AMDK dun have Good Hands to take care of them in Land of Murika...all feel jin gloomy

[k1976]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/wor...alling-inflation-and-low-unemployment-3932176

 

[k1976]

Why Americans feel gloomy about the economy despite falling inflation and low unemployment​

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Why Americans feel gloomy about the economy despite falling inflation and low unemployment​

Shoppers consider big-screen televisions in a Costco warehouse Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Thornton, Colo. According to a raft of polls and surveys, most Americans hold a glum view of the economy. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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19 Nov 2023 09:38PM (Updated: 19 Nov 2023 09:39PM)
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WASHINGTON: Inflation has reached its lowest point in two-and-a-half years. The unemployment rate has stayed below 4 per cent for the longest stretch since the 1960s. And the US economy has repeatedly defied predictions of a coming recession. Yet according to a raft of polls and surveys, most Americans hold a glum view of the economy.
The disparity has led to befuddlement, exasperation and curiosity on social media and in opinion columns.

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Last week, the government reported that consumer prices didn't rise at all from September to October, the latest sign that inflation is steadily cooling from the heights of last year. A separate report showed that while Americans slowed their retail purchases in October from the previous month’s brisk pace, they’re still spending enough to drive economic growth.

Even so, according to a poll last month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about three-quarters of respondents described the economy as poor. Two-thirds said their expenses have risen. Only one-quarter said their income has.
The disconnect poses a political challenge for President Joe Biden as he gears up for his re-election campaign. Polls consistently show that most Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy.

Many factors lie behind the disconnect, but economists increasingly point to one in particular: The lingering financial and psychological effects of the worst bout of inflation in four decades. Despite the steady cooling of inflation over the past year, many goods and services are still far pricier than they were just three years ago. Inflation - the rate at which costs are increasing - is slowing. But most prices are high and still rising.

Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, captured this dynamic in recent remarks at Duke University.

 

[k1976]

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singapore-25th-happiest-country-2023-2135066#:~:text=Singapore has been ranked the,spots higher than last year.

• Singapore has been ranked the 25th happiest country in the world, according to the 2023 World Happiness Report
• More than 150 countries were ranked based on factors such as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy and freedom to make life choices
• Many online users have casted doubt over the survey findings, with some going as far as to call the results a “joke”

BY IZZAH IMRAN
Published March 22, 2023
Updated March 27, 2023
SINGAPORE — Singapore has been ranked the 25th happiest country in the world according to the 2023 World Happiness Report, two spots higher than last year.
But it seems like some Singaporeans are not too happy about that.

#trending: Singapore ranked happiest country in Asia in UN's 2023 Happiness report, but some raise doubts over results​

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#trending: Singapore ranked happiest country in Asia in UN's 2023 Happiness report, but some raise doubts over results​

Leonard Leong/TODAYSingapore has been ranked the 25th happiest country in the world according to the 2023 World Happiness Report.
Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok, and join our Telegram channel for the latest updates.

• Singapore has been ranked the 25th happiest country in the world, according to the 2023 World Happiness Report
• More than 150 countries were ranked based on factors such as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy and freedom to make life choices
• Many online users have casted doubt over the survey findings, with some going as far as to call the results a “joke”

BY IZZAH IMRAN
Published March 22, 2023
Updated March 27, 2023
SINGAPORE — Singapore has been ranked the 25th happiest country in the world according to the 2023 World Happiness Report, two spots higher than last year.
But it seems like some Singaporeans are not too happy about that.

ADVERTISEMENT​

Several online users have raised doubts over the survey findings, with some going as far as to call the results a “joke”.
Released on Monday (March 20) in conjunction with the International Day of Happiness, the report is a publication by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Solutions Network and is primarily based on Gallup World Poll data.

Finland landed the top position as happiest nation for the sixth year running, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg and New Zealand, in order. War-torn Afghanistan and Lebanon remain the two unhappiest countries in the survey.

READ ALSO​

Singapore falls 4 spots in World Happiness Report to 26th​

At 25th spot, Singapore is the happiest country in Asia, followed closely by Taiwan at number 27. Other Asian countries ranked include Japan (47), Malaysia (55), Thailand (60), China, (64), Vietnam (65), the Philippines (76), Indonesia (83) and India (126).

GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, perceptions of corruption and dystopia were the seven key factors used to rank more than 150 countries based on their average “life evaluations”.

HOW COUNTRIES WERE RANKED​

In the Gallup World Poll, respondents were asked to evaluate their current life as a whole using the image of a ladder, with the best possible life for them as a 10 and worst possible as a 0, the report stated.

Happiness rankings this year were based on a three-year average of these “life evaluations” in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and around 1,000 responses were gathered annually for each country.

However, the report noted that survey information in 2022 was unavailable for a number of countries including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and China. The averages for these countries were based on data from 2020 and 2021 only.

Many netizens casted doubt over the survey’s findings, questioning its methodology and expressing skepticism over whether Singaporeans are truly as happy as the report claims.

READ ALSO​

Can money buy happiness? Depends on how a person sees their social standing, wealth compared to others: Study​

One Reddit user commented: “I wonder who they actually polled to get that absolutely outrageous conclusion”, while another user asked if the organisation behind the survey only asked “rich people”.

 

[laksaboy]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/wor...alling-inflation-and-low-unemployment-3932176

Stolen elections have consequences.

 

[k1976]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.sc...terial-success-no-2-leader-lawrence-wong-says

With Singapore New Dream....we will soon be Happiest Country ler

 

[k1976]

https://www.straitstimes.com/busine...eam-is-no-longer-the-5cs-what-are-your-new-cs

Murika need to learn from Smartest Country in the world de....we now chase for spiritual achievement and fulfillment ler

 

[k1976]

https://www.ricemedia.co/the-5cs-of-the-singapore-dream-are-outdated-the-true-c-we-need-is-change/​

The ‘5Cs’ of The Singapore Dream Are Outdated. The True ‘C’ We Need Is Change.​

by Hykel QuekNovember 3, 2023
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Top Image: Marisse Caine / RICE File Photo​

Mastering Singapore’s coveted ‘5Cs’ checklist represents an extraordinary triumph. Only an elite few ever reach the heights of materialistic aspirations. It’s even more impressive if all the Cs are acquired within the 21st century.
Now, the journey to cash, credit card, condominium, car, and country club is much more arduous than it was before. Some of the ‘5Cs’ have become unpopular or unwise choices—even for those who can afford them.
Ride-hailing services and expensive COEs have arrested the once burgeoning demand for cars. Condominiums have met their match in BTO flats in Prime Locations. A country club membership is a money sink; so much so that even the well-heeled would consider twice before investing.
Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, speaking at the launch of the Forward Singapore Festival at Gardens by the Bay, reaffirmed this belief: “From our engagements, it is also clear that the Singapore Dream is more than just material success. It is also about fulfilment, meaning, and purpose in what we do.”
The definition of success in Singapore has shifted away from the ‘5Cs’. What once captured and shaped the imaginations of young Singaporeans is now a line of thinking we’re trying to shed.
But let’s be honest, we’re going around in circles. So much so that a gambling man could confidently place a bet on what the next consensus-building report would say about what Singaporeans want for the future.
That’s not going to change unless the government takes steps to empower Singaporeans with the decision to place self-fulfilment and purpose as a priority in their lives.

5Cs, Gotta Catch Them All​

The ‘5Cs’, a convenient acronym to encompass the (old) Singapore dream, has now taken a back seat. But status symbols were not always all bad.
Singaporeans worked hard in the pursuit of elusive status symbols. They needed something to justify and motivate their industriousness. Harping on the ‘5Cs’ was an effective rallying cry.
When incomes increased, houses upgraded, and private cars became their main mode of transport, social mobility was tangible. In a meritocracy, a car also meant much more than a more convenient way to get around.
Besides the fact that you don’t have to take the MRT, that swanky new Honda Civic also symbolises—simplistically, I might add—the hard work behind it. In a country like ours, hard work begets praise and validation.
On the other hand, the nation’s strong macroeconomic performance was delivered on the backs of Singaporeans looking to move up the social ladder quickly. To Singaporeans, the government kept its promises of social mobility through the value of hard work.
In a budding nation-state with few resources, the ‘5Cs’ were an expedient tool for building the economy back then. But times have changed. In a 2015 report by the Ministry of Finance, the ministry acknowledged that “it will be an increasing challenge to sustain such mobility in the future.”

Image: Zachary Tang / RICE File Photo

Can the ‘5Cs’ Ever Keep Up With the Times?​

Don’t get us wrong; what we’re seeing now is a positive step forward. It’s great that Singapore’s PM-in-waiting, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, fully recognises fulfilment and purpose taking centre stage in Singaporeans’ lives.
But recognition is the first step in a long journey. Such recognition obscures the fact that some Singaporeans have, quite possibly, given up on chasing the ‘5Cs’ altogether because these status symbols are much more difficult to achieve now.
Perhaps these Singaporeans still envision a future where they can drive from their condo to the nearest hawker centre for lunch. At the same time, they also accept that these dreams are just that—dreams.
It also skillfully obscures some segments of Singapore society. For Singaporeans in financial precarity, they could rally around the ‘5Cs’ or its broadly defined values simply because money is important to them at this juncture of their lives.
Sometimes, materialistic aspirations and self-fulfilment are not trade-offs. Instead, they’re one and the same—financial achievement can be a form of personal self-actualisation. In some ways, seeing material success and self-fulfilment as opposites speaks to a form of privilege.
It’s why the ‘5Cs’ concept riles up a range of sentiments. For those who’ve made it, the ‘5Cs’ is a status symbol which embodies their self-determination. Through this singular lens, Singaporeans who’ve fallen behind (or have yet to obtain the ‘5Cs’) are seen as deserving of their place. This is, of course, an unfair perception to make.
For others, however, the ‘5Cs’ remain a standard for Singaporeans to aspire to. You might not even desire the status symbols, but at the very least, they’re strong motivators for hard work. Take it as the baby boomer predecessor to today’s ‘hustle culture’ and ‘grindset’.