Daily Lessons from Life 02 January 2012 - Don't Expect Too Much from the Government!

Huimin gave a treat to her grandmother, sister and cousins with her 1st pay check today! I was the driver and we had a good time!!

"The Business Times Monday, Jan 02, 2012

Singapore has to take the expected economic slowdown in 2012 in its stride, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said a day after delivering a sobering New Year message.

'I think that the economy goes up, goes down, we have to take it in our stride,' he said at the launch of Chinese New Year festivities in Chinatown yesterday evening.

He cautioned against expecting too much help from the government.

'2008/09 was very different,' he said, referring to the global financial crisis. 'That was a once in a generation, maybe once in two or three generation event. So we have to go all out.

'The normal business cycles, some years will be better, some years will be slower. I think we have to take it in our stride.'

He was non-committal on measures to address concerns about high inflation, but noted that the 'Grow & Share' package - a comprehensive set of tax and living expenses-related measures - was effective in helping to deal with rising costs in 2011.

'That had already given considerable help both to businesses as well as to individuals for dealing with what we expected to be a high-inflation year, and it's turned out to be quite high-inflation year. So I think the Grow & Share package has been of some significant help. (In 2012) we'll have to see how things are.'

Mr Lee's comments came a day after he reported an advance estimate of 4.8 per cent GDP (gross domestic product) growth for 2011 in his New Year speech, which was slightly below the 5 per cent forecast."

It is good to be candid about what the government can do for its citizens, especially during bad time. At the same time, to ask them NOT to expect too much from the government is not realistic at all.

The question is really: who are those who REALLY need help? and help them!

Lessons for me are:

1. business cycle comes and go. It is normal. At the same time, whether it is one in a generation or two, the people who need help WILL need help. The old, the very young, the sick, and the unemployed. This is the social responsibility of an elected government. There is no two way about this;

2. who REALLY need help will be the big question. I am sure the government throught the past experiences have come up with many schemes to help those who really need help. Those who really need help will need to go through stringent checks to ensure that they are NOT free loaders, a group that the government fears most as they will simply drain away the precious trillion of resever that the nation has so painstakingly built up;

3. the cost of living in Singapore has NOT gone down despite the so called 'tough' time. One of the main cost for retailers or hawker centers or food courts, especially those NON-government controlled type, is RENTAL. The food, as much of it was imported, is high despite S$ being kept high. So, these will impact ALMOST every Singaporean who are NOT rich. Those that are or will be out of job for a period of more than 6 months will be in need of financial help for sure. The mdical cost is another frightening expense for the normal Singaproean let alone in an economic bad time.

So, PM Lee and his government will REALLY have to work doubly hard to 'educate' Singaporeans who FEEL that they REALLY need help 'why they do not deserve it'?

If not, discontent will build.

Time to think harder about how to use the part of the natioanl reserve that can be used legally. Hopefully we do not have to go to the 'untouchable' part of the national reserve in 2012...