8/01/2006
job enough but money still not enough
Today we hear another impressive figure on job creation. 81,500 jobs created. And the unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent is nothing to worry about. We are near full employment.
But why are the lower segment of the population still feeling so dissatisfied and unhappy? Obviously employment is not the only thing to look at. It is the overall impoverishment of the people. Asset value dwindling, some still holding onto negative assets, and the depreciating value of the money vis a vis what it can buy, domestically. We are poorer for the same income when everything is going up. And that is a fact for those with household income of less than $3,000. $2,000 is a drudgery, bearly enough.
There is a need to contain the runaway inflation and cost of living to make life easier for the lower income group. To them it is still money not enough. Not that they have no money.
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37 comments:
After reading the article in today's ST, one must agree that the economy of Singapore must be doing well and there should be nothing to worry about. Then why are there still so many unemployed? On raising this question I often hear the response that those who are still unemployed are either too qualified or too choosey. They should downgrade their expectation or re-train, I have often been told. I find it hard to imagine a retrenched 50 year old middle manager downgrading himself to work as a foodcourt attendant here in Singapore. One thing for sure, pride would stand in the way for him to do that, especially here in Singapore where maintaining face is quite important.
Encouraging figures are good to boost confidence and heighten morale, but I wonder how it helps a 50 year old person who is currently jobless, facing a large mortgage, with 2 school age children, seeing his CPF dwindling and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel?
Any comment to educate this ignorant banana, Redbean?
hi speedwing, easiest solution is to uproot himself and leave. i mean why stay if you have to make do with a pittance or even nothing at all. the world is your oyster.
strange, i didn't post the above.
i also feel very sad for this group of 'has been' who at the prime of their lives were cut off from society. it is easy for arseholes to tell these people to go for retraining and become cleaners etc. many of these are experienced managers. what i think would be a better option is to find an equivalent job of the same nature that they have all the experience and skills to do, but with a lower salary.
their talents and experience should not be wasted in some not relevant trade. it is all a matter of pricing and the compensation package.
the people must get use to the idea that 50s and 60s are the prime of one's life and not the end. people are going to live and work till 70s and 80s. we cannot afford to write off entire generations of people who are past 50s.
redbean, even if you can find an equivalent job, the employers may not want an over-50s.
If only things were that simple here in Singapore. The "face saving" or kiasu mentality together with cost cutting by enterprises, just to show profit, makes it difficult to get the balance right. On top of that the relatively cheap pool of FTs knocking on the door is hard for any employer to resist them and instead hire a less tech-savvy local "has been".
The world is changing at a tremendously fast pace and it is hard for people of 50 and 60 to keep up. Once you get shelved at this age, I am afraid you are doomed, unless you have couple of millions stashed away.
Negative equities is very common these days. During the time when things were very good I was told many took out extra loans or used their CPF to buy into properties. Now things are not so rosey and tenants for rental properties are fewer, things are tough for people with negative equities. Well, as with all investments, that is the risk one has to take. Do you think these people deserve our sympathy??
hi anonymous,
the funny thing that i always mentioned is that the employers, the ceos and hr managers and functional managers are all humans and will have their turn to reach 50s and above. they are only digging their own graves if they do not consciously play their part to change this perception of age and worthlessness.
many in their 50s and 60s are still very useful. why should they be dumped into trades that required very little of their skills and training?
hi speed,
the last couple of decades had seen some drastic changes in the objectives of organisations, both public and private. very short sighted policies were introduced that will eventually harm the people and country as a whole.
foreign talent is one of them. so is privatisation for profit. both shifted from the primacy of citizen's first and the state's obligation to take care of its people.
and people are forced to save in the hundreds of thousands in their cpfs to upkeep themselves at a presumed level of life which many would never see, live by or want to.
the negative assets were contributed by some policies that made people pay by affordability eg if they have a lot of money in their cpfs, then it is ok to raise the price of flats. after all they got the money to pay for them. then there was the encouragement to people to invest in the stock market.
both policy changes broke the savings of the people and their retirement funds.
where is it stated that the state has an obligation to take care of it's citizens ? that is absolutely rubbish. no governing entity today can gurantee such a thing.
Hi Anonymous, you are right, there is nothing written to say that the govt has an obligation to look after the people. But what is a govt for, if not for the welfare and security of the population? Technically you are right, it is every person for his or herself. However, the policies adopted by any govt must have the longsightedness to ensure that people do not suffer in the future. I think govt has a moral obligation to see that the people do not fall into misconceptions resulting in a tougher life during the twilight years. Ofcourse I am talking about the ordinary folks, the rich and the powerful who make rules and policies for us to follow have all their nests feathered.
the people elected the govt for what?
collect so much tax for what?
i am not referring to a welfare state. the govt has an obligation to look after the welfare and well being of the people. otherwise why do we need a govt?
just like collecting road tax, coe, arf, parf, for what if not to build and maintain a road system?
where is it stated that these related taxes must be used to build a functioning road system?
You asked what a govt is for ? let me ask you what a govt is made of ? Politicians right ? And we all know what sort of people politicians are. Talking about morality to a politician is very much like preaching the virtues of chastity to a prostitute.
redbean, redbean, still your usual naive self I see. if you must know, the people elected a govt to lord over them, that's what. a fool is indeed born every minute.
collect so much tax for what, you ask ? don't pay tax if you don't like to, is my answer.
thank you anonymous,
it is enlightening. but the people, including myself, always naive, and always hopeful that our world best govt will deliver and take care of us.
thank you for waking us all up.
there's your problem then. you EXPECT the govt to take care of you. i have no such expectations, so if they fail to or simply don't deliver, i don't get angry or disappointed.
Hi anonymous (12.22pm), I see you have a very dim view of politicians. Surely there must be some politicians who get into politics with the sole aim to better the lives of people like you and I. I cannot believe that they are there just for the big salary, or are they??
hi speedwing, when you have a govt minister unashamedly declaring that he could have earned many more times the money he's earning as a minister had he remained a surgeon in private practice and hence we shoudl respect him for making that sacrifice, it does tilt the balance somewhat unfavorably. Rather on rely on this sort of people to protect my interests, I chose to rely on myself. Makes my life a whole lot simpler.
Hi anonymous, you are one of the lucky few who can rely on yourself. Unfortunately there are many lesser people around who have no such luck or ability. What do we do with this group? Do we leave them to die? or do we forget about them and hope they will go away?
i agree that this is a formula that can be considered a flaw in the system. the first fault is to pull out someone who is very good in his field and put into something which he may not be good at. a waste of talent.
the second fault is to deprive such talent from his rightful income in his expert field.
the third fault is to try to match his income from the public coffer so that he does not lose too much of his expected income.
the fourth issue is that the person will always think that the nation is indebted to him and that he has sacrificed for the nation and people. so don't blame him if he does not perform or he can talk big at the same time.
the fifth point is that he will always regret for the loss of a substantial part of his income for taking up public office.
the sixth point is that he may not perform in public service but still be paid an astronomical sum from taxpayers' money to compensate for his specialised skill that he did not used.
this formula is fundamentally unsound unless the person is willing to serve the country and people voluntarily and does not brag about how much he has to sacrifice.
hi speed, I agree there will always be a group that needs help. Unfortunately, that help will not come from the govt.
you cannot have a sound formula based on what is essentially leegalised corruption. bringing corruption out on top of the table and dressing it up as 'market salaries' doesn't change its underlying state. fact is the ordinary people resent the ministers being paid such grossly inflated salaries just as the people will be disgusted if they were to resort to taking under-the-table money. shit by any other name will still smell as foul.
redbean said...
hi speedwing, easiest solution is to uproot himself and leave. i mean why stay if you have to make do with a pittance or even nothing at all. the world is your oyster.
August 01, 2006 9:57 AM
whoever done this post, i said, great job. almost fool me as well. you are a pro and very well trained.
mistake one, i address speedwing as speed. mistake two, the english is more polished than mine.
thanks for the attention.
one third mistake, the character redbean is in black and not underlined.
the pheonix has risen from the park.
it's true what they say that you learn something new everyday. i've always known I was delusional. Now I know I am demented too. Thanks for pointing that out to me.
someone's out to discredit you, redbean......-_-
you are right abao.
and it is a good thing for people to want to discredit me. it means people are reading my posts.
important thing is for them to discredit me with reasons and not name calling.
ANNOUCEMENT:
The redbean in black is not me.
redbean to redbean,
obviously your boss did not tell you who am I. Maybe he is just a runner like you and not able to access info that is not meant for him to know : )
abao, i don't have to worry about other people trying to discredit me. Hell, I'm doing a pretty good job discrditing myself.
hi redbean?
i am sure your parents must be very proud of you doing an honorable job, making an honorable living.
unlike losers like you, i made my fortune early in life so i don't have to slave away for the rest of my life. eat your heart out, old man.
[quote=by fake redbean]
unlike losers like you, i made my fortune early in life so i don't have to slave away for the rest of my life. eat your heart out, old man.
[/quote]
Haiz...still, you are enslaved by money. Just that your chains are loosened for this moment.
hi redbean?
a person who has made his fortune will not stoop so low and do dishonorable things.
whatever you are doing, just ask yourself this question every night before you go to bed. 'am i doing an honorable thing? or am i disgracing myself doing the things i am doing?
there are many ways to live your life and make a living. do not lose your self respect by doing things which are morally or ethically wrong. you will regret it one day.
hi abao,
you know a white lie when you see one. i even know his pay scale and which grade he is in.
>> you know a white lie when you see one.
I guess it takes a liar to know another, right ? Haha, you should also ask yourslef whether posting half-truths is an honourable job.
hi redbean?
it is no use casting ill remarks at people. everyone here knows what i am and i need not have to hide under someone's nick to pretend i am that person. and now that everyone knows what you are doing...
maybe you think being an imposter is an honourable thing to do. for a young man like you, it is good that you spend some moments to reflect on what you are doing. do the right and honourable thing. if you are prepared to do the dishonourable, then the people who feed you will also have no respect for you and your integrity.
to me, once a person is prepared to compromise himself once, he can also compromise in other situations. not a reliable person to depend on.
you understand what i am teaching you? this is a basic principle in living life. which is better, fail and be honourable or succeed but be dishonourable?
and one point, whatever i said here is not half truth but truth. it is only a different perspective of seeing things.
and just because i did not want to say all to embarrass people, that does not mean that i am lying. but if that is your definition of lying, then the whole world is full of liars.
what is important is the intention behind what you do or say.
please tell and prove to everyone here where did i post half truth. then people will believe in you.
but if you can't, then trying to pin names on me won't work. you must earn some credibility in what you said.
at the moment your image is one of an unruly kid saying things without any substance or unable to substantiate them.
you can keep badmouthing me or anyone here. but that's what you will be known as, a bad boy without substance.
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