Many ways to skin a cat.....not enough for PAP to listen with ears, it has to learn to listen with the heart.
Wage restructuring worth considering
Letter from Chong Lee Ming 04:45 AM Apr 17, 2012
I REFER to the report "Wage shock therapy 'too risky': Lim Swee Say" (April 14).
While Professor Lim Chong Yah's proposal to raise salaries of low-income workers appears radical, it is worth reflecting on what prompted an eminent economist to put it forward.
As a high-income country, many basic services here are surprisingly cheap. I read a travel guide which introduced Singapore as a developed country where one could have lunch for US$2 (S$2.50).
While it appears that Singapore is able to keep living costs low, this is mainly due to depressed wages in these sectors. Conversely, the middle- to higher-income group has larger disposable income after paying less for basic services.
One result is higher property and car prices. Similarly, landlords are able to charge local businesses higher rental.
The usual reason given for the low wages in the basic services sector is that locals shun these jobs, hence, the need to hire foreigners who are prepared to work at low wages. However, the cause and the symptom might not be so clear-cut.
Many developed countries do not rely on large numbers of foreigners in the construction sector - construction workers command decent wages, sometimes comparable to professionals.
Hence, it might be acceptable to allow productivity growth of low-income workers to slightly lag their wage growth. While this might result in a slightly higher cost of living, it might be a worthy outcome if it helps to improve the social compact.
For the low-income group, as long as their income growth outstrips the increased living costs, it would be all right.
The middle- to high-income group would have less disposable income for cars and properties, with the result being car and property prices coming down. So, the net impact on this group could be zero.
For local businesses, this could mean a shift in the cost structure to paying more in wages and less in rental. For foreign investors, it is not certain if the higher cost of lunch or cleaning services would tip their decision on whether to do business here.
For the Government, it would mean less Budget resources would be required to indirectly narrow the income gap for low-income workers.
Wage restructuring worth considering
Letter from Chong Lee Ming 04:45 AM Apr 17, 2012
I REFER to the report "Wage shock therapy 'too risky': Lim Swee Say" (April 14).
While Professor Lim Chong Yah's proposal to raise salaries of low-income workers appears radical, it is worth reflecting on what prompted an eminent economist to put it forward.
As a high-income country, many basic services here are surprisingly cheap. I read a travel guide which introduced Singapore as a developed country where one could have lunch for US$2 (S$2.50).
While it appears that Singapore is able to keep living costs low, this is mainly due to depressed wages in these sectors. Conversely, the middle- to higher-income group has larger disposable income after paying less for basic services.
One result is higher property and car prices. Similarly, landlords are able to charge local businesses higher rental.
The usual reason given for the low wages in the basic services sector is that locals shun these jobs, hence, the need to hire foreigners who are prepared to work at low wages. However, the cause and the symptom might not be so clear-cut.
Many developed countries do not rely on large numbers of foreigners in the construction sector - construction workers command decent wages, sometimes comparable to professionals.
Hence, it might be acceptable to allow productivity growth of low-income workers to slightly lag their wage growth. While this might result in a slightly higher cost of living, it might be a worthy outcome if it helps to improve the social compact.
For the low-income group, as long as their income growth outstrips the increased living costs, it would be all right.
The middle- to high-income group would have less disposable income for cars and properties, with the result being car and property prices coming down. So, the net impact on this group could be zero.
For local businesses, this could mean a shift in the cost structure to paying more in wages and less in rental. For foreign investors, it is not certain if the higher cost of lunch or cleaning services would tip their decision on whether to do business here.
For the Government, it would mean less Budget resources would be required to indirectly narrow the income gap for low-income workers.
