"Budget to feature support for families - The Straits Times Feb 22, 2015
SINGAPORE - An important theme of tomorrow's Budget will be how the Government can continue to support families, from their children's education to helping them care for their elders, said Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo.
"That is a very important theme," Mrs Teo told The Sunday Times at a community event. This year's Budget will also continue to strike a balance between looking after the immediate needs of citizens and planning for future generations, she said.
As for businesses and workers, they can look forward to items that will help to strengthen the economy beyond immediate concerns, and that will offer opportunities for "continued and sustainable advancement" for Singaporeans in the medium to longer term, said Mrs Teo.
Details of two major initiatives are expected to be unveiled in the Budget speech by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam tomorrow afternoon.
One is SkillsFuture, which aims to develop a system of lifelong learning for workers so they can continually stay ahead of global competition. Added Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development, who was also at the event: "We are investing in the future, so capability building will be an important part of (the Budget)."
The other is the Silver Support Scheme, which will help low-income elderly persons with insufficient retirement funds and little or no family support.
Speaking to reporters at the same event, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said: "A good Budget is one that can continue to help our economy grow, so that we can get enough finances to support us for the longer and medium term." Dr Ng said the Budget should also take care of those who are unable to take care of themselves, such as the poor, the disadvantaged and the disabled, as well as acknowledge the contributions of citizens who, "in the prime of their lives, helped Singapore grow"."
Tomorrow's Budget 2015 will be eagerly anticipated as many see it as an Election Budget with plenty of giveaways to encourage voters to vote for the incumbent ruling party that formed and dominated the government.
Lessons for me are:
1. the strategic intentions are fairly clear with the 2 key themes mentioned above. The details will be scrutinised and assessments made on if they will be acceptable by the voters and if the implementation will work well or not;
2. the inherent contradiction of expecting the children, if any, of the disadvantaged elderly people to support their retirement and medical healthcare needs vs. state stepping in to provide only as a last resort as the state does not want the children to 'neglect or abandon' their duties to take care of their aging parents whether the children CAN afford or are able to do so or not will have to be dealt with delicately;
3. will the Budget 2015 cuts some slacks for the hard pressed business people who are facing a tightening of foreign workers, inability to hire or non-availability of local workers, potentially higher borrowing interest rates over the next 12-month, etc will be watched closely. Will the government relax the tightening or will it provides even more incentives to push the SMEs to innovate, optimize their workflows and improve productivity with automation and mechanization.
This is a prelude to the much more juicier actual Budget 2015 tomorrow. Let's wait and assess tomorrow evening!
SINGAPORE - An important theme of tomorrow's Budget will be how the Government can continue to support families, from their children's education to helping them care for their elders, said Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo.
"That is a very important theme," Mrs Teo told The Sunday Times at a community event. This year's Budget will also continue to strike a balance between looking after the immediate needs of citizens and planning for future generations, she said.
As for businesses and workers, they can look forward to items that will help to strengthen the economy beyond immediate concerns, and that will offer opportunities for "continued and sustainable advancement" for Singaporeans in the medium to longer term, said Mrs Teo.
Details of two major initiatives are expected to be unveiled in the Budget speech by Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam tomorrow afternoon.
One is SkillsFuture, which aims to develop a system of lifelong learning for workers so they can continually stay ahead of global competition. Added Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development, who was also at the event: "We are investing in the future, so capability building will be an important part of (the Budget)."
The other is the Silver Support Scheme, which will help low-income elderly persons with insufficient retirement funds and little or no family support.
Speaking to reporters at the same event, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said: "A good Budget is one that can continue to help our economy grow, so that we can get enough finances to support us for the longer and medium term." Dr Ng said the Budget should also take care of those who are unable to take care of themselves, such as the poor, the disadvantaged and the disabled, as well as acknowledge the contributions of citizens who, "in the prime of their lives, helped Singapore grow"."
Tomorrow's Budget 2015 will be eagerly anticipated as many see it as an Election Budget with plenty of giveaways to encourage voters to vote for the incumbent ruling party that formed and dominated the government.
Lessons for me are:
1. the strategic intentions are fairly clear with the 2 key themes mentioned above. The details will be scrutinised and assessments made on if they will be acceptable by the voters and if the implementation will work well or not;
2. the inherent contradiction of expecting the children, if any, of the disadvantaged elderly people to support their retirement and medical healthcare needs vs. state stepping in to provide only as a last resort as the state does not want the children to 'neglect or abandon' their duties to take care of their aging parents whether the children CAN afford or are able to do so or not will have to be dealt with delicately;
3. will the Budget 2015 cuts some slacks for the hard pressed business people who are facing a tightening of foreign workers, inability to hire or non-availability of local workers, potentially higher borrowing interest rates over the next 12-month, etc will be watched closely. Will the government relax the tightening or will it provides even more incentives to push the SMEs to innovate, optimize their workflows and improve productivity with automation and mechanization.
This is a prelude to the much more juicier actual Budget 2015 tomorrow. Let's wait and assess tomorrow evening!
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