Rising Cost of Living in SG - PAP's Fault?

[TracyTan866]

1. Food price is up
2. Housing price is up
3. Transport price is up
4. Car prices are up
5. Medical cost is up
6. Property taxes are up
7. Electricity cost is up
8. Petrol prices are up
9. Water price is up
10. Gas price is up
11. Rentals are up
12. ITE fee is up
13. Poly fees are up
14. NTU fee is up
15. SMU fee is up
16. NUS fee is up

Some misled people argue that rising costs are beyond PAP’s control. But is that argument valid? Let’s examine.

1. Car price, medical cost, petrol price, property taxes, ITE fee, Poly fees, SMU fee, NUS fee can be directly controlled by pap.

2. The biggest mall owners are TH. The hawker centres are controlled by NEA. These are within pap’s control. So pap can control rentals of shops, food courts and hawker stalls if they want to.

3. Food needed to feed 5m people is more than that needed to feed 3m. To import more food for 5 m people the govt has to look further and go to more expensive sources for food. This increases the marginal cost and average cost of each food item and results in increase in food prices. So isnt pap’s bad policy of increasing SG’s population causing food price increase? My advice to the misled pap supporters, dont just blindly believe what the pap says and blame world food problems for rising food costs. A major blame is bad pap policy. Limited supply and increased demand cause price to go up.

4. Transport cost is up because the pap has allowed Delgro to charge high taxi rental rates, SBS to be totally profit oriented, high COE, high ERP prices and not investing enough on road infrastructural improvements.

5. Housing prices have been driven up by pap’s policy of allowing too many foreigners into SG and PRs to buy resale HDB flats. Are not high housing prices pap’s fault?

6. Medical costs are up because MOH charges “market” subsidy rate instead of at cost. This in turn affect medical prices at Mt E, etc..So can pap help mitigate rising medical costs?

 

[zhihau]

1. Food price is up
...
Food needed to feed 5m people is more than that needed to feed 3m. To import more food for 5 m people the govt has to look further and go to more expensive sources for food. This increases the marginal utility cost of food and results in increase in food prices. So isnt pap’s bad policy of increasing SG’s population causing food price increase?

shall dwell a lil' further into me favorite subject
food shortage is a global problem, ain't isolated to our island. once PRC & India can't supply enough rice for her own peoples, we can all start suck thumb or changing to diet to "jiak kentang". the corn-based F&B industry of the States also screwed up mother nature's cycle quite a bit. with a world population of 7 billion folks, the buckle is sure to give way somewhere.
looking at where we are, should just be glad that we still have food on our tables & that's exactly the reason why me cringe so bad when me see food wastage in restaurants, food courts, hawker centres & kopitiams right here in Singapore. STOP WASTING FOOD! Sinkies are ridiculously capable of wasting precious commodities like food, water & electricity :(:(:(

 

[TracyTan866]

shall dwell a lil' further into me favorite subject
food shortage is a global problem, ain't isolated to our island. once PRC & India can't supply enough rice for her own peoples, we can all start suck thumb or changing to diet to "jiak kentang". the corn-based F&B industry of the States also screwed up mother nature's cycle quite a bit. with a world population of 7 billion folks, the buckle is sure to give way somewhere.
looking at where we are, should just be glad that we still have food on our tables & that's exactly the reason why me cringe so bad when me see food wastage in restaurants, food courts, hawker centres & kopitiams right here in Singapore. STOP WASTING FOOD! Sinkies are ridiculously capable of wasting precious commodities like food, water & electricity :(:(:(

you made a good point. we shd not waste food.

but we are talking abt increased food prices...knowing that SG has to import almost all its food, do u agree that importing per unit cost of food for 5m is more costly than importing per unit cost for 3m people?

 

[zhihau]

but we are talking abt increasing food prices...knowing that SG has to import almost all its food, do u agree that importing per unit cost for 5m is more costly than importing per unit cost for 3m people?

there's economic of scale, buying at retail price & distributor price got difference
you go mama-store buy a small packet of twistees costs you 30cts, larger packets costs less by per gram. which packet would you choose?
me do agree to a small extend that a small increase here, a small increase there, they all do add up. question we should be looking is this: how long can we keep up?

 

[TracyTan866]

there's economic of scale, buying at retail price & distributor price got difference
you go mama-store buy a small packet of twistees costs you 30cts, larger packets costs less by per gram. which packet would you choose?
me do agree to a small extend that a small increase here, a small increase there, they all do add up. question we should be looking is this: how long can we keep up?

that's true to a certain extent...but does the reduction from economies of scale compensate for the higher prices we have to pay to go to vietnam, cambodia, china, aus, brazil, etc which incur much higher transportation charges than from traditional mkts like malaysia and indonesia?

 

[zhihau]

that's true to a certain extent...but does the reduction from economies of scale compensate for the higher prices we have to pay to go to vietnam, cambodia, china, aus, brazil, etc which incur much higher transportation charges than from traditional mkts like malaysia and indonesia?

heheh...
me think the importing of goods should come from closer neighbors if possible, leaving less carbon footprint
then hor, a healthy relationship should be maintained with all trading partners, no?

 

[Fook Seng]

I thought consumer food prices have little to do with import food prices which can exacerbate the problem when an unusual circumstance presents itself e.g. speculation due some food product becoming a fossil fuel substitute, freak weather condition giving rise to poor harvest or destroyed crops. The key component cost of consumer food is property prices. That is why food prices vary greatly from country to country.

 

[Nice-Gook]

that's true to a certain extent...but does the reduction from economies of scale compensate for the higher prices we have to pay to go to vietnam, cambodia, china, aus, brazil, etc which incur much higher transportation charges than from traditional mkts like malaysia and indonesia?

This is a fallacy.Ask anyone in logistics.Because it cost three times more to mover goods from Batam to Singapore than China to Singapore.That is because logistics had evolved on the economy of scale......than add that to the cost of discharge.By which,it's meant that discharging goods by break bulk is far more expensive than containerization.

If you look carefully,China charged ahead with it's cheapest goods to the world not only because of it's labor cost but also logistics cost...this is where it can beat countries like India and Bangladesh hands down.Because their infrastructures are in tatters.

 

[zhihau]

The key component cost of consumer food is property prices. That is why food prices vary greatly from country to country.

now we're talking, bro, and you're spot on. TS may want to consider modifying the line of argument for the increasing food price :p:p:p

 

[Nice-Gook]

Just to add.

I don't know whether if you folks are aware that US is the largest producer of grains.It is a nett exporter whereas even countries like Russia and even Indonesia is a nett importer of grains--such as wheat and rice.Yes,Indonesia does import rice from time to time.So does Phillipines.That is because US has mechanized it's production ...and the logistics to harvest and move bulk quantity.

In contrast India has a population of almost 70% engaged in it's agriculture sectors but struggling with it's output.The very reason because India cherishes it's village level output.Which is grossly inefficent.

 

[po2wq]

... food shortage is a global problem, ain't isolated to our island. once PRC & India can't supply enough rice for her own peoples, we can all start suck thumb or changing to diet to "jiak kentang" ...

if rice no enuff, ppl all rush 2 buy kentang ... kentang oso no enuff! ...

actuarry, hor ... fud like rice is enuuf 1 ... research on producing mor rice is not done now due 2 sufficience in supply ... if no enuff, dey wil juz do mor research on dat ...

 

[po2wq]

...

u create another thread on same topic 4 wat? ...

 

[halsey02]

My fault actually:

(1) Did not work hard to be productive
(2) Did not upgrade myself by going for upgrading courses.
(3) Did not produce more babies.

60.14% who voted for the same people, who actually helped me to be myself & dwell in my faults, in other words, it is always my fault.

 

[Fook Seng]

My fault actually:

(1) Did not work hard to be productive
(2) Did not upgrade myself by going for upgrading courses.
(3) Did not produce more babies.

60.14% who voted for the same people, who actually helped me to be myself & dwell in my faults, in other words, it is always my fault.

This is not just referring to 39.86% of the population but 100% of the people less a small fraction of a percent comprising the elites.

 

[zhihau]

actuarry, hor ... fud like rice is enuuf 1 ... research on producing mor rice is not done now due 2 sufficience in supply ... if no enuff, dey wil juz do mor research on dat ...

actuarry hor, last time got one research institute called Institute of Molecular Agrobiology hor, got do good research on padi one, until one smart fella say it is a criminal waste of resource & shut it down you know? lucky hor, the institute got back up & the folks banded to form up Temasek Lifescience Laboratories, then hor the research is still on going :o:o:o
work has been done to increase the yield & combat disease, it has been on going.

as of kentang hor, actuarry can think of a vertical terrace alongside HDB blocks or roof top farms, yield would be low but still can supply a bit for the poor

 

[dysentry]

prices have always risen after elections, nothing new.

 

[Bigfuck]

actuarry hor, last time got one research institute called Institute of Molecular Agrobiology hor, got do good research on padi one, until one smart fella say it is a criminal waste of resource & shut it down you know? lucky hor, the institute got back up & the folks banded to form up Temasek Lifescience Laboratories, then hor the research is still on going :o:o:o
work has been done to increase the yield & combat disease, it has been on going.

as of kentang hor, actuarry can think of a vertical terrace alongside HDB blocks or roof top farms, yield would be low but still can supply a bit for the poor

Actually, feeding people to be obese and malnutritioned slaves is easy. NPK hydroponics is sure way out as is GM food. But you cannot beat the theoretical limits of photosynthesis food production. You can feed people with water retention crops that look bigger, much like hormone pumped exploding melons from China with 1/2 the nutrient content as it is double the size. Vertical farming (animals and fish incl) is very workable for many fields, so long as buildings constructed conforms loading and waterproofing standards (premise of no monkey business from our famous local developers and contractors who give you 20-50% of what you pay and spend the remaining profits in karaoke and bang foreign MMs) we can get something that looks like food, may taste like food but has not real nutritional value of real food. Let us face it - top soil is a rarer commodity than rare earth and most the remaining top soil is depleted of nutrients are depleted. Only cheebye PAP dogs can tell you that poor bio available NPK liquid fertilizers can make roman lettuce yield calcium nutrients in them. Wah, plants can actually transmutate elements, better than failed alchemists. The cheebye PAP dogs (not all) are better with the Teh Cheang Wan calculator of how to cheat and profiteer for themselves. More problems will surface even without the media reporting. You can fix whistle blowers but you cannot fix the problem. PAP can make GDP grow as can most swindlers. But it will be inflationary and it will bite you. I think the PM should be seriously given lessons in the value of money. More zeros does not mean more value.

 

[zhihau]

In contrast India has a population of almost 70% engaged in it's agriculture sectors but struggling with it's output.The very reason because India cherishes it's village level output.Which is grossly inefficent.

bro,

one pertinent question: is China moving into the direction of mechanising her agricultural practices?
as more PRC folks moved into developing & developed cities to work, the farms had to be tended, the soil be turned. lots of ripples to be felt

 

[zhihau]

Let us face it - top soil is a rarer commodity than rare earth and most the remaining top soil is depleted of nutrients are depleted.

bro,
thank you for pointing this out
now me wondering if it would be viable when night soil collected at the NEWater plants be made use of...

 

[Fook Seng]

bro,

one pertinent question: is China moving into the direction of mechanising her agricultural practices?
as more PRC folks moved into developing & developed cities to work, the farms had to be tended, the soil be turned. lots of ripples to be felt

I think they do. Should not be a problem but they have a larger population to feed and not much fertile land. Also non-food crops seem to give better value add, money wise.