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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - PM Lee: SG has made a remarkable recovry</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Apr-14 7:40 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 17) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>31728.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>PM Lee: Singapore’s economy has made a “remarkable” recovery
April 15th, 2010 | Author: admin
Written by Our Correspondent
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/04/15/pm-lee-singapores-economy-has-made-a-remarkable-recovery/
It’s all good news for Singapore lately as the country’s GDP figures continue to post impressive growth prompting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to exclaim that Singapore’s “rebound” from the downturn has surpassed expectations.
Speaking to the state media in Washington DC where he is attending a nuclear summit, PM Lee says “Singapore’s economy has made a remarkable recovery from a year ago and he expects a good year going forward.”
“Our target is 3 to 5 per cent growth over the next 10 years. This year is off to a very good start – I expect we should have a good year……And we should make the most of these conditions this year to get momentum for our longer term plans to upgrade the productivity, transform the economy and to continue to work at our tripartite relationship between the unions, employers and the government, so that the next time something hits us, we are stronger than we were the last time,” he was quoted as saying in Channel News Asia.
When Singapore became the first Asian country to enter a recession in 2008, PAP leaders were quick to lay the blame on the global economy for Singapore’s woes.
It is not known if Singapore’s “recovery” this time is due to the improvement in the global economy as well.
Though Singapore’s growth rates are starting to pick up, the economic gains have not yet trickled down to ordinary Singaporeans who continue to face a grim and uncertain future.
The situation on the ground is not as rosy as portrayed by the state media. Many employers have not restored the wage cuts imposed on Singaporeans during the recession. Wages remain stagnant while the cost of living has sky-rocketed, including that of public housing.
PM Lee claimed that he does not “expect” prices for daily necessities to increase drastically after the Trade and Industry Ministry revised Singapore’s inflation rate from 2 percent to between 2.5 and 3.5 percent without substantiating it. Perhaps it is due to his “counter-intuition” or “hunch”.
PAP ministers stand most to gain from Singapore’s economic growth as an unknown percentage of their multi-million salaries is pegged to GDP growth – the higher the figures, the more money they bring home.
GDP figures can be manipulated easily by allowing the influx of cheap foreign workers thereby keeping labor costs low and inflating the output artificially at the same time.
Prime Minister Lee was to receive a 8.8 percent pay hike his year. He currently earns about $3 million dollars a year or 6 times that of U.S. President Barack Obama.
With the “remarkable” recovery made by the Singapore economy, he should expect a “remarkable” increase in his take-home pay too, thanks to the generosity of Singapore taxpayers.
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April 15th, 2010 | Author: admin
Written by Our Correspondent
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/04/15/pm-lee-singapores-economy-has-made-a-remarkable-recovery/
It’s all good news for Singapore lately as the country’s GDP figures continue to post impressive growth prompting Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to exclaim that Singapore’s “rebound” from the downturn has surpassed expectations.
Speaking to the state media in Washington DC where he is attending a nuclear summit, PM Lee says “Singapore’s economy has made a remarkable recovery from a year ago and he expects a good year going forward.”
“Our target is 3 to 5 per cent growth over the next 10 years. This year is off to a very good start – I expect we should have a good year……And we should make the most of these conditions this year to get momentum for our longer term plans to upgrade the productivity, transform the economy and to continue to work at our tripartite relationship between the unions, employers and the government, so that the next time something hits us, we are stronger than we were the last time,” he was quoted as saying in Channel News Asia.
When Singapore became the first Asian country to enter a recession in 2008, PAP leaders were quick to lay the blame on the global economy for Singapore’s woes.
It is not known if Singapore’s “recovery” this time is due to the improvement in the global economy as well.
Though Singapore’s growth rates are starting to pick up, the economic gains have not yet trickled down to ordinary Singaporeans who continue to face a grim and uncertain future.
The situation on the ground is not as rosy as portrayed by the state media. Many employers have not restored the wage cuts imposed on Singaporeans during the recession. Wages remain stagnant while the cost of living has sky-rocketed, including that of public housing.
PM Lee claimed that he does not “expect” prices for daily necessities to increase drastically after the Trade and Industry Ministry revised Singapore’s inflation rate from 2 percent to between 2.5 and 3.5 percent without substantiating it. Perhaps it is due to his “counter-intuition” or “hunch”.
PAP ministers stand most to gain from Singapore’s economic growth as an unknown percentage of their multi-million salaries is pegged to GDP growth – the higher the figures, the more money they bring home.
GDP figures can be manipulated easily by allowing the influx of cheap foreign workers thereby keeping labor costs low and inflating the output artificially at the same time.
Prime Minister Lee was to receive a 8.8 percent pay hike his year. He currently earns about $3 million dollars a year or 6 times that of U.S. President Barack Obama.
With the “remarkable” recovery made by the Singapore economy, he should expect a “remarkable” increase in his take-home pay too, thanks to the generosity of Singapore taxpayers.
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