Financial times - Singapore tries to shore up disillusioned middle class ahead of election

[joemartini]

The increased disillusionment of Singapore’s middle class, under pressure from high housing prices, threatens the fragile consensus that has underpinned the city-state’s growth and stability for decades, analysts said.

“The top is not very big, but the middle is huge here,” said Gillian Koh at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Policy Studies. “It’s core to [the government]’s interests to ensure there is a broad, strong, healthy, stable middle class.”

Economic sentiment has dominated public opinion. According to the latest quarterly survey in June by local pollster Blackbox Research, 52 per cent of respondents said cost of living was the issue that mattered most, followed by salaries and wages, at 16 per cent. Immigration, often a hot-button political issue in the city-state of 6mn, came in at just 5 per cent.
https://www.ft.com/content/69ff807f-fe62-4641-8ca1-e1a0b059cf0c

 

[joemartini]

they trying to stifled the FT-CECA issue. only 5 per cent?? lan ciao!!!! got no job, and you see the prices for HDB runaway to the millions...

 

[k1976]

they trying to stifled the FT-CECA issue. only 5 per cent?? lan ciao!!!! got no job, and you see the prices for HDB runaway to the millions...

Many dual passports

 

[k1976]

 

[k1976]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-shaped_society

M-Form Society is a term that describes the demographic distribution of wealth in a society in which the statistical curve appears roughly in the form the letter "M". The term was first used in the writings of William Ouchi - "The M-Form Society: How American Teamwork Can Recapture the Competitive Edge."[1] Subsequently in 2006, it was used again by the Japanese economist and corporate strategist Kenichi Ohmae (大前研一) in his work. According to his observation, Ohmae argued that the structure of Japanese society has emerged into a 'M-shape' distribution. It refers to a polarized society with the extreme rich and the extreme poor.

 

[k1976]

M-shaped Society — The Wealth Defense Battle Faced by the Middle Class​

Walk In The Clouds
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Dec 21, 2023

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Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash
The term “M-shaped society” is a concept used in the context of social structure. It refers to a society where the middle class is shrinking, resulting in a greater economic disparity between the rich and the poor. This term is often used to describe a social phenomenon where the income and wealth gaps widen, leading to a less balanced social structure with a weakened middle class. The concept is not unique to any specific country and has been discussed in the context of various societies.
The main characteristic of an M-shaped society is the collapse of the middle class, where the rich become richer, and the poor become poorer, leading to a significant reduction in the original middle class. After entering an M-shaped society, the United States experienced a 10-year Great Depression, and Japan experienced 20 years of stagnation. The question arises whether China has also entered the M-shaped social structure.

Understanding the M-shaped Society​

During the prolonged recession from the 1990s to the present, Japan’s social structure underwent significant changes. The previously largest middle class, apart from a small portion entering the high-income upper class, mostly fell into the middle to low-income or even low-income strata.

 

[myfoot123]

The great issue, is about shamless ridout saga, the Arowana corruption, Tan and Hui love affairs, all these are what voters voted for.

 

[lostvirgin]

Why he haven't die yet?

 

[laksaboy]

LOL, what middle class?

 

[Charlie99]

Many dual passports

But Singapore does not encourage dual citizenship.

 

[mahjongking]

Why he haven't die yet?

all the problems of peesai in the last 30 years comes from this lazy cheebye, allowing all the cronies to run riot, thats why we are in the mess it is now

 

[k1976]

 

[k1976]

Singapore’s median household income up 2.8% in real terms in 2023​

Tessa Oh​

Published Wed, Feb 7, 2024 · 10:27 AM
Wages

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• In nominal terms, median monthly household income from work has risen by 7.6 per cent in 2023. PHOTO: BT FILE
• In nominal terms, median monthly household income from work has risen by 7.6 per cent in 2023. PHOTO: BT FILE
• In nominal terms, median monthly household income from work has risen by 7.6 per cent in 2023. PHOTO: BT FILE
• In nominal terms, median monthly household income from work has risen by 7.6 per cent in 2023. PHOTO: BT FILE
• In nominal terms, median monthly household income from work has risen by 7.6 per cent in 2023. PHOTO: BT FILE

SINGAPORE’S median monthly household income from work grew 2.8 per cent in real terms in 2023 for resident employed households, an improvement from 2022’s real growth of 0.2 per cent, data from the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) showed on Wednesday (Feb 7).
This is in contrast to a separate set of data from the Ministry of Manpower, which showed that median wages fell by 2.2 per cent in real terms last year.
In nominal terms, median monthly household income from work rose by 7.6 per cent in 2023, up from 6.1 per cent in 2022. The median monthly income from work was S$10,869 for resident employed households, up from S$10,099 in 2022.

 

[k1976]

View Singapore's Singapore Retail Prices: Fishball Noodle (Per Bowl) from Jan 2014 to Jun 2024 in the chart:​

What was Singapore's Singapore Retail Prices: Fishball Noodle (Per Bowl) in Jun 2024?​

 

[k1976]

From 2011 to 2021, middle-income workers largely remained in the same education band, but those who underwent further education saw a larger increase in average incomes than those who did not, MAS also noted.

The central bank said Singapore’s economic growth slowed to an average of 3.7 per cent a year for the period from 2011 to 2022, down from 5.9 per cent in the decade before, and will continue to slow in the next 10 years as demographic constraints such as a low birth rate and an ageing population become “more binding”.

MAS warned that the jobs and incomes of middle-income workers could be impacted by “structural shifts” in the next phase of Singapore’s economic growth, such as generative artificial intelligence and other technological changes.

 

[k1976]

It said these technologies could either have job-boosting effects, or result in job displacement if they are used to replace human labour, or if workers are not equipped with the right skills to take on new roles.

Middle- and upper-income workers will need to refresh their skills to make the necessary career transitions, it added.

MAS said: “The income growth of the broad middle depends on the corporate sector’s ability to take advantage of technology and scale in a dynamic economy, and tripartite effort to reskill and upskill workers to enable them to take on more productive and well-paying jobs.”

Looking ahead at broader labour trends, MAS said it expects labour demand to slow further in the next few quarters, but noted that hiring should stay supported in the domestic-oriented services and travel-related sectors.

 

[lostvirgin]

all the problems of peesai in the last 30 years comes from this lazy cheebye, allowing all the cronies to run riot, that why we are in the mess it is now

His corpse must be flogged for 7 days before cremation.

 

[lostvirgin]

But Singapore does not encourage dual citizenship.

Doesn't encourage doesn't mean cannot, I easily can count at least 6 ppl I know with dual citizenship. If forced to choose, they will readily give up Singapore citizenship without batting an eyelid.

 

[k1976]