The news this weekend is somewhat depressing. We have the 2 cases of H1N1 in Malaysia, which means it will hit Singapore soon. Hopefully it comes later than the June GSS, else the local retailers will be hit badly. A large part of local employment still hinges on the retailers.
Then we have the news of Temasek losing many billions of dollars from the sale of Bank of America. If I divide Temasek's loss by the number of Singaporeans (about $3.1millions from SingStat website), each of us can get about $1,500.
Somehow the mood here in Singapore is always a bit depressing. In good times, the inflation (yah the unofficial but real numbers) can be scary, which makes one wonder if we need to work till we die. The healthcare costs and housing costs just shot up drastically during those years. GST also increased. So we often hear the phrase 'one cannot fall sick in Singapore because healthcare is expensive. So if one is seriously sick, better die fast.' Sad.
In bad times, we get reminded how expensive we are in labour costs compared to emerging economies, and how vulnerable our economy is because it is so open. So it's irritating, good times we must work hard (GST increase, housing cost increase...etc), and bad times, those in charge of our money lost it and we must work harder.
Ok ok, let's all cheer up a bit, it is a weekend afterall. So let me share this picture of a bubble at the seaside. Ok ok I will share more food / drinks pictures next time instead of such depressive thoughts. Lolz.
Then we have the news of Temasek losing many billions of dollars from the sale of Bank of America. If I divide Temasek's loss by the number of Singaporeans (about $3.1millions from SingStat website), each of us can get about $1,500.
Somehow the mood here in Singapore is always a bit depressing. In good times, the inflation (yah the unofficial but real numbers) can be scary, which makes one wonder if we need to work till we die. The healthcare costs and housing costs just shot up drastically during those years. GST also increased. So we often hear the phrase 'one cannot fall sick in Singapore because healthcare is expensive. So if one is seriously sick, better die fast.' Sad.
In bad times, we get reminded how expensive we are in labour costs compared to emerging economies, and how vulnerable our economy is because it is so open. So it's irritating, good times we must work hard (GST increase, housing cost increase...etc), and bad times, those in charge of our money lost it and we must work harder.
Ok ok, let's all cheer up a bit, it is a weekend afterall. So let me share this picture of a bubble at the seaside. Ok ok I will share more food / drinks pictures next time instead of such depressive thoughts. Lolz.
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