bluepowder
New member
Retrenchment and seemingly...glue sniffing...or so all the ads indicate
discuss....
discuss....
The biggest problem during the recessions is...
- Thread starter bluepowder
- Start date
bluepowder
New member
noone see the ads?
bigblackbear
New member
is it the one with a letter framed up? i think i might have seen it. ads dont usually get very much of my attention
bluepowder
New member
oh these ads are definitely readable...good reading material in the train
Dalif_Murderdoll
New member
...the price of a cuppa Starbucks is still not going down.Damn!
marcdadrummer
New member
people are spending more money....
just look at malls even on weekday nights.
just look at malls even on weekday nights.
tim098
New member
The poor could get rich if they feared less and dared to take the risk, putting their valuable money out on the line. During a recession is the best time to lay the foundations of making a fortune. But not now not yet, this recession seems to be a long one.
PatheinRaindropMoe
New member
heh, dont have to be sad dah. We should be happy for them, at least they got their priority right.
It will be really sad if still holding on to the gear, with no money to settle the problems and affecting them, their family etc.
It will be really sad if still holding on to the gear, with no money to settle the problems and affecting them, their family etc.
theliverevolution
New member
not just that. prices of everything seems to be increasing, or just staying at the current price.
according to theory prices shuold be dropping in a recession but =/ doesn't seem to be happening
according to theory prices shuold be dropping in a recession but =/ doesn't seem to be happening
shinobi
New member
it is wrong to say that according to whatever theory, there will be inflation during a boom and deflation during a recession. there is no causal link in that at all. what we can say is that inflation increases during a boom, and decreases during a recession (sometimes to negative levels i.e. deflation). if the theory does not distinguish "inflation" from "prices", then i am afraid it is BS.
just to illustrate,
price of chicken rice:
jan - $2.00
feb - $2.50 (+0.50)
mar - $2.90 (+0.40) (inflation falls by 0.10)
apr - $3.10 (+0.20) (inflation falls by 0.20)
that's decreasing inflation. and the fall is not constant, but increasing. inflation is still positive, which means that deflation has not occured yet.
given the obscene levels of inflation last year, it is no surprise that it is taking awhile for that number to become negative.
and why is the level of inflation high to begin with? consider that a responsible government would strive to keep the economy stable by cutting back spending when growth is strong, and spending more during a recession. instead, the government chose to "ride the economic wave" (another word for "finance stupid investments"?), destabilising it. rewind to early 2008, inflation levels were at historic highs.
don't you think it is irresponsible for the government to ignore stabilisation policies?
i am not trying to be anti-government. there is no point, because i'm not a die hard fan of opposition parties, and anarchy is definitely not my ideal. so in a 1-party system, all i can do is criticise policies and the clowns who implement them.
not to worry though, the straits times proudly declares that the IR will generate godknows how many jobs. consider this: it does not matter to the government WHO loses their job. they only care about a number, which is the unemployment rate. this means that if YOU lose YOUR job, it doesn't matter to them as long as SOMEONE ELSE is hired. that way, the unemployment rate is at least unchanged.
so the IR is going to generate thousands of jobs. is that going to help all the bankers that were retrenched? you can't seriously believe that a banker will apply for a casino position upon losing his job.
but that's how life is in singapore. the government will always hop from one niche to another. workers on the other hand cannot simply job hop, especially across different industries.
Last edited:
obzervr
New member
Shinobi... Excellent points you raised.
Incidentally, I'm at a coffeeshop aat AMK, my mum's place and surprise, surprise... a cup of Kopi Po' $1.20??? I wonder when did they raise the price from 90cents.
I guess this time round, the govt has somewhat lost sight of its youth base. Youth who are mostly students or just entering the employment market will be challenged to secure a job to gain that 'five years experience' to move on to a real career. Trends show that students whose parents were hit with paycuts and retrenchment would likely have their supplementary, enrichment and lifeskills programmes sacrificed so as to shrink the household expenditure. The projection is that the variance within cohort for the school leavers in 3-5 years would be big. Being an unforgiving society, if a student gain a B3 for English, B3 for Math at O levels, these scores would stick with them the whole of their lives despite having attained it during a very stressful period of having their tuition and enrichment sacrificed while having to see their parents gloomy faces for not having yet a job.
I was with my CEO a few days ago reviewing an applicant's details for an executive post. Despite the candidate's high achievement in his undergraduate studies (8 distinctions & 7 As, out of 24 unit study) she was saying... "but this guy scored only a C5 for his English at 'O' levels" and that was in 1998!
The music community can do well to fill the gaps on the enrichment with a Pass it On philosophy where we share with the young our knowledge, facilities and expertise with a very humane gesture and at very humane rates. At times, pooling resources with friends suffice. Where needed, there are funds available via MICA, NCSS, NHB and NAC, as well as the self help groups for willing souls to conjure up Music enrichment programmes to tie in the young during the holiday season coming soon.
Don't expect the govt to start music enrichment programmes... They couldn't even get their steps right on the dance floor :mrgreen:
Incidentally, I'm at a coffeeshop aat AMK, my mum's place and surprise, surprise... a cup of Kopi Po' $1.20??? I wonder when did they raise the price from 90cents.
I guess this time round, the govt has somewhat lost sight of its youth base. Youth who are mostly students or just entering the employment market will be challenged to secure a job to gain that 'five years experience' to move on to a real career. Trends show that students whose parents were hit with paycuts and retrenchment would likely have their supplementary, enrichment and lifeskills programmes sacrificed so as to shrink the household expenditure. The projection is that the variance within cohort for the school leavers in 3-5 years would be big. Being an unforgiving society, if a student gain a B3 for English, B3 for Math at O levels, these scores would stick with them the whole of their lives despite having attained it during a very stressful period of having their tuition and enrichment sacrificed while having to see their parents gloomy faces for not having yet a job.
I was with my CEO a few days ago reviewing an applicant's details for an executive post. Despite the candidate's high achievement in his undergraduate studies (8 distinctions & 7 As, out of 24 unit study) she was saying... "but this guy scored only a C5 for his English at 'O' levels" and that was in 1998!
The music community can do well to fill the gaps on the enrichment with a Pass it On philosophy where we share with the young our knowledge, facilities and expertise with a very humane gesture and at very humane rates. At times, pooling resources with friends suffice. Where needed, there are funds available via MICA, NCSS, NHB and NAC, as well as the self help groups for willing souls to conjure up Music enrichment programmes to tie in the young during the holiday season coming soon.
Don't expect the govt to start music enrichment programmes... They couldn't even get their steps right on the dance floor :mrgreen:
im definitely not an expert in economics, but govt does not own the chicken rice stores, thus no direct relations betw the prices of retailer and them, but rather, the cost of biz expenses + prices of commodity + target earnings of retailers
in the market, supply follows when there's a demand. chicken rice sellers can price theirs at $10 or $100 per plate, or however they like, ppl dun like it they can dun buy and the govt will not kill their family
i wld agree certain pricings are really unreasonable, ie coffee/tea prices at coffeeshops, but that is becos the sellers know that u wun stop drinking their coffee for 10cents, thus this process keeps repeating
its best not to talk about economics when u know nuts, and fyi, commodity prices with respect to sing$ will likely continue inching higher becos the govt is decreasing the value of sing $, to boost export. however inflation will continue to remain negative.
bro, no offense, but dun talk nonsense when u dunno anything abt economics
in the market, supply follows when there's a demand. chicken rice sellers can price theirs at $10 or $100 per plate, or however they like, ppl dun like it they can dun buy and the govt will not kill their family
i wld agree certain pricings are really unreasonable, ie coffee/tea prices at coffeeshops, but that is becos the sellers know that u wun stop drinking their coffee for 10cents, thus this process keeps repeating
its best not to talk about economics when u know nuts, and fyi, commodity prices with respect to sing$ will likely continue inching higher becos the govt is decreasing the value of sing $, to boost export. however inflation will continue to remain negative.
bro, no offense, but dun talk nonsense when u dunno anything abt economics
obzervr
New member
Hi JuJu,
I beg to differ on that. The argument that people should not talk of economics if they're not an expert is a simplistic and lame justification that saw us crying away the $108 billion loss in national investments. If Economists feel that the public needs to be educated of the 'behind the scenes' processes, the onus is on them to do the teaching. Otherwise, every lay person has the right to speak on the economics that matter to them, the economics of bread and butter.
A neighbour once tried to make sense of this massive loss against the $30 increase in public assistance unveiled in the recent budget. He calculated that the loss made by Temasek & GIC, if averaged out against all residents in Singapore (inc foreign workers), each would get about $20K! and asked what is the meaning of a $30 increase in Public Assistance?
Is he wrong to think that way? personally, I don't think so as i feel, keeping quiet and accept the news of the loss as if nothing happened is a bigger sin. Perhaps, what he was trying to make sense is why did Temasek and GIC placed such huge investments in high risk portfolios and if the loss were capital loss.
The collapse of the banking sector worldwide shows us very well how the so called Economics experts have failed in economics 101; by increasing supply of credit to boost demand for property, leading to hyperinflation of property value which was used as collaterals for more credit. They've created a myth of the real worth of property.
For the lay person, If one chicken rice seller increase their price by 50cents, it may be the case of trying to meet their projected sales, but when 99% of chicken rice seller follow suit, for the lay person, there is a cause for concern as that is a sign of inflation that will likely to be permanent. If we replace the chicken rice with other products that are more basic in nature such as Rice, Sugar, Milk powder, etc; Not consuming them would be detrimental to the individual and family.
It is not as simple as "if ppl don't like, don't buy". Unfortunately, in Singapore, consumers are not allowed to organise a protest, boycott, or strike. The average consumer is at the receiving end of any price increase and price fixing. This is where voices from the ground can and should surface so that the regulators can act on it. It is the unqualified 'lay economics' that will be the conduit of these voices.
On the part of retailers and sole proprietors, raising prices would likely be a coping method to ensure that they are still able to pay rents and wages on time. It could be a real difficulty that they are facing. unfortunately, in the absence of clear alternatives, the simplest method is to raise prices or close shop. However, is raising prices the best way to keep the business going? And if the business fold, who would bear the consequences? The govt has pledge a significant amount of money to SMEs in helping them to defray operations and wage costs. However, for the sole proprietors, similar measures doesn't seem to be in sight. The absence of intervention to help sole proprietors sustain lead them to take the short cut; i.e. increase prices. This is where perhaps govt policies may be said to have contributed to the increase in the price of the plate of chicken rice.
You raise a good point about the Sing$ value (in the event of it being depreciated). Indeed, some reports did indicate that depreciating the Sing $ was an option being considered. However, at this point, the policy stands at 'zero appreciation' that is not allowing Sing$ to appreciate further. Introducing a depreciation policy would make the price of goods from Singapore to be a bit more attractive for the export market, however, it would likely be a shortlived one as neighbouring countries may follow suit creating a price war and possibly protectionist policies.
When our trade partners adopts protectionism, what would be the effect on that price of imported chicken and subsequently, plate of chicken rice?
I beg to differ on that. The argument that people should not talk of economics if they're not an expert is a simplistic and lame justification that saw us crying away the $108 billion loss in national investments. If Economists feel that the public needs to be educated of the 'behind the scenes' processes, the onus is on them to do the teaching. Otherwise, every lay person has the right to speak on the economics that matter to them, the economics of bread and butter.
A neighbour once tried to make sense of this massive loss against the $30 increase in public assistance unveiled in the recent budget. He calculated that the loss made by Temasek & GIC, if averaged out against all residents in Singapore (inc foreign workers), each would get about $20K! and asked what is the meaning of a $30 increase in Public Assistance?
Is he wrong to think that way? personally, I don't think so as i feel, keeping quiet and accept the news of the loss as if nothing happened is a bigger sin. Perhaps, what he was trying to make sense is why did Temasek and GIC placed such huge investments in high risk portfolios and if the loss were capital loss.
The collapse of the banking sector worldwide shows us very well how the so called Economics experts have failed in economics 101; by increasing supply of credit to boost demand for property, leading to hyperinflation of property value which was used as collaterals for more credit. They've created a myth of the real worth of property.
For the lay person, If one chicken rice seller increase their price by 50cents, it may be the case of trying to meet their projected sales, but when 99% of chicken rice seller follow suit, for the lay person, there is a cause for concern as that is a sign of inflation that will likely to be permanent. If we replace the chicken rice with other products that are more basic in nature such as Rice, Sugar, Milk powder, etc; Not consuming them would be detrimental to the individual and family.
It is not as simple as "if ppl don't like, don't buy". Unfortunately, in Singapore, consumers are not allowed to organise a protest, boycott, or strike. The average consumer is at the receiving end of any price increase and price fixing. This is where voices from the ground can and should surface so that the regulators can act on it. It is the unqualified 'lay economics' that will be the conduit of these voices.
On the part of retailers and sole proprietors, raising prices would likely be a coping method to ensure that they are still able to pay rents and wages on time. It could be a real difficulty that they are facing. unfortunately, in the absence of clear alternatives, the simplest method is to raise prices or close shop. However, is raising prices the best way to keep the business going? And if the business fold, who would bear the consequences? The govt has pledge a significant amount of money to SMEs in helping them to defray operations and wage costs. However, for the sole proprietors, similar measures doesn't seem to be in sight. The absence of intervention to help sole proprietors sustain lead them to take the short cut; i.e. increase prices. This is where perhaps govt policies may be said to have contributed to the increase in the price of the plate of chicken rice.
You raise a good point about the Sing$ value (in the event of it being depreciated). Indeed, some reports did indicate that depreciating the Sing $ was an option being considered. However, at this point, the policy stands at 'zero appreciation' that is not allowing Sing$ to appreciate further. Introducing a depreciation policy would make the price of goods from Singapore to be a bit more attractive for the export market, however, it would likely be a shortlived one as neighbouring countries may follow suit creating a price war and possibly protectionist policies.
When our trade partners adopts protectionism, what would be the effect on that price of imported chicken and subsequently, plate of chicken rice?
Last edited:
marcdadrummer
New member
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
-
-
Gator DJ Hard Case (super sturdy, high quality)
- Latest: felfelfelicia
-
