To be able to plan a perfect wedding, our wedding planners advised us to plan for it a year in advance. We heeded their advice, however life is unpredictable, and the world was hit by covid-19. Our big day was planned to fall on autumn, as shown on our invitation cards. Alas, on the day…
Author: KK.O
Minimum Wage From a Japanese Worker’s Viewpoint
Our Japanese writer, a hairstylist who has worked in Singapore for the last decade, tells us about a loophole in the Japanese minimum wage system. I often get asked: “Do you have minimum wages in Japan?” The Japanese do but it does not make our lives easy. Let me talk about my hometown,…
So What Is Minimum Wage, Progressive Wage and Living Wage?
This article explores the different models of income. Have a good read! Minimum Wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration employers may legally pay to workers. It might not concern you if you are well paid, but supporters of the program claim that it guarantees a minimum income for low wage workers and…
Climate Change and The GST
GST aims to ensure the permanent sustainability of natural resource consumption increasing awareness. The catastrophic Australian bush fires, the New Zealand floods, the cyclones and hurricanes of Japan, Hong Kong, The Philippines, the United States of America, Africa and India. The devastating effects of the climatic changes could be felt by all of us including…
Covid-19 Is Not The First Crisis Singapore Had Faced
The covid-19 crisis is not the first crisis Singapore had faced. Singapore’s openness exposes itself particularly to contagion via trade linkages. 1973: OIL SHOCK Members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, cut oil production and shipments to the US and other countries perceived as supporting Israel in the…
Covid-19 Will Cause The Most Destruction To The Middle Class
The covid-19 recession will hit the middle class hard and the middle class will suffer the most when retired. If you belong to the middle-income class, please read on. How much do you need for retirement? Financial experts have given a figure of around S$750,000 to S$1million. This looks like an amount that many of…
Why Are Our HDB Flats So Copied By Other Countries?
Why are our HDB flats so copied by other countries? Travel to China, Vietnam and a few Asian countries and one will find many buildings with their infrastructure very similar to Singapore’s HDB. All around the world, countries have been studying Singapore’s model of housing. Implementation is easier said than done. Between 1955 and…
Singapore Has Better Minimum Wage
Who says Singapore does not have minimum wage? We have a form of minimum wage and something BETTER! Progressive Wage Model The Progressive Wage Model (PWM) requires companies to pay workers base wages or they won’t get a licence to run their business. Why is this model better than minimum wage? Because it includes…
GST saves our beloved grandparents and parents!
The main goal for GST is to provide our beloved grandparents and parents the healthcare they will increasingly need. As our grandparents and parents retire, Singapore’s labour force participation rate is expected to decline and, with it, income and spending. While social welfare for Singapore’s elderly people has grown greatly in line with her aging…
He Paid Zero Cash For His Heart Surgery
He paid zero cash for his emergency heart surgery performed during the covid-19 pandemic. “ Wo mai ka jiao ba lan! Hou ba lan qua yi se seng! (I don’t want to disrupt others! Let the others see the doctors first!) ”. Like most of the pioneer generation, 80-year- old Mr Tan is a…