RECESSION WISH LIST

I have the following wish for this current recession which has taken us by surprise:

1.  I hope that the current recession be short. This will help not to derail many of the progressive projects for the nation.

2.  Would the SP be kind enough to temporarily remove the 21% tariff increase on electricity while the recession is on.

3.  Have a government watchdog to monitor price increase especially at food courts or centres. Let the prices be reduced on food and drinks for the time being so as to reduce the suffering of the people.

4. Let the transport fare be reduced especially the buses and trains as a good gesture to help people in this recession. Please remove the 30 Cents surcharge on taxis. Please be merciful on sick, poor, unemployed or handicapped people.

5. Develop a manual or toolkit to deal with recession. Do case studies & research work.

6.  The onus to help the nation lies increasingly on the post 65 generation. Let there be maturity and the passion to solve problems. Come up with new assumptions on economic principles and theories. Build new structures around this new thoughts on economics. 

I hope that others would also join in to add their wish list.   

RECESSION

Time is no good nowadays. We have to possibly face a bleak recession if it last say up to two years. Let us hope to tide over this bad time with good attitude, good sense and great unity.  

Prof. Lim Chong Yah. I clearly remember reading his books on Economics when I study for the HSC Exams. In those days, Economics was considered a new subject and not all pure science students would take this subject. In the university, economics come under the Arts & Humanities group.

Economics, it’s a huge staggering discipline. It is microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, maths for economics, Political economy of East Asia/SEA, monetary economics, international trade, money & banking, public finance, development economics, labour economics & labour relations, environmental economics, financial economics, economics of strategy, behavioural economics, statistics, etc. Those who study economics with law, they have an added advantage.

Even students studying economics at basic level would proudly carry Prof Lim’s book or other voluminous books in pride. Those were the days. However, not everyone studying economics did well and some failed. In economics, we learnt about inflation, recession, foreign exchange, pricing, market forces and etc. Once at a shop, the owner scolded his account keeper (his son) saying that he should not write the net sales i.e. it should only be done when the shop closes and not while customers are still streaming in.      

What happens in inflation? Prices of goods go up, demand for goods and services go up, rental rate go up, loan rate is up and so on. Business is booming, the economic growth move upward and the currency of a nation begin to appreciate. Inflation has its woes also because almost everything is becoming costly. While it is true that with time standard of living go up, the cost of living is rapidly increasing.

I remember the year started off bright. Everyone was happy during the New Year celebration. I can recall the celebratory fireworks in the night sky. Oh! Food, gorgeous food! There are a lot of food outlets and restaurants serving variety of food: vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Indian dishes, Chinese dishes, Western dishes, Muslim food, Thai cuisine, Nepali cuisine, Indonesian cuisine and so on. The music industry is also booming with the many “boom...boom” throbbing music. People go on vacation, go to the gym, theatres or cinemas, buy electronic products, purchase fashionable goods and clothing and so on.  

All of us are contributing to the national economy. Take A as an example. He pays the taxes to the government; he pays his bills – phone, hand phone, water, gas & lights, rent; he purchases from the market, shops and also pay the taxi drivers; takes the bus or train and uses his Easylink card for payment; he has his hair cut at the barber shop; he go on vacation and pay for his travel fare, airport tax, hotel room and the shopping and eating abroad; he also take food at the office canteen and pays the canteen operator and it is on and on. Like most Singaporeans, he don’t maintain an account of what he spends but roughly estimate his monthly expenses and try to live within his salary and means.

Just consider what he does: he gives some income to the barber, to the canteen operator and the various people he requires for their services or goods. He is a good citizen and he promptly pays the bills and his taxes. The companies, the state and the various people receive the money from A and likewise from many other people. This transaction of money forms the links or economic chains of a nation. The nation is throbbing with activities – there is development, facilities being maintained, the people live in satisfaction that things are running smoothly, the transport system is running and everyone is at work trying to improve their selves and the nation. The ATM machine dispenses out cash, accepts cash and also allow for payment of some services. Cash flows in and out. People are actively engaged. This is how economics work.

Once in a while we do see, irrespective of the economic condition, shops closing down and they offer high discounts. People rush to buy the goods so as to enjoy saving. Then there are some shops offering daily discounts. I have also seen the $1.99 shops but now they are becoming lesser.