Singaporeans Youths got to Work Hard: PM Lee’s note to US
November 6th, 2008 by ALVIN SOONG
The Prime Minister Lee set out for his audience of 17- to 35-year- olds the overriding challenges facing Singapore in the short, medium and long term. He tells the young people of Singaporeans to work hard,
In the present economic crisis, Singapore’s most urgent concern is to keep the economy humming along and to look after the low-income earners.
In the medium term, it needs to focus on how to produce enough Singaporean babies and attract foreign talent.
For the long term, Singapore has to renew its political leadership and build up a sense of identity.
PM Lee pointed out that total taxes here, at 15per cent of GDP, were ‘very, very low’. ‘For nearly everybody in this room, if you were in Hong Kong, you would pay more tax than you would personal taxes.The trouble is our taxes come in places where you notice…so you drive less or think about whether you really need a maid.’
He also highlighted how the middle-income group is also benefiting from government policies which help ensure that its earners’ wages go up yearly.
On economic competitiveness, he cautioned against going down the road of Germany, which had a generous welfare scheme that gave workers six weeks of vacation. The result was that factories moved to former communist countries such as Hungary and Romania. Similarly, Singapore faces a region in which people in India, China and Vietnam are working harder. ‘If we want to sweat less, are we going to be up there?’ he said.
A lawyer noted that, unlike Singapore, Hong Kong can more immediately tap a Greater China hinterland. PM Lee said: ‘That is a reason we need to work harder, because we don’t have China next door which can rescue us, help us or defend us.
Economist in The Edge also noted the following outlook for the Singapore Economy would take longer time to recover:
• First, there has been extreme volatility in currency and equity markets, with Asian markets that matter to Singapore, such as Indonesia, being hit severely.
• Second, any sector of the economy relied on substantial debt is under pressure.
• Third, it is clear that the economy distruptions were hurting the US, Europe and Japan are now spreading to developing economies. Eastern Europe are asking for help from the IMF. We understand from shipping exports from the region took a sharp dip from September.
• Fourth, it is also clear that the initiatives to resolve the crisis-by national government or by group of countries-are proving slow to take effect or do not inspire the desire rebound in investor confidence.
• There is a rising risk that we could see the Singapore economy contract in 2009.
- Electronics and manufacturing
- Financial services
- Regional hub services
- Real estate services and construction
In times of Crisis, we do have to know how to take the bull by the horns and brave this economy with more effort than usual.
Summarised from Straits Times and The Edge
