<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Squeezed into cutbacks
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Middle-income families feeling the pinch - some having problems with car and housing loans </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Shuli Sudderuddin and Gracia Chiang
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When America sneezes, the world catches a cold, and here in Singapore, an economic chill is descending.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>'If the middle-income earners continue to be employed, they shouldn't have a problem. They just need to be more thrifty.'
DR CHUA BENG HUAT, a sociology professor at NUS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Inflation has been rising, growth has slowed down, and with the almost daily onslaught of bad news, Singaporeans, not unexpectedly, heaved a collective groan when it was announced last week that electricity tariffs would rise by 21 per cent.
Those in the lower- and lower- middle classes who live in the smaller HDB flats will get relief in the form of rebates. Wealthy Singaporeans, meanwhile, can still afford the higher costs of living.
But middle- and upper-middle income families say that it is they who are most badly affected.
Ms Patricia Lin, 22, who runs an online software business, said: 'I was surprised by the surge in inflation and the economic downturn. The middle class is often the sandwich class and will be the hardest hit by all this.'
Said Mrs Rita Tan, 39, who runs a business: 'We were taken aback by the tariff hike and are wondering how it will affect us.'
Ms Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC Bank, noted that during the peak inflation period in the first half of this year, high oil prices drove up petrol prices. 'Middle-income car owners and taxi passengers may have been more affected,' she said.
More middle-income families have been visiting their Members of Parliament for advice, MPs told The Sunday Times.
'The rising cost of basic necessities is eating into their expendable income,' said Madam Ho Geok Choo, an MP for West Coast GRC.
While middle-income families are not seeking help for items like groceries and electricity bills, their higher financial commitments mean they now have problems paying off car and housing loans, she said.
In the last few months, she has seen one or two more middle- income cases among every 10 residents who seek help.
But MPs and economists also noted that the middle- and upper middle-income groups tend to take matters into their own hands as much as possible.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Middle-income families feeling the pinch - some having problems with car and housing loans </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Shuli Sudderuddin and Gracia Chiang
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->
When America sneezes, the world catches a cold, and here in Singapore, an economic chill is descending.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>'If the middle-income earners continue to be employed, they shouldn't have a problem. They just need to be more thrifty.'
DR CHUA BENG HUAT, a sociology professor at NUS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Inflation has been rising, growth has slowed down, and with the almost daily onslaught of bad news, Singaporeans, not unexpectedly, heaved a collective groan when it was announced last week that electricity tariffs would rise by 21 per cent.
Those in the lower- and lower- middle classes who live in the smaller HDB flats will get relief in the form of rebates. Wealthy Singaporeans, meanwhile, can still afford the higher costs of living.
But middle- and upper-middle income families say that it is they who are most badly affected.
Ms Patricia Lin, 22, who runs an online software business, said: 'I was surprised by the surge in inflation and the economic downturn. The middle class is often the sandwich class and will be the hardest hit by all this.'
Said Mrs Rita Tan, 39, who runs a business: 'We were taken aback by the tariff hike and are wondering how it will affect us.'
Ms Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC Bank, noted that during the peak inflation period in the first half of this year, high oil prices drove up petrol prices. 'Middle-income car owners and taxi passengers may have been more affected,' she said.
More middle-income families have been visiting their Members of Parliament for advice, MPs told The Sunday Times.
'The rising cost of basic necessities is eating into their expendable income,' said Madam Ho Geok Choo, an MP for West Coast GRC.
While middle-income families are not seeking help for items like groceries and electricity bills, their higher financial commitments mean they now have problems paying off car and housing loans, she said.
In the last few months, she has seen one or two more middle- income cases among every 10 residents who seek help.
But MPs and economists also noted that the middle- and upper middle-income groups tend to take matters into their own hands as much as possible.
