[h=2]The unhappy young and their broken Singapore Dream[/h]
April 14th, 2013 |
Author: Contributions
The Singapore Dream was like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to many older Singaporeans. To many older Singaporeans, the PMEs, this pot is now missing. Someone has shifted it and they could not see anything there. The only people seeing this pot of gold are the foreigners replacing them in their high paying jobs. The Singapore Dream has to be modified to mean the foreigner’s Singapore Dream. To the older Singaporeans, the Dream has become a bad Dream, a nightmare in the making.
Are the young Singaporeans seeing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow as well? They better be. They have paid heavily to grow up, invested heavily in themselves, with some parents selling their homes, emptying their savings, to get them a good education. Would they be able to land a job that makes the return on their parent’s investment worthy and economically meaningful? Would their income be enough to pay for the little public flat that is now the only achievable and realistic dream? Would they be able to buy that elusive car, like the Americans needing a horse in the good old cowboy days? And would they still have enough in their savings when the time comes for retirement? Given the extremely high cost of living and inflation, every young Singaporean today must need to earn an income that is equivalent to three times their need to cover housing, medical and retirement.
The young Singaporeans are going to be the new breed of highly in debt Singaporeans never seen or heard before. They will incur debt for their education and another 30 year of mortgages that could be in several hundred thousands or more. They will be indebted to the CPF, to pay a ransom to be kept by the CPF meant for their own good and retirement. Then there is a huge debt to bring up a family with a couple of kids.
The life of the young Singaporeans, excluding the rich scions of old rich, ministers and top professionals, will be one of working and working to pay and pay and at the end of it, nothing to compare with the foreigners whose dream will be to return home to be a rich land lord or owning their own businesses. The Singapore Dream of the young Singaporeans is to have the blessing of working till their die, no breaks, to be able to pay for all the debts that are predictable and designed into the system and into their lives.
Every year about 50,000 young Singaporeans will come of age and start to hang a millstone over their neck, to start their new lives as adults. The new citizens coming in too will have to hang the same millstone over their necks unless they are really super talents and can afford the expensive housing and lifestyle here. The group of highly in debt young and new people cannot afford a major economic crisis or a personal crisis in their lives. They will be heavily in debt and their lives will be in ruins should it happen. Without an income is simply unacceptable with the kind of debt in their hands. They are the new debtors of a Singapore economic miracle formula based on high inflation, and high cost of living and increasing debt of the young people.
Hail the new Singapore Dream, small flat, no car and a big debt to service for a life time. This is the standard copy of the life of the new average young Singaporeans. Are their parents worried and want this to be the Dream of their children? Anyone can see why the Dreams of FTs and young Singaporeans are different, one full of promises of wealth and another on the brink of becoming a nightmare?
.
Chua Chin Leng aka redbean
* The writer blogs at http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/
.
Editor’s note: Speaking of the Singapore Dream, readers may be interested to read this book written by Tan Yong Soon (aka the perm sec who went to France to learn cooking for a month). The foreword was written by Goh Chok Tong and the book was published in 2007:
http://www.selectbooks.com.sg/getTitle.aspx?SBNum=041098
About This Book
Singapore’s economic success has often been remarked upon, but this success would not have been possible without the contribution of ordinary individuals. This book includes the stories of success of just such a group of ordinary Singaporeans. Author Tan Yong Soon (Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources) spoke to some of the people he knew from school and from National Service, for whom the Singapore Dream has become a reality. They come from diverse backgrounds, took different paths in their lives and in their careers. In these 23 accounts, their experiences on the road to success are distilled, and their wisdom and values shared. This book was inspired by a speech the author had given at his son’s school graduation. He realised then that there was a need to help young adults understand how to make the most of their lives. The first two chapters contain the author’s advice to young people.
The Singapore Dream was like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to many older Singaporeans. To many older Singaporeans, the PMEs, this pot is now missing. Someone has shifted it and they could not see anything there. The only people seeing this pot of gold are the foreigners replacing them in their high paying jobs. The Singapore Dream has to be modified to mean the foreigner’s Singapore Dream. To the older Singaporeans, the Dream has become a bad Dream, a nightmare in the making.
Are the young Singaporeans seeing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow as well? They better be. They have paid heavily to grow up, invested heavily in themselves, with some parents selling their homes, emptying their savings, to get them a good education. Would they be able to land a job that makes the return on their parent’s investment worthy and economically meaningful? Would their income be enough to pay for the little public flat that is now the only achievable and realistic dream? Would they be able to buy that elusive car, like the Americans needing a horse in the good old cowboy days? And would they still have enough in their savings when the time comes for retirement? Given the extremely high cost of living and inflation, every young Singaporean today must need to earn an income that is equivalent to three times their need to cover housing, medical and retirement.
The young Singaporeans are going to be the new breed of highly in debt Singaporeans never seen or heard before. They will incur debt for their education and another 30 year of mortgages that could be in several hundred thousands or more. They will be indebted to the CPF, to pay a ransom to be kept by the CPF meant for their own good and retirement. Then there is a huge debt to bring up a family with a couple of kids.
The life of the young Singaporeans, excluding the rich scions of old rich, ministers and top professionals, will be one of working and working to pay and pay and at the end of it, nothing to compare with the foreigners whose dream will be to return home to be a rich land lord or owning their own businesses. The Singapore Dream of the young Singaporeans is to have the blessing of working till their die, no breaks, to be able to pay for all the debts that are predictable and designed into the system and into their lives.
Every year about 50,000 young Singaporeans will come of age and start to hang a millstone over their neck, to start their new lives as adults. The new citizens coming in too will have to hang the same millstone over their necks unless they are really super talents and can afford the expensive housing and lifestyle here. The group of highly in debt young and new people cannot afford a major economic crisis or a personal crisis in their lives. They will be heavily in debt and their lives will be in ruins should it happen. Without an income is simply unacceptable with the kind of debt in their hands. They are the new debtors of a Singapore economic miracle formula based on high inflation, and high cost of living and increasing debt of the young people.
Hail the new Singapore Dream, small flat, no car and a big debt to service for a life time. This is the standard copy of the life of the new average young Singaporeans. Are their parents worried and want this to be the Dream of their children? Anyone can see why the Dreams of FTs and young Singaporeans are different, one full of promises of wealth and another on the brink of becoming a nightmare?
.
Chua Chin Leng aka redbean
* The writer blogs at http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/
.
Editor’s note: Speaking of the Singapore Dream, readers may be interested to read this book written by Tan Yong Soon (aka the perm sec who went to France to learn cooking for a month). The foreword was written by Goh Chok Tong and the book was published in 2007:
http://www.selectbooks.com.sg/getTitle.aspx?SBNum=041098
About This Book
Singapore’s economic success has often been remarked upon, but this success would not have been possible without the contribution of ordinary individuals. This book includes the stories of success of just such a group of ordinary Singaporeans. Author Tan Yong Soon (Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources) spoke to some of the people he knew from school and from National Service, for whom the Singapore Dream has become a reality. They come from diverse backgrounds, took different paths in their lives and in their careers. In these 23 accounts, their experiences on the road to success are distilled, and their wisdom and values shared. This book was inspired by a speech the author had given at his son’s school graduation. He realised then that there was a need to help young adults understand how to make the most of their lives. The first two chapters contain the author’s advice to young people.
