Has the 'Virtual World' of a ‘Swiss Standard of Living’ crashed, and are Singaporeans being brought back into the Reality World ?
Was it realistic to dream of and to transplant the expectations of a ‘Swiss Standard of Living’ onto Singapore ?
Is it enough to simply achieve the ‘Swiss Standard of Living’ by having high wages, so as to afford the best things available in life to be brought into Singapore, and having homes (HDB or Private) that has a ‘face value’ of a Million Dollars, and to afford the best material living as found in the First World ?
When the Swiss set out to achieve a high standard of living, with accompanying high quality to their Life, which country did they try to emulate ?
Did the Swiss declare to emulate or use the American Standard of Living, or perhaps the French Standard of Living, as a goal for themselves ?
Certainly not, as they went about in their own quiet ways to have a high standard of living according to their own familiar Swiss standards, with the accompanying tangible productive output that allow them to attain and sustain the Standard and Quality of Life that the Swiss aspire for themselves.
In attaining the Standard of Living that the Swiss aspire for themselves, they would have ensured that the capacity to sustain the standard and quality of life is attainable by every Swiss Citizens, and that no one is left behind - and UNABLE to afford the Cost of Living that they have created for themselves at a pace tolerable to themselves.
Why would Singapore want to transplant the Swiss Standard of Living onto an Asian society such as the one in Singapore, which consist of a cosmopolitan society dominated largely by four predominant Asian societies – Chinese, Malays, Indians, and Eurasians - and more familiar with the Asian Standards and Asian Cost of Living ?
Will it not be better for Singapore to evolve its own ASIAN High Standard of Living, at an ASIAN cost of living and for the Quality of Life that is attainable and sustainable by every single person who call himself / herself a Singaporean ?
Such an ASIAN High Standard of Living will be above the familiar poor standard found in the third world parts of Asia, and BENCHMARKED against the best in Asia, Europe and the Americas, without the need of imposing a Swiss Standard onto a typical Asian society.
It seems ludicrous to believe that a Swiss Standard of Living, with Swiss Cost of Living to boot, can be sustainable in Singapore, when Singapore does not have the same tangible industrial, technological and creative output as the Swiss.
The Swiss has its famous designer watch industry, as well as its famed high precision industries that have provided world class products that are much sought after, resulting in a high level of productivity for each Swiss that allow them to sustain the high wage levels to maintain a high quality of life, and a high standard of living.
The opposite seems to be true in the Singapore experience, in which wages are artificially forced up by the Government, with the objective of driving labor intensive and low tech industries out of Singapore, and attracting workers in Singapore to upgrade their skills for new high tech industries that will be drawn into Singapore on favorable legislated terms specially drafted to attract such foreign industries into Singapore.
However, the large increases made to Singapore wage level over the last twenty years are artificially imposed, based on non-tangible productive outputs that cannot be sustained over time. Most of the outputs are the products of MNCs that will not be permanently based in Singapore, once the favorable terms for being in Singapore expire.
With the paring down of Civil ServantÂ’s pay, starting from those who will join the Civil Service, is this the beginning of an effort by the Ruling Party to tone down the ambitious and unrealistic goals of having a Swiss Standard of Living to be imposed onto the HDB Heartlanders ?(News on Friday - see site below)
Will we begin to see a slow spiral of related ‘Swiss Cost of Living’ similarly lowered at a similar speed as well ?
Now that the wage pressures have been lifted off, surely we should see some nett difference in the charges levied by the many Singapore GLCs that provide essential services to Singaporeans ?
It is about time for Singaporeans to truly live like the Swiss nationals, with a home that is affordable and also allowing a substantial portion of the monthly wage to be in REAL SAVINGS not with the CPF but in Private Bank Accounts - Fixed or Savings or Investment Accounts.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/latest/story/0,4390,218735-1068242340,00.html?Govt to cut civil servants' starting pay SINGAPORE -- The Government said on Friday it will cut the starting pay of new civil servants by up to 20 per cent from January despite the economy showing signs of recovery.
The changes announced on Monday by the Public Service Division (PSD) will have the greatest impact on the 2,500 fresh graduates who are likely to join the Civil Service next year.
The PSD also said in its statement that civil servants will receive an annual variable bonus of half a month's salary this year, the lowest in 15 years.
Since the Government started paying this bonus in 1988, it has always paid a minimum of three-quarters of a month's salary.
The cuts are aimed at aligning government salaries with the pay of workers in the private sector.
Further salary cuts will be carried out in specific cases which exceed market benchmarks and a review will be carried out to keep wages at a par with the private sector.
The size of the salary cuts will vary depending, among others, on how much the starting pay would exceed the private sector benchmark.
The cuts in starting salaries and bonus payments will reduce the Government's wage bill by $63 million (US$36 million) a year.
Although the Singapore economy is showing signs of a rebound, the recovery 'is still fledgling and not yet broad-based,' the statement said. -- AFP