Daily Lessons from Life 09 October 2011 - Jobs concerns not among top issues for residents

"Jobs concerns not among top issues for residents - CNA 09 October 2011

SINGAPORE: The Community Development Councils are getting ready to cope with another economic downturn if it hits Singapore's shores.

An impending economic storm may be heading to Singapore's shores, as a sovereign debt crisis is threatening the global economy.

But for now, several Members of Parliament Channel NewsAsia spoke to said cost of living rather than issue of jobs is the top agenda for their residents.

The rising high cost of living is the top concern!

Ms Indranee Rajah, MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said: "People don't think in terms of US and Europe. They think in terms of me, the here and now and my family needs. I think the one I have encountered the most often is the increase in the HDB rental rates for rental flats.

Dr Chia Shi Lu, MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said he has seen a fair number of welfare cases and the reason is due to rising cost of living.

For Mr Seah Kian Peng, MP for Marine Parade GRC, housing and medical issues are among the top concerns.

He added that rising costs of living is another issue shared by residents.

Learning from the experience of the last recession, the Community Development Councils will take a more pro-active stance to provide timely help to affected residents.

One group of workers who could be hit badly in another downturn could be the professionals, managers, executives and technicians or PMETS. And Dr Khor hopes they will make use of the CDC's services if they need help.

The CDCs helped some 12,500 job-seekers find work last year, compared with 21,600 in 2009."

It is good to learn that jobs is not the top concern for ordinary Singaporeans for now! Though the high cost of living is the top concern at least means that they still got a job that pay a salary for them to 'consume'!!

I am sure that will CHANGE BIG TIME when one is out of job! So, maybe the CDCs do have to prepare themselves on helping the residents to find jobs, any jobs should they lose theirs, especially those above 45 years old PMETs!!

Lessons for me are:

1. indeed most residents are still focused about: me! They have no time for the world economic crisis, Greek tragedies or what not. In 1st world Singapore, we will have this category of people in the majority. So, we are not really 1st world yet by this definition!;

2. two of the main government jobs are to ensure: laws and orders and employment. Laws and orders keep the peace and with peace and stability, people can go about 'realizing their potentials'. Be it get a job or start a business and make it big!;

3. when there are not enough jobs, what can we do? we dig deep into our savings and the nation's saving to help the unfortunate, ensuring that the 'unfortunates' are really those that had tried to help themselves and not those that simply sit there and look up to the sky for some godsends! The difficulty will be how to qualify these from the others. The Workfare scheme will work IF there are enough jobs created. If not, what do those really out of job and out and out do?

I hope there will NOT be an economic crisis of tsunami proportion coming our ways. If it did, we simply have to dig into our national reserves again. No doubt about it tough expect vigorous debates and deliberations before this last sort if activated.