Singapore
An Internet discussion
On what bothers Singaporeans, jobs, costs of living, foreign immigrants, etc. Courtesy of Sammyboy.com
Nov 6, 2004

Do you feel cheated?
Sammyboy.com. Aug 29, 2004
ahtee5
This is my first posting on this forum so I hope that all would give me their 2 cents worth. Being a young singaporean, I was raised and breed a product of our dear PAP government. Having graduated from a local uni recently, i realised how disillusioned we have been. We have been fed with false hope and misinformation. The job market for graduates is so horrible, i cannot imagine how tough life must be for non-grads. I dun think that being a graduate is a big deal and do not expect a nice paying first job. Simply something reasonable and with a nice career path, however this alone seems impossible. With so many universities and part time degrees available, almost every other person (with some money) can get a decent degree. It's horrible to see how employers in singapore are taking full advantage of this and literary squeezing every value out of us.
My point is this: Dun paint such a beautiful picture for the future when this is untrue. Being a younger singapore, i have certainly waken up and i wont be cheated again.

Leongsam
You've got a degree so why don't you put it to good use by creating a product or service, which will earn you some money?
Nobody's going to give you a "career path" in this day and age. You're harping for things, which no longer exist in the 21st century.

enterpris5
Sammy is right. You got to pave your own path. The government can be blamed for many things but one thing you cannot hold them to is to give you a job or spoon feed you to a cushy lifestyle. Sure they may hype things up...but then you are supposed to be an adult and learn to see through all that 'smoke'.

Barcelon
Providing jobs for citizens is the responsibility of the government. It may not be job per se, but the economy must be made in such a way by all governments to provide opportunities to all to earn their living.

Leongsam
There are ample opportunities in Singapore to make good. All it needs is a bit of imagination, determination and hard work.
The problem with most graduate Singaporeans is that they still harbour the notion that a stupid piece of paper called a "degree" entitles them to a well paying job and a fancy job title.
Sooner or later, they'll have to face up to the fact that society does not owe them a living and that life is what they make of it.

sanehere
Horrible or not, you have to start from somewhere.
Difficult to know which industry you may choose as your career until you have actually landed yourself in a job regardless the industry. your univ. training may be a guide but it may not necessarily be the type of industry/profession you may choose for your career.
Be flexible and less demanding. Land yourself a job to acquire EQ as a freshie may not be as valuable as one who may be experienced in some jobs.
if you are patient enough, it may well be rewarding provided you make full use of whatever opportunity you receive along the way to prove that you are the breed of worker much sought after.

enterpris5
Quote "Me think you got that part wrong. Providing jobs for citizens is the responsibility of the government. It may not be job pere, but the economy must be made in such a way by all governmentts to provide opportunities to all to earn their living."
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It is the government responsibility to "provide conditions for the economy to flourish". Loosely defined, you can hold them to ensuring there are ample jobs around for the population.
However, you still need to go out and nail that job ... and you need to compete with Foreign Talents for it. Because companies are not going to hire you just because you are a true blue Singaporeans, what they want is the best bang for the buck.
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Globalisation and Singapore's labour market
dpennz"
Aug 27, 2004
While our new PM say the future is bright, lets think hard. What is wrong with Singapore anyway? To outsiders this seems to be a highly successful nation, yet we have a high outward migration rate...many want out.
The numbers don't lie,
* 1.26 fertility rate,
* 30% divorce rate,
* highest debt in the world 170% of GDP.
What looks good, may be looking good only on the outside. Sure there is no lack of food, not many are homeless or jobless, yet something seems very wrong.
Like the healthy looking man in suit and tie, with a clogged artery he can collapse anytime.
The low birth rate relative to the rest of the world is alarming, people lost the will to reproduce themselves. That is DAMN DISTURBING! Its the most disturbing statistic I've seen. The package of baby perks looks more like trying to shoot a cruise missile with a handgun - totally inadequate.
What is our clogged artery?
1. High housing cost. This is the mother of all problems. The PAP+HDB raise the cost of housing far faster than wages rose. The housing cost resulted in bigger debts. Now Singapore has the highest debt burden in the world 170% of GDP. Yes higher than Japan, USA .... The funny thing about debt is it is like the clogged artery - it burdens the population without outward signs. Singaporeans don't have the words 'heavily in debt'; stamped across their face. They suffer in silence. The PAP cannot solve this problem because it can't just lower cost of property overnight - because the thousands who bought at higher prices will scream...
2. High cost of car. A car in America, Australia, Malaysia is like a basic right. The basic convenience that people elsewhere enjoy is an exclusive luxury to Singaporeans. What is wrong with that you ask? Isn't our public transport good enough? You try to have a family without a car. You try carrying a stroller onto a bus with a 1 year old in your arms. That is why people who have the first kid stop having the second. IT IS INCONVENIENT TO HAVE KIDS AND NO CAR. You never hear it mentioned by the PAP. Why? Because the car problem can never be solved. They over-populated this small island, a car will now always be an exclusive luxury good. If you don't understand the relationship between a car and having more kids, I suggest you borrow a 1-2 year old and try to bring him via bus to somewhere. Then you'll instantly realise why people don't want kids. With average family monthly income at $3.3K, a car is out of reach to the majority of Singaporeans.
3. Foreign Talent. The PAP cause a serious structural unemployment problem through their FT policy. Suddenly, employers don't ever need to hire over-40s worker because they have unlimited supply of younger workers from overseas. Without secure jobs, would people have more children? Your expenses peak at age 40 when your jobs is most at risk - would you feel like having more commitments like kids? Can the PAP solve this problem. No way. The local business have become addicted to foreign labor so there is no way to solve this problem.
The low fertility rate is only a manifestation of underlying real serious problems faced by Singaporeans. The baby perks will do nothing because its just a superficial band aid, while the internal problems are so much more serious.

dpennz@y...
Globalisation is about the free movement of labour, goods and services.
The Government has done well to recognise that free mobility of labour is technically not possible due to geographical, logistical and cultural constraints. They have correctly identified that however, investments and funds will then be the mobile factor.
Investments will seek where they can find the most suitable labour force, at the lowest costs (Capital, Land, Labour).
Under open market operations, wages will, in the long run, normalise to a pareto equilibria, where the nominal wage will be roughly the same around the world. Hence DPM Tony Tan's comparison of our wages to China, India, Indonesia.
The immergence of the new "urban poor" in USA, is the first sign and lesson for first world and high cost countries, like Singapore.
The normalisation of nominal wages, has caused real wage to spiral downwards in high cost countries practicing free market conditions across the world. With China and India producing millions of graduates able to take much lower nomial wages, and yet earn higher real wages due to the very low costs of living in their countries, nominal and real wages of first world and high cost nations are at stake. Countries who practice higher living costs than other countries will face an increasing pressure of it's citizens migrating to enjoy lower living costs of other countries. Singapore should not seek to bond its citizens (through punitive HDB flat prices), if it is making them uncompetitive with high living costs.
Countries which are more expensive will be phased out of the new emerging globalised world market.
While pursuing open market policies in the labour market to attract investments and funds, Singapore must cut it's costs of living to survive the onslaught of much cheaper and just as good labour from third world nations.
While the labour market has been freed up for the employers, the market for basic services (transport, utilities, supermarkets, housing, land) is becoming increasing monopolised and expensive in Singapore. The citizens are being severely punished and penalised to supply labour within their own country. As they see their real wage plummet in the open labour market due to lower costs of living of other nationals, they are not able to lower their norminal wage, due to the high costs of living in their own country, Singapore.
The high cost policies practiced by an expensive and top heavy Government structure, also ensures that investments will continue to flow to China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, even as it penalises it's own workers to accept lower nominal (and real) wages to lower business costs and also provide for sufficiently cheap and good labour force through foreign imports. Singapore citizens are increasing becoming highly uncompetitive, not only of their arrogance, attitude, but also of expensive living costs.
We should be seeking a balance, in the labour policies, to cut costs of living, while ensuring that Singaporeans do not become uncompetitive due to a required minimum real wage, translating to higher nominal wages compared to foreign imports. The open market has to wait, or delayed, while costs of living are being gradually reduced. While protectionalism is not good, it has to be a way to defend ourselves, to give us some time to revise our internal structures, so as to become more competitive tomorrow.
Sammyboy.com