According to the Straits Times news report “Budgets that built a nation” (Feb 7) – “In 1972, Mr Hon Sui Sen allocated $10 million to develop Sentosa as a tourist attraction.
In 1979, Mr Goh Chok Tong, standing in to deliver the Budget for Mr Hon, gave $393 million to develop Changi Airport and roads.”
CPF invested by Temasek
Since the Government had unfettered use of our CPF funds in the early years following our independence – much of such infrastructure development which were subsequently transferred to Temasek were derived from our CPF.
But, Temasek’s 16 per cent per annum returns in the last 40 years were not shared with CPF members.
Highest Budget surplus per capita in the world
The chart shows that we had four years of overall Budget deficits and 14 years of Budget surpluses, from 1997 to 2014.
The highest deficit was less than $3 billion, and the highest surplus was almost $8 billion.
Why is it that the 2-page article makes no mention of the Government’s “cash Budget surplus” (using IMF fiscal reporting guidelines) reported in the Department of Statistics’s Monthly Digest of Statistics?
For example, it was $25.3 and $27.4 billion in FY2012 and FY2011 respectively (page 80).
The estimate for FY2013 is more than $20 billion.
What were the total cash Budget surpluses in the same 18-year period? More than $200 billion?
Wallowing in debt
There are also no statistics on “debts” in Singapore, in the article.
Singapore is ranked third in the world after Japan and Ireland for debt owed by households, nonfinance corporations and government – at 382 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio.
Singapore’s household debt-to-GDP ratio at 73 per cent in 2013 is also one of the highest in the world.
Singapore’s corporate debt-to-GDP ratio at 78 per cent (Q2 2014) is also one of the highest in the world.
Singapore’s public debt-to-GDP ratio at 105.5 per cent (2013 estimate) is amongst the top ten countries in the world.
Win battles lose war
In 1979, Mr Goh Chok Tong, standing in to deliver the Budget for Mr Hon, gave $393 million to develop Changi Airport and roads.”
CPF invested by Temasek
Since the Government had unfettered use of our CPF funds in the early years following our independence – much of such infrastructure development which were subsequently transferred to Temasek were derived from our CPF.
But, Temasek’s 16 per cent per annum returns in the last 40 years were not shared with CPF members.
Highest Budget surplus per capita in the world
The chart shows that we had four years of overall Budget deficits and 14 years of Budget surpluses, from 1997 to 2014.
The highest deficit was less than $3 billion, and the highest surplus was almost $8 billion.
Why is it that the 2-page article makes no mention of the Government’s “cash Budget surplus” (using IMF fiscal reporting guidelines) reported in the Department of Statistics’s Monthly Digest of Statistics?
For example, it was $25.3 and $27.4 billion in FY2012 and FY2011 respectively (page 80).
The estimate for FY2013 is more than $20 billion.
What were the total cash Budget surpluses in the same 18-year period? More than $200 billion?
Wallowing in debt
There are also no statistics on “debts” in Singapore, in the article.
Singapore is ranked third in the world after Japan and Ireland for debt owed by households, nonfinance corporations and government – at 382 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio.
Singapore’s household debt-to-GDP ratio at 73 per cent in 2013 is also one of the highest in the world.
Singapore’s corporate debt-to-GDP ratio at 78 per cent (Q2 2014) is also one of the highest in the world.
Singapore’s public debt-to-GDP ratio at 105.5 per cent (2013 estimate) is amongst the top ten countries in the world.
Win battles lose war
