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…
I received my third government payout of $1200 today.
I am Macik Asiah. I am 59 years. I received the third government payout today. The first was in April. The second was in May. the third this month. Very happy. Also relieved. I am a single mum with two parents and a son. I work as a baker to feed the mouths at…
Thoughts of a Singaporean. A contribution by a Lovely Reader
This is me! Very inspired by many of my friends. In the midst of covid-19, some take up courses to study or learn a new skill, some start up new businesses, some embark on a strict health regime to get fit, some bless others with food, stay engaged with technology to maintain the friendship, they…
In tough times, you find what you seek. And I find kindness and generosity of spirits in the eyes of fellow Singaporeans.
Three months into the storm We’re more than three months into the storm now. Over the past months, we have seen a few rather ugly Singaporeans. We have seen ‘concerned’ individuals jumping up from all corners of the island creating noise, but not lifting a single finger to help in the nation’s efforts fighting the…
Stay United, Be Resilient and Stand in Solidarity
Three National Budgets in 48 Days Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat announced the Unity Budget on 18 February, with measures to cushion the impact of Covid-19. Subsequently, on 26 March, DPM Heng announced a supplementary Resilience Budget to further support families through the pandemic. An additional supplementary Solidarity Budget was…
Hello, Circuit Breaker Week 3
We’re into Week 3 of the Circuit Breaker. The measures have no doubt been inconvenient, affecting many people’s livelihoods and coming at high cost to our economy. But the more strictly we observe the restrictions, the faster they will work, and the sooner we can ease up on them and go back to rebuilding our…