Instead of Job Credit Scam, We Should Spur Demand Like In Australia

We should be doing the same thing like Australia, jacking up demand, instead of this Job Credit Scam which only benefit employers and not the workers.. And Rudd's salary is only a fraction of PM Lee $3 million a year.


http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Money/Story/STIStory_334093.html

Aussies on spending spree <!--10 min-->
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Australian retail sales surged in December as government hand-outs, lower borrowing costs and falling petrol prices boosted household spending power, providing vital support to an economy teetering on the brink of recession. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY - AUSTRALIAN retail sales surged in December as government hand-outs, lower borrowing costs and falling petrol prices boosted household spending power, providing vital support to an economy teetering on the brink of recession.

The 3.8 per cent jump in seasonally adjusted sales was the biggest in over eight years and far above median forecasts of a 1.4 per cent increase, data showed on Wednesday.
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AUSTRALIAN consumer spending power has also been underpinned by falling mortgage rates.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut its key cash rate by 100 basis points to a record low of 3.25 per cent on Tuesday, taking total cuts since September to a hefty 4 percentage points.


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The strength owed much to the Labour government which lavished around A$8.7 billion (S$8.4 billion) in cash payments on retirees and low-income families in December to support the economy in the face of the global financial storm.
'When people are given big piles of money some of it is going to end up in electronics and household goods and department stores,' said Stephen Walters, chief economist at JPMorgan.

Sales at department stores climbed 8.3 per cent in December, while spending on household good jumped 9.9 per cent and clothing 5.8 per cent.

The Australian dollar initially edged higher after the data, but quickly faded. It ros to $0.6516 before backing off to $0.6480 by 0241 GMT (10.41am Singapore time). Debt markets were weak, focusing more on a fall in US Treasuries.

Analysts suspected retail sales would sag in January and February as the impact of the one-off payments faded, but December's strength still meant that the fourth quarter looked better than before.

'It means retail sales were strong for the whole quarter and, as they make up 25 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), provided a very good cushion for the economy,' said Brian Redican, a senior economist at Macquarie.

The boost was timely as the A$1 trillion economy grew by a bare 0.1 per cent in the third quarter and there has been much speculation it shrank in the fourth, like many other developed countries. That would have put it on the path to recession, commonly described as two consecutive quarters of GDP declines.

Prime Minster Kevin Rudd this week swore to 'move heaven and earth' to avoid recession. To that end, the government on Tuesday announced a second package of fiscal stimulus worth A$42 billion. Of that, around A$2.7 billion in cash payments would be made in March and another A$8.3 billion in April. The latest package took to A$78 billion the total stimulus spending announced since last September. -- REUTERS

Problem is those crooks in charge don't want to give out real money! Give job credits all on paper only.

Singkieland can't jack up demand effectively because the economy is too small and insignificant.
Instead the government can create more infrastructure, social and community, alternative energy, environmental planning and research jobs to tide Singaporeans over this bad period and wait for the world economy to recover. Help the poor and needy directly.
Oh, and one important thing. Reduce the ministers and civil servants salaries significantly and use this money to help the poor and for new projects. The justification? Please see the first sentence.

There are many things that I do not agree with the Garment, and I am definitely not their support.

I however, have to agree with those who oppose to spurring of domestic demand to boost the economy. The main reason is that the revenues to companies situated in Singapore does not come from local market but foreign markets such as USA, Europe, Middle East, Japan and China. The increase in Domestic market does little to generate the revenues for sustainable growth.

Additional problem with spurring domestic spending is the outflow of wealth from Singapore. almost all goods including food available in Singapore are imports and thus increase spending will only benefits foreign suppliers and export countries to Singapore.

However, what I think the Garment need to do is to ensure sustainable livelihood for those retrenched workers which should be a priority. The 20.5Bil package actually does very little to address this point, almost none.

Alright Aussie, that is what a first world country would do.