Kee Chiu: Families earning $1K a mth can afford HDB flat

[makapaaa]

[h=2]Chan: Families earning $1K a mth can afford HDB flat[/h]

January 16th, 2015 |

Author: Editorial

Minister Chan Chun Sing

Minister Chan Chun Sing wrote to ST Forum today (‘Chee sacrifices S’pore to win points overseas: Chan Chun Sing’, 16 Jan) accusing Dr Chee of “sacrifice Singaporeans and Singapore” to “win points” overseas (‘Minister Chan accuses Dr Chee of ‘sacrificing’ S’poreans‘).

In his letter, Mr Chan again touched on the issue about Singaporeans earning $1,000 a month can really afford their own flats.

He was trying to rebut Dr Chee’s earlier article that Singaporeans can’t actually live in Singapore on $1,000 a month.
Mr Chan wrote:

Dr Chee Soon Juan is disingenuous (“Not possible for poor S’poreans to live on $1,000 a month”; Dec 18).

Singaporean families earning $1,000 a month can indeed afford their own flats because of various housing grants. As a result, the lowest 20th percentile of households have an average net home equity of $200,000. That is an achievement no other nation in the world can boast of.

And that is not all. In recent years, we have enhanced our social safety nets. Lower-income households have benefited from, among other things, Workfare and various assistance schemes for medical, transport, utilities and education.
​

Again, just like Consulate-General of Singapore to Hong Kong, Jacky Foo, Mr Chan also seems to think that low-income Singaporeans can survive by living on air, after purchasing their HDB flat.

A family with no flat will also die with $1K a month
Last month, Mr Jacky Foo, rebutted Dr Chee’s article (“A New Vision for Singapore”, Nov. 28) in a letter to the Wall Street Journal (‘Singapore’s consulate-general to HK rebuts Dr Chee‘).
In his letter, Mr Foo said, “Families earning just 1,000 Singapore dollars a month can afford to own a two-room apartment.”

TRE then set out to determine how a Singaporean family earning just $1,000 a month can afford a 2-room HDB flat (‘Jacky, a family with no flat will also die with $1K hor!‘).

TRE did the following calculations after taking into account the bare living expenses of a family consisting of a couple and a toddler. This is what we have determined by pushing to the limits:

2-room monthly instalment
Electricity, water, gas (no telephone)
S&CC for 2-room flat
Husband & wife’s bus/MRT fares
Husband’s hair cut
Milk powder
Diapers
Child’s medical fees
Child’s clothing
Total excluding HDB mortgage
Total including HDB mortgage

[TD="width: 224"] Details [/TD]
[TD="width: 59"] Monthly [/TD]
[TD="width: 264"] Remarks [/TD]

[TD="align: right"]159[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]Sengkang 2-room[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]120[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]with a child, water consumption will be higher, e.g. need to boil water to sterilize milk bottle etc[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]28[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]AMKTC charges $28 monthly for 2-room flat[/TD]

[TD="width: 224"]Toilet paper, toothpaste, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, floor detergent, soya sauce, black sauce, oil, rice, canned food, maggi mee, flour, salt, sugar, soap, margarine, tea, condensed milk etc[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]200[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]shop at NTUC once a month (average of $50 a week)[/TD]

[TD="width: 224"]Fish, meat, vegetable, fruit, bread (for breakfast) etc[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]300[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]$10 a day (take note of current wet market prices – lean meat $15/kg, 1 egg $0.22, fish average $10/kg, 1 duck $18, 1 piece of chicken breast $4 etc)[/TD]

[TD="width: 224"][/TD]

[TD="width: 264"][/TD]

[TD="width: 224"] Personal [/TD]

[TD="width: 264"][/TD]

[TD="width: 224"]Husband’s lunch at work[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]60[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]$2 mixed veg rice, $1 kopi ‘O’ for 20 working days[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]150[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]husband $120 (working), wife $30 (moving around)[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]10[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]assuming wife keeps long hair and doesn’t go to salon[/TD]

[TD="width: 224"]Husband & wife’s medical fees[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]10[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]assuming a person sees a doctor 3 times a year, each time paying $20 (polyclinic $11 for consultation only, medicine extra) – this works out to $120 a year. This is for common ailments like cough, cold, diarrhea etc.[/TD]

[TD="width: 224"]Husband & wife’s clothing, slippers, shoes, socks, undergarments etc[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]20[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]assuming each person spends $120 per year – total $240 per year.[/TD]

[TD="width: 224"][/TD]

[TD="width: 264"][/TD]

[TD="width: 224"] Child [/TD]

[TD="width: 264"][/TD]

[TD="align: right"]100[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]2 tins ($50 per tin)[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]35[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]$17.50 per pack with 48 pieces inside – 2 packs 96 pieces, assuming 3 pieces per day[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]10[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]Double that of adult – 6 times a year – 6 x $20 = $120 (polyclinic $11 for consultation only, medicine extra).[/TD]

[TD="align: right"]10[/TD]
[TD="width: 264"]$120 a year[/TD]

[TD="width: 264"][/TD]

[TD="align: right"] 1053 [/TD]
[TD="width: 264"][/TD]

[TD="align: right"] 1212 [/TD]
[TD="width: 264"][/TD]

With a salary of $1,000, the take-home pay is actually only $800. The monthly CPF is $370, made up of $200 employee’s contribution and $170 employer’s contribution. Hence, the total monthly CPF contributions are, indeed, enough to pay the mortgage installments for their 2-room flat.

Nevertheless, the take-home pay is clearly not enough for the family to pay for the above monthly living expenses of $1,053. It is short of $253 every month. Either the family will have to cut down the above expenses further or they will have to make up the shortfall somewhere else.

One of the ways would be for the mother to breastfeed. That would help to save $100 milk powder expenses in the above calculation. But the family will still be short of $153 every month.

On a side note, according to pediatricians, if a mother chooses to breastfeed, she must make sure that she takes in enough proteins like fish and meat so that she can have the necessary nutrients to pass on to her baby. That being the case, the marketing cost for fish and meat in the above calculation will increase too, possibly negating some of the savings in not buying baby milk powder.

It’s not known how Mr Foo and Mr Chan expect a family earning just $1,000 a month can afford to get married and have children, living and surviving in a 2-room flat together.

While trying to determine grocery costs, TRE talked to a provision shop owner. When TRE told him what Mr Foo had said about surviving on $1,000 for a family living in a 2-room flat, he was visibly angered, “Don’t say 2-room flat, even with no-room flat the family will also die with $1,000 a month!”

Both Mr Foo and Mr Chan seem to be arguing for the sake of arguing. What’s the use of saying low income group can afford to buy a flat but can’t survive living from month to month? It’s like arguing that low income group can also afford to pay the $150 monthly subscription fee of the Singapore Island Country Club [Link].
Unless, of course, the government wants the low income group to keep coming back to the government to get handouts to make-up for the monthly shortfalls so as to feel grateful to the PAP government?
What do you think?

Note: TRE has made quite a number of generous assumptions in calculating the living expenses above. Many things have been excluded. For example:

• None of the family members has chronic illnesses like high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc.
• No hospitalizations for anyone
• No entertainment – can only go to free venues like parks, museums, window shopping at malls etc.
• No overseas holiday – perhaps walk to Sentosa to see the big merlion from outside
• No Milo, no soft drinks, no liquor, no beer
• No newspaper
• Assets have not been taken into account (e.g. milk bottles, fridge, TV, fan, table, chairs, bed, mattress, bed sheets, pillows, blankets, mop, pails, cooking utensils, etc) – let’s assume all these were given by relatives when the couple were married
• We assume assets like TV/fridge/light bulbs/fan etc, won’t breakdown – any breakdowns will need money to either repair or buy replacements
• Etc (do help to fill in)

 

[Narong Wongwan]

It should be fun to see how vile pappies come out with their own calculations

 

[JohnTan]

TRE deliberately left out workfare, U-save vouchers, bursaries for kids, free tuition offered by CDAC/Mendaki/Sinda, social services provided by PA and other government agencies.

 

[makapaaa]

TRE deliberately left out workfare, U-save vouchers, bursaries for kids, free tuition offered by CDAC/Mendaki/Sinda, social services provided by PA and other government agencies.

Bingo! And not to forget the several hundreds of millions of dollars given to FTrash FOC to fund their university education with living expenses fully paid for while not having to serve 1 day of NS. And as if this is not enough, the best jobs are reserved for FTrash both in the civil service and private sector, without which the Stinkees these FTrash have replaced would not be able to earn $7k pm as cab drivers, $3k pm as dishwashers and of course, $1k pm as cleaners and security guards. And indeed, 60% of the Stinkees are fully aware of how truly blessed they are and have placed undying, unyielding support for the FAP Traitors come EVERY election.

 

[LEGEND]

Why do they have to keep emphasizing on this matter? Are there many people earning $1k and below p.m in Sinkapore.
Is this something they think they should be proud of?

 

[zeddy]

This son of a whore will later say his mom survived raising him by having just $100 a month because his unknown dad ran road after he had creampied Kee Chiu's mom..

 

[Charlie99]

I believe that the numbers provided above, are absolute minimum.

I believe that those numbers are insufficient, such as the minimum estimate for food and grocery (my guess is, at least $100 per person per week), meals and coffee at work (at least $5 to $8 per person per day), clothing and shoes (on average at least $100 per person per month), and a telephone is a neccesity.

[[ Details Monthly Remarks
2-room monthly instalment 159 Sengkang 2-room
Electricity, water, gas (no telephone) 120 with a child, water consumption will be higher, e.g. need to boil water to sterilize milk bottle etc
S&CC for 2-room flat 28 AMKTC charges $28 monthly for 2-room flat
Toilet paper, toothpaste, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, floor detergent, soya sauce, black sauce, oil, rice, canned food, maggi mee, flour, salt, sugar, soap, margarine, tea, condensed milk etc 200 shop at NTUC once a month (average of $50 a week)
Fish, meat, vegetable, fruit, bread (for breakfast) etc 300 $10 a day (take note of current wet market prices – lean meat $15/kg, 1 egg $0.22, fish average $10/kg, 1 duck $18, 1 piece of chicken breast $4 etc)
Personal
Husband’s lunch at work 60 $2 mixed veg rice, $1 kopi ‘O’ for 20 working days
Husband & wife’s bus/MRT fares 150 husband $120 (working), wife $30 (moving around)
Husband’s hair cut 10 assuming wife keeps long hair and doesn’t go to salon
Husband & wife’s medical fees 10 assuming a person sees a doctor 3 times a year, each time paying $20 (polyclinic $11 for consultation only, medicine extra) – this works out to $120 a year. This is for common ailments like cough, cold, diarrhea etc.
Husband & wife’s clothing, slippers, shoes, socks, undergarments etc 20 assuming each person spends $120 per year – total $240 per year.
Child
Milk powder 100 2 tins ($50 per tin)
Diapers 35 $17.50 per pack with 48 pieces inside – 2 packs 96 pieces, assuming 3 pieces per day
Child’s medical fees 10 Double that of adult – 6 times a year – 6 x $20 = $120 (polyclinic $11 for consultation only, medicine extra).
Child’s clothing 10 $120 a year
Total excluding HDB mortgage 1053
Total including HDB mortgage 1212 ]]

 

[LEGEND]

TRE deliberately left out workfare, U-save vouchers, bursaries for kids, free tuition offered by CDAC/Mendaki/Sinda, social services provided by PA and other government agencies.

Is this something proud to be included into the list. While our servants are earning millions of dollars, their Masters have to survive with these assistance.

 

[AhNehs]

 

[Singapura]

SINGAPORE has the WIDEST rich poor gap in the World!!!

 

[Singapura]

 

[The_Hypocrite]

Who did these Singkies vote for?

 

[tonychat]

Why do they have to keep emphasizing on this matter? Are there many people earning $1k and below p.m in Sinkapore.
Is this something they think they should be proud of?

This is very enlightening Master LEGEND!!!

 

[tonychat]

SINGAPORE has the WIDEST rich poor gap in the World!!!

Congratulation? It comes out top.

 

[shittypore]

Sinkies pay em MILLIONS, now they tell Sinkies 1k enough to own a Hdb flat and survive in Sinkieland.

 

[Vietcong]

Sinkies pay em MILLIONS, now they tell Sinkies 1k enough to own a Hdb flat and survive in Sinkieland.

Looks like a Big Big Gap... your Sinkie government is becoming a Big Joke.

 

[shittypore]

With the Clown Prince running the Gahman, wat do u expect!

 

[sleaguepunter]

$1k monthly salary can buy 2 room hdb flat with monthly cpf contribution but over how many years? After completing the hdb loan repayment, do the lease owner has enough money in his cpf to meet the minimum sum the 55yo?

Unlike other bigger flat owner, the 2 room flat owner don't have option to downgrade to encash the flat and buy a smaller unit.

 

[Papsmearer]

This son of a whore will later say his mom survived raising him by having just $100 a month because his unknown dad ran road after he had creampied Kee Chiu's mom..

I thought his father run road after he saw kee chiu's lancheow face poking out from his mother's cheebye.

 

[Papsmearer]

Normally, when a minister makes this kind of claims, Shit Times will be tasked with finding people who are in the situation that the minister claims and interviewing them so that their personal story backs up the shit put out by the minister. This is the propaganda MO. I notice in this situation, there has been no such interviews with sinkies who are earning $1000 and have their own flat. Until Kee chiu can show an example, this is all bullshit.