Great!!! This is something you would never see in the U.S!!
My in-laws love Singapore, They actually just returned from Singapore last Tuesday! On Jan 16, 9:20 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: > My comment: Honestly. I do. > > Peace and best wishes. > > Xi > > Singapore Prescribes Shorter Showers, Less Meat to Fight > Slumphttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a1qoV0psj3bY&refe... > > By Shamim Adam > > Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Until a few months ago, Amit Singh dreamed of > buying a car. Now, with S$75,000 ($50,100) in the bank, the lawyer is > holding back, saying he’ll continue to make the one-hour commute to > work on the Singapore subway. > > “In these bad times, the buzzword is save, not spend,” says Singh, 34. > “It’s not the right economic climate to be lavish or to have a > luxurious lifestyle.” > > Singapore is asking its citizens, the world’s third- wealthiest > adjusted for purchasing power, to be prudent as analysts predict the > worst economic slump in the nation’s 43- year history. In speeches, > pamphlets and ads, the government is advising people to switch to > cheaper frozen meats, take shorter showers and skip the top-of-the- > line mobile phone. > > The island’s strategy contrasts with that of other countries such as > Japan and Taiwan, which are trying to boost consumer spending to spur > economic growth as exports falter. Singapore, whose 4.8 million > population is one of Asia’s smallest, doesn’t have a big enough home > market to make up for falling sales overseas, so officials “are not > even going to try” to tell people to spend more, says Vishnu Varathan, > an economist at Forecast Singapore Pte. > > “There’s no way the domestic economy can make up for the slack in the > external sector,” he says. The message “is to bear with pay cuts and > live frugally.” > > Dwindling Incomes > > The government is preparing people for dwindling incomes as the > nation’s fourth recession in a decade forces companies including > lender DBS Group Holdings Ltd., manufacturer Stats Chippac Ltd. and > state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. to fire workers > or trim salaries. > > Singapore last year unveiled more than S$5.4 billion in cash payouts, > utility rebates and special funds, or S$1,700 for each of the nation’s > 3.2 million citizens, to help the poor cope with rising food and > energy prices. > > Officials say people also need to help themselves during the economic > crisis. If everyone depends on the government, “we’ll weaken ourselves > as a society,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Jan. 11, > according to the island’s main English newspaper, the Straits Times. > “We’ll cultivate a sense of reliance.” > > The World Bank predicts Singapore’s $161 billion economy will be East > Asia’s worst performer this year. The government forecasts it may > shrink as much as 2 percent, after expanding 1.5 percent in 2008 and > 7.7 percent in 2007. Kit Wei Zheng, an economist at Citigroup Inc. in > Singapore, says the contraction might be as much as 2.8 percent -- the > most severe since Singapore gained independence in 1965. > > Rising Unemployment > > The unemployment rate may more than double to 5 percent from 2.2 > percent in September 2008, says Leong Wai Ho, a regional economist at > Barclays Capital in Singapore. More than 30,000 jobs may be lost, he > says, after about 400,000 new positions were created in the past two > years. > > That could boost the default rate on mortgages for government-built > apartments, which house 84 percent of Singaporeans. The rate has risen > to 8 percent from 5 percent in 2003. > > Governments elsewhere in Asia are encouraging their more- sizeable > populations to spend to counter the deepening global recession. Taiwan > extended the New Year’s holiday an extra day and is scheduled to > distribute NT$3,600 ($108) shopping vouchers to citizens on Jan. 18. > Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has pledged to give households 2 > trillion yen ($23 billion) in handouts. > > Private Consumption > > That may not work for Singapore, where private consumption accounted > for 38 percent of gross domestic product in 2006, compared with more > than half in Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan, according to > the World Bank. > > Singapore’s leaders have traditionally preached restraint amid > economic difficulties. In 2001, when the economy contracted 2.2 > percent, the government refused to cap electricity prices and instead > gave utility rebates to help the poor and encourage people to “save > and not over-consume,” then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said in an > August 2001 speech. > > The government’s latest campaign began last year when prices of food > essentials including rice and cooking oil surged. As inflation soared > to a 26-year high of 7.5 percent, Prime Minister Lee urged people to > switch to frozen meats and in-house brands of supermarket products, > which are typically cheaper. > > ‘Healthier’ Vegetables > > The national power company ran television ads telling consumers to set > air conditioners several degrees higher and use energy-efficient bulbs > to combat rate increases of about 42 percent. A government-run > community-development council distributed a brochure to homes in > Singapore’s most-populous district, suggesting people use less water > and substitute meat with “cheaper and healthier” vegetables. > > MoneySense, a national financial-education program run by the central > bank, sponsored an advertisement in the Straits Times last month > featuring a cartoon of a man showing off his new cell phone, then > skipping lunch and subsisting on water because he had no money left. > > Not everyone is getting the message. Alicia Leong, 29, received a 32- > page booklet in her mailbox in December with tips on saving money. The > next day, she spent S$1,200 on new clothes and a handbag, charging > them to two of her seven credit cards. > > “I still have a job, so I don’t see the need to tighten my belt,” says > Leong, a teacher at a local high school. “I’ll probably stop when my > credit cards are maxed out.” > > Credit-Card Debt > > Singaporeans rolled over a record S$3.5 billion in credit- card debt > last November, about 18 percent higher than the year before. > > Other people are taking the advice to heart. Jack Oh lost his job as > an electrician when his employer went out of business in October. The > father of three school-age children now drives a taxi and says he’s > cutting back on the Lunar New Year celebration, which begins Jan. 25. > > “Last year, we went to a restaurant for the reunion dinner with my > family, parents and siblings and spent over S$1,500,” says Oh, 44. > “This year, we’re doing it at home, and I told my wife to get the > cheaper abalone.” --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
