposition take over or PAP continue to rule price will continue to increase unless the govt is willing to let our country slide backwards or turn us into a welfare state.
sorry to those who cant understand
They do not have the specialized knowledge to know various economic trends and how things work.
i study economics before. -
how come even yin and yang is in the discussion liao?Originally posted by reddressman:WP recently applied for permission for an outing. What happened?
If PAP applied, what happens?
This is the kind of issues I like to draw people's attention to.
Its not about which party should win or which should loose. Which to hate and which to love. This is not soccer. Its our society and we have a part to play.
When I see a blind man trying to cross the road, I will lend a hand to help him cross the road safely, regardless who he is.
Its only the People who can balance the Ying and Yang. We need to look into ourselves and find the calling to do what is right. Every 5 years there will be voting. If things don't work out right, we the People shall fix it by making it right again. Without some help from the People, political parties are nothing.
ya, that is why i am telling the opposition dun fall into the self prophecy trap.
the point is that PAP, like all govt in the world, and all opposition, will make mistakes. We live in world that is unpredictable, how can every decision and policies strike TOTO.
PAP alone will not speadhead singapore. it needs logical and reasonable intellectual not active in politics but good in science, maths, business or marketing to contribute to its improvement. What we need to do is to find the avenue and feedback knowledge to the govt so that the pool of intellectual increases and allow for the nation to do the right stuff.
anyway, the richest people in singapore or any country is busines people, CEOs, CFOs and UFOs. So instead of just blaming the govt, why not u just think of how to earn more money.
An lastly, the universe does not revolve around singapore, sometimes, you have to think of your role as a global citizen too? Its not about serving national interest all the time. Sometimes, we have to think about humanity too. -
Originally posted by Rock^Star:
taiwan has many problems also. i have taiwan channels and i see the disputes they have between different parties.
[b]Extracts from an essay by Gary Dean (who specialises in the culture, economics, history and politics of SEA countries):
This ability to innovate is crucial to an economies ability to extract rents from the market for new products. Because Singapore's export economy is dominated by non-Singaporean transnational corporations (TNCs) who have not been burdened with the need to directly share their technologies, Singapore's capability to innovate is said to be much less than that now displayed by Taiwan and South Korea.
[/b]
http://www.okusi.net/garydean/works/fdising.html[/b]
Anyway, taiwan parties disputes and fighting has happened for very long already but does it therefore lead to a brighter taiwan??
PAP members each and everyone has their own views of truth. They do have different opinions and what they think is right for the country and do stand on different grounds some times. So do not think that only the opposition parties have alternate views. -
If you can get me a litre of petrol for 50cents, I'll vote for you. And may I thank you in advance.