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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - This is PAPee raisingGST to help thePOOR</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>Fkapore <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Feb-20 8:44 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>28916.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>More poor people helped with less money?
By Leong Sze Hian
I refer to the article “$2m fund to help 24,000 needy residents” (ST, Feb 18).
It states that “More than 24,000 needy residents from the North East District stand to benefit from a $2 million community partnership between the North East Community Development Council (CDC) and religious society Zhi Zhen Tan Dao Xue Hui”.
If there are 24,000 needy residents served by just one CDC, how many in total are there in Singapore, since there are five CDCs?
With 24,000 needy residents benefiting from $2m, does it mean that on the average, each needy resident may get only about $7 a month ($2 million divided by 24,000 residents divided by 12 months)?
I also refer to media reports (“33,000 turn to ComCare”, ST, Jan 27) stating that a record 33,000 households were successful applicants for ComCare schemes last year, an increase of 47 per cent compared to 2008.
As the ComCare budget was $63.7 million in 2008, with an increase of 47 per cent, on a proportional basis for the first nine months of the current financial year, the amount disbursed should be about $70.2 million ($63.7 million 2008 budget x 1.47 x 9/12 months).
So, why is it that only $51.3 million of this year’s $77 million budget has been used?
Does it mean that on the average, each needy household received about $173 monthly ($51.3 million divided by 33,000 households divided by 9 months)?
Using the same methodology, the average assistance per household per month in 2008 was $236 ($63.7 million divided by 22,449 households (33,000 divided by 1.47) divided by 12 months).
Why is it that the average monthly assistance appears to have declined by 27 per cent from 2008 to 2009 ($173 out of $236)?
The above is a very rough analysis based on the statistics publicly available.
Of course, applicants will be approved on a rolling basis in the course of a year, and assistance for some existing needy households will terminate when they are deemed to be no longer requiring help.
So, what we need to know is the average assistance per month per household for these 33,000 households, instead of just the total figure of $51.3 million used to-date.
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By Leong Sze Hian
I refer to the article “$2m fund to help 24,000 needy residents” (ST, Feb 18).It states that “More than 24,000 needy residents from the North East District stand to benefit from a $2 million community partnership between the North East Community Development Council (CDC) and religious society Zhi Zhen Tan Dao Xue Hui”.
If there are 24,000 needy residents served by just one CDC, how many in total are there in Singapore, since there are five CDCs?
With 24,000 needy residents benefiting from $2m, does it mean that on the average, each needy resident may get only about $7 a month ($2 million divided by 24,000 residents divided by 12 months)?
I also refer to media reports (“33,000 turn to ComCare”, ST, Jan 27) stating that a record 33,000 households were successful applicants for ComCare schemes last year, an increase of 47 per cent compared to 2008.
As the ComCare budget was $63.7 million in 2008, with an increase of 47 per cent, on a proportional basis for the first nine months of the current financial year, the amount disbursed should be about $70.2 million ($63.7 million 2008 budget x 1.47 x 9/12 months).
So, why is it that only $51.3 million of this year’s $77 million budget has been used?
Does it mean that on the average, each needy household received about $173 monthly ($51.3 million divided by 33,000 households divided by 9 months)?
Using the same methodology, the average assistance per household per month in 2008 was $236 ($63.7 million divided by 22,449 households (33,000 divided by 1.47) divided by 12 months).
Why is it that the average monthly assistance appears to have declined by 27 per cent from 2008 to 2009 ($173 out of $236)?
The above is a very rough analysis based on the statistics publicly available.
Of course, applicants will be approved on a rolling basis in the course of a year, and assistance for some existing needy households will terminate when they are deemed to be no longer requiring help.
So, what we need to know is the average assistance per month per household for these 33,000 households, instead of just the total figure of $51.3 million used to-date.
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