Inflation
’Who can afford Singapore anymore!’
Singapore’s big preoccupation these days is inflation,
and GST hike hasn’t kicked in yet. Littlespeck..
Jun 5, 2007
Below
are two comments - one visitor and a Singaporean –
plus some snapshots of price increases.
By
BUCKWISE
Jun 2, 2007
After my latest visit to Singapore I have finally come to
the conclusion that while Singapore is a great place to
visit, good food, great accommodation, excellent accessibility
and is still undoubtedly the “crossroads” of
SE Asia, it just doesn’t cut it on the “value
for money” charts anymore.
“How
come” you may ask, well where to begin. Firstly the
cost of accommodation has increased steadily over the last
few years to the point where it has, on average, the most
expensive accommodation of any major city in Asia or PacRim.
Also
the service culture that exists in most good hotels in the
region has completely disappeared in Singapore. Don’t
go expecting to hear “thank you” very often
while your there.
Secondly,
the “money for everything” ethos has found a
new home in Singapore and you should expect to pay for every
little service or item that you receive during your stay
many of which in other cities within the region you will
receive gratis.
Shopping,
forget it; shop at home and save money and you don’t
have to lug it everywhere you go.
And
last but not least, be prepared that anything that is perceived
as a “Tourist Attraction” will most definitely
attract a substantial premium for your patronage.
Lets
face it folks, you can get far more “holiday for your
buck” in most other SE Asian tourist destinations.
Happy camping
BUCKWISE
http://www.surveybusters.com/singapore-travel-bargain-no-more/
Dwindling
purchasing power
By redbean, Jun 4, 2007
At the rate the prices of things are shooting up, whatever
subsidies will quickly be eroded away. Those lower income
earners, including all under $5k household income, will
feel the squeeze.
The
purchasing power of their dollar is getting smaller by the
day.
The
only people who can cushion against a lost of income from
a dwindling dollar will be those who can command a 20% or
30% salary increment.
I have
yet to read in the media how much has it cost the people
with all the increases taking place, the 2% gst, housing,
food, medical fees, transportation, etc etc.
How
much of the dollar has already been wiped away without the
people spending the money?
http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/
Pre-GST
Price Hikes
Here
are some recent items in briefs: -
1.
June 5 - Case slams Nets fee hike as a 'great disservice'.
For 6m users, 13,000 merchants, NET rates will go up from
0.35-0.55% of purchases to between 1.5-1.9%, representing
a three-fold increase in the amount merchants will have
to pay for each transaction.
2.
May 29 - A NEW round of fee hikes is underway at
most public hospitals and some polyclinics.
Subsidised patients at four public hospitals will now pay
$24 or $25 for every visit to a specialist clinic, up from
about $21.
All 18 polyclinics, which used to charge a standard consultation
fee of $8 for adults, now charge anything from $8-$8.80.
3.
May 28 - Be prepared to fork out an additional
10 to 50 cents for your next glass of sugarcane juice.
4.
May 18 (TODAY) - From milk to Milo, cooking oil
to coffee, canned foods, processed foods, wheat products
and more, prices have been rising recently at supermarkets
and hypermarts here.
5.
Forummers
teh_si - Price of Marigold HL
milk up from $4.85 to $5.25 for two (13% increase) and Milkmaid
condensed milk from $1.10 to $1.60 (45% increase). Han's
restaurant increased its price for breakfast sets from $4.80
to $5.50 from May 15.
Man
in the streets - I was at the roti-prata shop
along jln masjid having lunch with a client, I heard the
kosong roti will increase to 70 cents per piece. CASE is
sleeping or closing its eyes.
nannan82:
Even the chicken rice I used to eat was raised
to $3 from $2.5 dollar recently at hawker centre.
6.
Apr 30 - ERP rates to go up at 5 gantries. The
rates of five Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries will
increase by 50 cents for all vehicle classes starting from
May 7, 2007.
7.
April 5 (ST) - Beware spike in docs' fees. THE
dumping by the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) of private
doctors' consultation fee guidelines effectively deregulates
the service.
8.
Mar 31 (ST) - Motor premiums could go up as insurers
lose money.
Hike expected as half of insurers are facing losses and
cannot sustain premium levels.
(9)
Jan 20 (ST) - Big surge in CBD carpark rates. Situation
could get worse as some 2,000 parking lots are likely to
disappear soon.
Carpark owners are raising rates - driving vehicle owners
in the Central Business District (CBD) up the wall. Now
$160-$330, monthly season charges will go up by 20%.
The occasional visitor will pay up to $4.80 an hour weekdays.
Littlespeck.com
