High Cost of living

July 7 , 2008

Starting from today, ERP charges have increased again and more gantries will be added to deter motorists from driving or to encourage the motorists to give up driving and take the not so public transport. Diesel and petrol have increased again since Thursday. I have lost count how many times they have increased the price of petrol. In fact since last year, we have to cough out another 60% to pay for the fuel. According to the transport minister, ERP is for regulating traffic, but then what is the purpose of COE ? Is it not for regulating the car population. Obviously, the government used this ERP and COE to double tax the owners of vehicles. What they want is money, they don’t care congestion on the road, or poor business in the CBD area. Just like increasing GST to help the poor, is it really to help the poor or increase their coffer ?

On Sunday, 6th July. we saw the Tak Boleh Tahan campaign by SDP around Bishan and previously in Toa Payoh where the activists tried to highlight the high cost of living suffer by our heartlanders. Prices of food have increased tremendously, not to mention other items such as transport, medical fee, S&C charges, petrol, parking fees, CPF minimum sum, electricity bill, housing be it rental or owner occupied. All these prices have gone north. The TBT team highlighted the enormous increase in the ministerial salary since last year, and they are going to revise upwards this Dec. This increament is contrary to what we workers receive in this difficult time. Across the causeway, the opposition protested on Sunday in a stadium regarding price hike. Tens of thousand of people attended the rally, but over here, we suffer silently as nobody dare to protest due to the strict law regarding assembly.

I always hear many complains in coffee shop talk regarding price hike , ministerial salary, ERP and COE so on and so forth… but the complain seem like does not put into action when comes election. Every election we see PAP getting stronger, and oppositions look bad in image. People keep complaining but in the end, they still voted for PAP, I find that it is strange.

Sunday morning, I sat at a coffee shop taking my breakfast. Beside the coffee shop, there is a pawn shop, and I noticed many residents went in there ,all multiracial people went in to pawn their jewellery. Is it because of price hike and they can’t afford a living or because they are shortage of cash for gambling ? I tried to visualise but I can’t figure out their motive of pawning the jewellery.

Then this morning while driving I listened to the radio talk show in which the DJ mentioned that there is a family of seven who spend just $120 per week for food and grocery. One month it comes to about $480, wah, very cheap considering seven members in a family. May be they heeded the advice of our PM to eat house brand food, buy brandless bread and so on. Well they are really obedient kind of citizen, or may be circumstances force them to be thrifty.  One thing for sure , many of us really can’t afford to eat abalone or shark fins for this coming CNY. But a certain people can eat fresh sea food flown directly from Nagoya weekly if not daily. This will make people fed up and they will scold tew nia seng !!!

July 7, 2008. Uncategorized.