Inflation - Strong Growth Leads To High Costs
19 04 2008Hoang Thi Minh Ngoc | hoang_thi_minh_ngoc@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication
April. 19, 2008
Story highlights:
- Annual seminar on inflation held by the DSC
- The implications and issues of inflation
- The role of Government in times of inflation
- Advice for students to prepare themselves for the increasing tendency of inflation
On March 25, the Democratic Socialist Club (DSC) held their annual seminar on the issue of Inflation – Against a Backdrop of Growth.
The three guest speakers aimed to help the audience seek, explore and understand the relation of inflation to Singapore’s growth and how it is affecting us.
According to Professor Sam Ouliaris, deputy head of the Department of Business Policy at the School of Business, consumer prices in Singapore have taken a step up owing to its booming economy in the context of rising commodity prices including oil, food and metals.
He also noticed that the current CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation of Singapore is around 7 percent while the core inflation is around 5 percent
This figure is comparatively high compared with US and other Asian countries.
Leong Sze Hian, who served as the President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, implied that inflation led to the rise in cost of healthcare, transportation, tax, electricity and housing.
He added that the Government should have some fundamental policies to compensate for this tendency especially the home ownership policy.
“As I am Singaporean, I do not worry much about accommodation fee; however, the thing relating to inflation that matters to me is university fee,” said Alicia Tan, a student of Temasek Junior College.
Josephine Teo, Assistant Secretary General of NTUC – ARU, talked about the role of the Government in times of inflation.
She said that the Government should use the Central Provident Fund for retiring citizens as it is cheaper compared with using the money from the market.
According to Ms Teo, the Government should also consider promoting home ownership, diversifying good sources, controlling prices, managing exchange rates as well as improving wage growth.
Jonathan Chionh, a second-year student of School of Business as well as the financial secretary of DSC, raised the question of the tendency of inflation rate in the future.
Both Teo and Leong predicted that the inflation rate would continue to increase owing to the current huge and fast growing economy.
Finally, Ms Teo implied that the core matter is how to prepare ourselves for the effects of inflation.
She emphasized that students should never satisfy in investment in education. A budget-to-budget solution is the best way to prepare for the future.
[...] Inflation - Strong Growth Leads To High Costs The booming economy of Singapore inevitably leads to a rising inflation cost. A group of panelists, together with audience members, engage in a lively discussion on measures to reduce the impact on individuals and also come up with suggestions for the government. [...]
what is a budget-to-budget solution?
It means the budget you invest in your education (and try your best to study) then gain the ability to find a good job after graduation (which means you can get high salary - great budget to cope up with the effects of increasing inflation rate.)