We want more?!

Dr Lee Boon Yang (the serious one) reminded his GRC constituents about this at the National Day celebrations at the Neptune Theatre Restaurant.

Trust our very serious Ministers to be the party pooper anytime! Wah lao, can't even enjoy a little celebration without being ticked off or be reminded that there are bad things around the corner. No wonder Singaporeans are not that happy...

Well, Lee reminded all that more young Singaporeans are seeking financial assistance and it disturbed him that these people seemed vulnerable to developing crutches. They won't hold down a job and find themselves unable to pay for their needs.

On a more positive note, Mr Lim Boon Heng (the smiley one) gave us this advice . Take advantage of the economic recovery, he said. Ok lah, before we go ballistic with our jibes, I implore all to give the man a break. Afterall, he was the clown who ventured a 80% win for PM in AMK. We can't really expect him to be very accurate in his observations. Moreover, he may not know that one-third of Singaporeans' wages were decreasing during this economic recovery period too. He is only the Labour Chief, not your MOM.

Actually, some had already heeded his kind advice. The transport operators (taxi/bus/train) had increased their fares. Latest to join in the fray was the LTA with its announcement of increased ERP charges. Basically, those who can take advantage of this economic recovery, 'take advantage already' and those who can't (like the commuters and car owners) had been taken advantage of instead.

Perhaps, this little wisdom of 'taking advantage while you can' was manifested way before Lim's enlightenment. If the CDCs, CCCs and the RCs etc were too generous and eager to throw crutches to everyone, including those not needing them, no one can blame the young for taking free lunches. According to Mr Mah Bow Tan, this is rare in Singapore. And Singaporeans know the value of a rare commodity.

Having said that, I think Lee's message is not meant for the young who increasingly seeks financial assistance. Afterall, there are criteria to be met before assistance is distributed? I think he wanted to remind those folks at the various CDCs, RCCs and what-nots to exercise due diligence when performing their Santa Claus duties (the elections are over, dude, no need to pump numbers). Or, it could mean two other possibilities:

1 Wages are really not keeping up with the costs of living (so the young can't afford their needs). This also means that the job market is still bad as there is a dearth of good-paying jobs even for the young (not your old fogeys stuck in structural unemployment)

2 Criteria for assistance needs reviewing.

Many years of taking Singaporean salt tells me the problem will dissolve like salt crystals in water. The young will take advantage of the economic recovery to find well-paying jobs that can pay for their needs (after paying for other companies' urgent needs like fare increases). More effectively, the signal was there to slow down the giving till sometime around 2011?

Our young will always be saved from developing those crutches simply because there is no free lunch in Singapore (especially after elections).



Singapore, economic recovery