Singapore Budget - No CDC vouchers for 2026!

SINGAPORE: On Thursday (Feb 12), many Singaporeans were likely watching out for one Budget 2026 announcement more closely than the rest - the amount of Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers and other cash payouts they would receive. In this Budget, households will get S$500 (US$396) in CDC vouchers to help with daily expenses, with a S$200 to S$400 Cost-of-Living special payment for eligible Singaporeans.

But such broad-based support measures were introduced in extraordinary circumstances – a global pandemic and then the sharp surge in global inflation. While more help is always welcome, what does it mean to continue them when the economic backdrop appears to have improved? CNA

Singapore's economy did very well last year, average household income rises to $12,800. These good news mean big pay rises akan datang.  Then why not to give CDC vouchers in 2026? The $500 voucher announced will only be paid in Jan 2027, as good as no voucher for 2026. For those desperately waiting for the vouchers they will be very disappointed. Better for the economy not to be doing so well. What an irony?

Hard times may seem to be over for many Singaporeans. But hard times for some Singaporeans are always there as they are not beneficiaries of higher incomes or growing economy. In fact their hard times not only continue, but can be worse if the cost of living keeps going up. To the 'hard up' Singaporeans, mostly the retirees and lower income Singaporeans, they have practically no income to keep up with the good times. The rising cost of everything is eating to their little savings, if they have any. Some are already dried up, $0 savings, a scary state of being. On the other hand, the businesses will take every opportunity to raise prices, especially when the economy is good. CDC vouchers are very important and helpful to the needy, to those that no longer have the privilege to live from paycheck to paycheck, because there is no paycheck coming their way. While the better off Singaporeans are enjoying their good times, don't forget that life still goes on to many Singaporeans living at the edges.

Singapore has a huge national reserves that provide another source of revenue for the govt. It would be nice if the retirees and low income Singaporeans can also benefit from the returns of our investments generated from the national reserves. So far they did not have such good fortune unlike the millionaires. Pensioners are also feeling the squeeze with stagnate pensions based on lower incomes of their time. The lower income Singaporeans are not in a position to better themselves against higher cost of living, higher fees, taxes, GST, profit driven enterprises that would keep raising prices.

CDC vouchers are very helpful for the people that needed them, the people that are no longer in the work force, in the revenue generating economy, the people that are watching the sun rises and sunsets daily, and haplessly. The bottom feeders are often forgotten while the millionaires are coveting for the next GCB. Not giving out CDC vouchers in 2026 is a natural thing. Who cares about another few hundred bucks that may be just tips to the millionaires?

Ukraine War: We started it, we sabotaged its peace process, we wanted to end it, we did not want to end it....

Trump is pushing for a fast Ukraine deal. Is he thinking of another 'Board of Peace in Ukraine' once a deal is in hand with doggies flocking to join by paying another US$1 billion in ransom money to benefit Trump's pocket.

I thought the fastest deal in Ukraine was supposed to be about 24 hours upon Trump taking office. It is now more than a year after Trump took office, yet the war is still on and a speed deal seems to be elusive so far. All the bragging and boasting are just, well just hot air from a conman extraordinaire.

Ukraine will never be settled after Trump leaves office looking at the demands of both sides. If the Democrats takes office, they will use the same playbook as Trump, so whereabouts the possibility of settlement. When Putin wants to make a deal, NATO Europe will coerce Zelenskyy to make demands. When Zelenskyy wants to make a deal, Putin will not give up concessions he already had in hand. When Putin and Zelenskyy are able to get together to make a deal, Trump and NATO Europe will make their own demands. How is a deal possible with four parties with their own agenda to fulfil?

As long as Trump and the Europeans dip their dirty hands into the issue, the shithole gets stinker with their stirring the shit. The Ukraine war could have been stopped at the earlier stage had Boris Johnson, under the instigation of the USA, not sabotaged the deal already reached between Russia and Ukraine.

Right now, the European Union still thinks that Ukraine can win the war with their support. This is wishful thinking on the part of the Europeans, with morons like Kaja Kallas still having the mindset that Russia is collapsing if NATO continues to support Zelenskyy. The whole EU is itself collapsing under expensive energy for its industrial base, and the European Union is still trying to flog a dead horse in Ukraine.


Anonymous

China's economy is unsustainable. We want to help China to make it sustainable...by stopping production

Chinese factories are mostly fully automated. China just needs to keep on producing cheaper energy to run them, which together with more adoption of AI is able to produce even cheaper goods for the Global South going forward.

The West was worried about China's adoption of technology in most sectors and outcompeting against the USA and Europe. Now they are terrified and raising another fear-mongering narrative about China's trade surplus every year as unsustainable and wants China to stop producing and allow the USA and the Europeans to catch up. What are they worrying about whether China's trade surplus is sustainable or not? Are they not hoping that China should collapse now, so that they can continue to lord over everyone else?

China's energy production from nuclear, hydropower, wind and solar is being compensated by cheap oil from Russia is the reason it is able to make things so much cheaper than the USA or Europe. China's energy production is now double the USA, which is suffering energy shortages due to mass setting up of AI and data centers competing with domestic users.

Running factories 24/7 works so well in China that they even mentioned 'dark factories' in China with robots working without lights on. Accusing China of paying slave wages to produce goods cheaply is barking up the wrong tree. Even in Xinjiang, agriculture is carried out using largely machineries hooked up to satellites that enables the machines to run automatically by itself, no such thing as slave labor as imagined by the West.


Anonymous

Did they put humans in robotic frames?

 

5 min clip on how advanced Chinese robotics have come. Viewers watching the robots may think that they put a human inside the robot to perform. The movements are quite extreme, fluid and delicate, things that only very well trained acrobats can do, and the robots are doing them, almost human like. No more slow and jerky moves. These are the humanoids the world is waiting for, to move, shift and turn like a human. 

With these advances, the Chinese robotic industry has made great breakthroughs in computer engineering, in AI, software and hardware designs to move nearer to applications of robots in social environment a reality.

Singapore's get rich quick scheme...Huat ah!

 Many would not believe that one can get rich quickly in Singapore by joining the get rich quick scheme. Many Singaporeans may not know about this scheme. It is real, no bluff. Anyone still guessing, or think this is unreal? Anything that is too good to be true is not real. But this Singapore get rich quick scheme is very real. And for the last few decades, millions have taken advantage of this scheme to get rich. Some became very rich. Some became millionaires.

What is this get rich scheme? Many Singaporeans have also benefited from this get rich scheme by buying HDB flats or private properties. Many Singaporeans are millionaires many times over, just by owning HDB flats, or at least on paper. No one is complaining unless you miscalculated and mess it up yourself by selling too early or speculating wrongly.

I am not referring to this get rich scheme, but another scheme that in some way is related to it. The Singapore get rich quick scheme is the New Citizenship scheme. Do your math and see how much a new citizen can get, can be richer, just simply by becoming a Singapore citizen.

The most impactful item is the right to buy a HDB flat from the govt, actually two bites of the cherry. Just buy, sell, buy another HDB flat and sell again. To Singaporeans, many would have to stay on in the second flat. But for foreigners, oops, new citizens, they can sell twice, go back home and become multi millionaires in their home country. Just like that, making a few hundred thousands by buying and selling HDB flats, without having to work for it. Isn't this neat?

Then think of all the savings in utility bills, fees, education, hospitalisation, so much money to be saved and put away. 

Not only these, every year the govt is giving handouts, CDC vouchers, top ups in Medisave and CPF accounts. The total sum could be a few thousand dollars annually, with last year about the best, some getting more than $10,000 each. And the money in the CPF and Retirement Account are getting as high as 5% interest instead of 0.5% or 1% from the banks.

And there are also savings from taxes for citizens.

All these savings and handouts are real, minus inflation. Now you know why the queue to be Singapore citizens is so long. It is like striking lottery.

Happy Chinese New Year, and enjoy your blessing from Singapore's get rich quick scheme. Huat ah!