Pioneer, Merdeka versus Majulah and Strawberry Generations

 For the elderly, that is the Pioneer and Merdeka generations, fitting in with the living standards of the present day generation is not too difficult and still adaptable.

However, if things turn out really bad for Singapore with its manufacturing status being on a downhill trajectory, and good jobs with good pay getting scarcier, life may not be as rosy as we think going forward. That being so, it would be extremely difficult for the present younger generation to hope to fit in and cope with the living standards going downhill.

How much debts were the Pioneer and Merdeka generations facing during their lifetime? Not that serious as what we see with today's generation, owing hundreds of thousands to the Housing Board alone in buying just a HDB flat, on top of upkeeping maybe a car, and incurring credit card debts, and possibly still repaying student loans. And there are daily expenses to be factored in as well.

Sure they may still hold down a good paying job, but what if they were to lose it? There is no such thing as an 'iron rice bowl' in today's world. Realistically, most Singaporeans are spending money that they have not yet earned, in other words spending borrowed money in keeping up with the Joneses. Good for them if the gravy trains keeps delivering the gravy, but once it stops doing that, all hell will break lose. Never say this will never happen.

For the Pioneers, paying for their HDB flats then was seldom a problem, and needs no huge loans from the Housing Board, as CPF savings alone was more than enough to take care of most of that, with most already paid up fully their loans upon retirement. Sorry to say, retirement was still something that was looked forward to and attainable. But not for today's younger generation. That the Government keeps pushing forward the retirement age tells us they already knew retirement is just a dream and an unattainable goal for most people. Ok, just listen to the Government when they tell you some people just love to work and will work until they drop dead. 

Anonymous