People of former British colonies are all familiar with the legend of Robin Hood and his merry men. And the moral of this British legend is about robbing the rich to give to the poor in an English society mired with corruption and abuse of power. In several ways, the 2024 Budget came close to the image of the Robin Hood legend, a lot of takings and a lot of giving back to the poor.
After all the taxes, fee hikes, fare hikes and whatever increases in revenue that the govt can think of over the years, the incessant hikes must have reaped in a lot of revenue to spread around. Now sure how much was brought in from the investments in our trillion dollar reserves. The govt now has a lot of money to give back, which is a good thing.
Here are the differences from Robin Hood. The taxes and fee and fare hikes took from everyone, from the poor as well as the rich. And the GST, without fine tuning, is taxing the poorest as well as the dead and the unborn. Robin Hood was supposedly robbing only from the rich and giving to the poor. This budget gave to everyone, to the rich, to businesses and the poor, the difference is how much. What the average Singaporeans are concerned is how much is given to the poor, and were they adequate.
Who are the poor is obvious and Lawrence Wong has put in much thoughts to this group of Singaporeans that needed financial help badly. The most badly hit are the senior citizens and the retirees and the jobless. For the seniors and retirees, mostly from the Merdeka and Pioneer Generations, they have been hit for many years, primarily from having no income, and the never ending increases in taxes of all kinds, and hikes in fees and fares that led to a runaway inflation of food prices in the kopitiams. Oops, oops, maybe not so serious as the official inflation statistics is probably around 3% only. But this does not hide away from the fact that price increases in basic items like teh and kopi and chap chye png have gone up by 20% or more. These are real and hit the seniors and retirees very hard. Spending time drinking kopi in their clubhouses, ie kopitiams, is no longer cheap and affordable.
On a rough estimate, the average payout to the retirees and seniors is about $4,000 to $6,000 a year from this budget. Without an income, and runaway inflation, it looks like govt handouts to the seniors and retirees are going to be a permanent feature in future budgets, to keep them at least fed daily. Perhaps there should be a specific budget allocated to take care of the ageing seniors and retirees going forward.
The Merdeka and Pioneer Generations were the main contributors to the healthy reserves of the state. It was accumulated at a time when their income were much lower, and cost of living as well. Today, after several decades of inflation, tax, fare and fee hikes, whatever savings of the seniors and retirees, if there is anything left, would have their values shrunk by at least half. A hundred dollar is now worth maybe $50, depending on what it is spent on. It would really be nice and appropriate to tap on the national reserves to provide for the people that contributed the biggest share to it, as dividend payout. A way to compensate taking a cut from the reserves for the seniors is to remove the cut for new citizens that did not play a part in its creation, at best a token now, and only in the future.
Without any income, the govt must bear in mind that any increases in taxes, fares and fees would hit the seniors real hard, especially those that already run down their savings. It is like robbing the poor when they have nothing to be robbed. High inflation and high taxes, fees, fares are threatening the life and existence of the seniors that are not millionaires. Robin Hood only rob the rich to pay the poor, not robbing the poor and give back a little that is not adequate to get by. The seniors and retirees are hapless and silent victims of high inflation, taxes and fee hikes. They have no choice, no option, no way to defend or help themselves. Maybe, crudely to some, old furniture that is a sore eye and better to be forgotten.
1 comment:
Morning Mr RB and All
Aiya, just a few thousands beggar bones for the masses whereas they harvested millions every month and years.
Why had a retrenchment plan? Because in the coming months many would join the RTS aka Roam The Streets Club.
What's nonsense reskilling?
To clean the toilets cleaner?
Too late liao!
Sinkies just like the Americunts had lost their abilities to work except renting out their flats for ill gains incomes that caused inconveniences to their neighbours.
The Papies knew that many would be in the RTS Club that they now allowed the higher number of tenants that they could rented out.
One even capitalised building barracks bunks at $600.00 per month for the coming millions that they are bringing in.
Why don't follow the Hong Kongers and had bed cages for rentals?
Also, now the High Class Elites Hawkers just like the Israelis with no control and Impunity simply increased their prices for the Wares anytime they wanted.
The Worse now is that they scorned the locals especially the old folks thinking that most are now papuers and only served the young so called gainfully employed yuppies foreign and local.
All on the flimsy excuses of so called inflations.
Just one 2 roomed Pigeon hole BTO flat at hundred over K and also one piece of scrap 10 year expiry date of a COE.
That's where they can simply thrown some bones to the Daft masses and they themselves harvested their millions.
Daft Daft sheepishly Sinkies.
Post a Comment