tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109684854672653871.post2496037581708760602..comments2024-02-24T19:09:04.940+08:00Comments on All and Sundry Singapore: Cost of Living and the Need to Limit Spending in SingaporeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109684854672653871.post-51981592974590715442007-11-07T09:11:00.000+08:002007-11-07T09:11:00.000+08:00The current increase in prices of basic food neces...The current increase in prices of basic food necessities, CPF withdrawal age, housing cost is part of an elaborate control system to drain cash from Singaporeans and create indebtedness.<BR/><BR/>Indebted Singaporeans are easier to control as they have to worry about their bills and won't rock the boat when it comes to election.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109684854672653871.post-48309028800703178742007-11-07T09:04:00.000+08:002007-11-07T09:04:00.000+08:00Incidental SingaporeanWe must thank the 66.6%...Incidental Singaporean<BR/><BR/>We must thank the 66.6%...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109684854672653871.post-50473245653782295012007-11-06T15:13:00.000+08:002007-11-06T15:13:00.000+08:00wait - there is more. With means testing for C war...wait - there is more. With means testing for C ward patients, we will judge you by the type of house you are living, or your salary. It does not matter if you have 3 children, your wife is not working, so that they have a better / best care giver at home and you have aged parents at home. You will have to pay B ward charges regardless of how many mouths you have to feed because you are in the middle income bracket. What has the govet / NTUC fairprice done to make things more affordable to Singaporeans?? I am still waiting for an announcement from the Govt after increasing the GST from 5% to 7% !!!family manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15947152469230212562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6109684854672653871.post-17411378088271506092007-11-06T12:16:00.000+08:002007-11-06T12:16:00.000+08:00http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sg_Review/message/40...http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sg_Review/message/4037<BR/><BR/>"...the government adjusts nominal GDP gains using the GDP deflator, which represents the inflation rate during the time period being measured. This is done to strip inflation out of the GDP calculation so that only real growth gets counted: not nominal gains that result purely from inflation." - Asia Sentinel (2 Nov 07) - "Damned Lies and Statistics?" & "They Have Got to be Kidding" (Euro Pacific Capital, 1 Nov 07) - link http://www.europac.net/externalframeset.asp?from=home&id=10612)<BR/> <BR/>5 Nov 2007<BR/> <BR/>To: PM Lee Hsien Loong<BR/>cc: various<BR/> <BR/>I refer to my Nov 1st email (attached below) questioning the reliability of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's ("MAS") estimated "low official" inflation figure in Singapore for 2007. <BR/> <BR/>Why are inflation (CPI) numbers critical to GDP growth numbers? The attached article, from<BR/>Euro Pacific Capital, 1 Nov 07, "They Have Got to be Kidding", and Asia Sentinel, 2 Nov 07, "Damned Lies and Statistics?" shows how these 2 sets of numbers are correlated. (For additional reading on how these numbers can be manipulated, read Daily Reckonings' US Economy Grows 3.9%…More Proof That Numbers Lie ' by Bill Bonner, 2 Nov 2007 - link http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/numbers-lie/2007/11/02/)<BR/> <BR/>So, if the inflation figure is understated (when using a lower GDP deflator), the GDP growth figure will likewise be overstated.<BR/> <BR/>So, why should we care so much about these numbers? Many probably don't give a damn, but the ministers in Singapore do because their million-dollar yearly bonuses depend on them!<BR/> <BR/>In Singapore's case, the central bank, MAS, expects inflation for 2007 to be around 1.5% although the citizens have been facing price increases of double digits (in some cases, up to 20% rise) in daily necessities like food, transportation, utilities, housing, healthcare, education, etc ? (refer Seah Chiang Nee's article in The Star newspaper of 3 Nov 2007, "..Increasing prices in just about everything has overshadowed the city state's prosperity in the last four years" - link http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/11/3/focus/19360112&sec=focus. For additional reading, refer to The Straits Times article of 5th Nov 2007, "Grocery bills increase as prices for foodstuffs go up" - link http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_173723.html).<BR/> <BR/>In the Star article, Seah also says, "The (Singapore) government appears unable to take action to stop the epidemic (rampant price rises everywhere), a contrast to the first-generation government during such crises.".<BR/> <BR/>Well, it seems that while the majority of the citizens are reeling from the rising inflation, the ministers are not only unaffected, but their salaries and bonuses are getting fatter: because, according to the MAS, it expects Singapore to achieve "...8 per cent growth this year".<BR/> <BR/>Now let's take a closer look at the ministers' bonuses:<BR/> <BR/>If GDP growth is 5% - 10% or more, yearly bonus can reach up to 8 months' salaries. So, for ministers earning $1.8 million a year, the bonus can amount to as much as $1.2 million, giving a total salary of $3 million a year plus benefits.<BR/> <BR/>Is it any wonder why then are the rich in Singapore (including the ministers with their million dollar salaries and bonuses) getting richer while the poor (and the middle class too) are getting poorer with "real" double-digit inflation and stagnating/marginal wage rises and miserable returns (less than inflation rates) on their pension (CPF) funds?<BR/> <BR/>Therefore, my question to the government: are the inflation and GDP figures reliable and independently verifiable by credible professionals?<BR/> <BR/>Rgds<BR/>==============================================================<BR/> <BR/>http://www.europac.net/externalframeset.asp?from=home&id=10612<BR/> <BR/>November 1, 2007<BR/><BR/>They Have Got to be Kidding<BR/> <BR/><BR/>Yesterday, as the dollar fell to new record lows and oil and gold prices surged to new highs, Wall Street remained fixated on wholly meaningless government data that managed to report the lowest inflation in the last half century. These bizarre numbers were integral in allowing the Commerce Department to report 3.9% annualized GDP growth in the third quarter, which was heralded by the bulls as evidence that a resilient U.S. economy had shrugged off the problems in the housing and mortgage markets. However, the government’s ability to make “economic growth” magically appear is based purely on statistical finesse. <BR/><BR/>To arrive at this rate, the government had to assume that inflation during the quarter ran at an annualized rate of .8% (that’s less than 1%). That is the lowest rate of inflation used to calculate U.S. GDP since the Eisenhower administration. With oil priced at almost $100 per barrel, gold futures trading over $800 per ounce, the dollar hitting record lows, and the Fed printing money like it is going out of style, the government has the nerve to claim that current inflation is the lowest it has been in half a century. Unbelievable!<BR/><BR/>Just in case there is some confusion, the government adjusts nominal GDP gains using the GDP deflator, which represents the inflation rate during the time period being measured. This is done to strip inflation out of the GDP calculation so that only real growth gets counted: not nominal gains that result purely from inflation.<BR/><BR/>The consensus estimate for 3rd quarter GDP growth was 3.4%. The reason we beat that number was that the government adjusted the nominal 4.7% gain by a mere .8%. Had the government assumed a higher rate of inflation, say 2.6% (identical to the rate used to deflate second quarter GDP,) the 3rd quarter gain would have been only 2.1%, well shy of the consensus forecast. My guess is that inflation is actually running at an annualized rate closer to 10%. Therefore using a more honest deflator, the U.S. economy is actually contracting, which would explain the recent anecdotal evidence provided by various economic polls, voter dissatisfaction and consumer sentiment numbers. In fact, if one simply measures U.S. GDP using gold or any other currency, it is clear that we are already in a recession.<BR/><BR/>Similar illusions are created in other numbers, such as retail sales, corporate earnings, and stock prices, which are all rising merely as a result of actual inflation being higher than the official reports. For example, higher retail sales reflect consumers paying higher prices for the products that they buy. They may in fact be buying less stuff, but are paying more for it. Further, part of the gains result from tourists using their appreciated foreign currencies to buy products cheaper here than they can in the own countries. I have heard about Canadians checking into U.S. hotels with empty suitcases, crossing the border to indulge in weekend shopping sprees. <BR/><BR/>Corporate earnings, particularly those of multi-nationals, are padded as their foreign currency denominated earnings translate into more dollars when those earnings are repatriated. However, such gains are illusions, as companies merely earn more dollars of diminished value for the goods they sell. The actual volume of exports does not necessarily improve much, as evidenced by weak industrial production and manufacturing employment. When those additional debased dollars are paid out as dividends, they confer no real increase in global purchasing power to shareholders. <BR/><BR/>Similarly, just as inflation causes prices to rise for goods and services it causes stock prices to rise as well. Though such gains may be less than the actual increase in the cost of living, as long as the government gets away with using bogus CPI numbers which fail to fully reflect inflation, Wall Street takes credit for nominal gains as if they were real.<BR/><BR/>However, as ridiculous as the phony GDP number was, yesterday’s biggest joke was a report on global competitiveness put out by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which ranked the U.S. economy as the world’s most competitive. To arrive at this conclusion, the forum has obliterated the obvious under a mountain of theory. In determining country rankings, the WEF weighed strengths in their "12 Pillars of Competitiveness", including: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation. Completely ignored however are the measurable results of competitiveness, notably a trade surplus and a strong currency.<BR/><BR/>It is as if the WEF decided to judge a weight loss contest without using a scale, by instead focusing only on mental attitude, dedication, perseverance, and nutritional education! As a result the prize is awarded to the fattest contestant. Based on the empirical evidence of a gargantuan trade deficit, staggering global indebtedness, and a declining currency, the United States is clearly not the most competitive economy in the world. <BR/><BR/>For a more in depth analysis of the tenuous position of the Americana economy and U.S. dollar denominated investments, read my new book “Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com