Sharing the budget surplus

Which other country in the world gives out cash to her citizens? Our Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong calls it the "Progress Package", aimed to share the budget surplus with Singaporeans and achieve certain social objectives, like helping the poor, rewarding National Service men, etc.

How much you get is pegged on many things: how much you earn, what kind of house you live in, how old you are, and whether you are serving in National service. For my family of three, we get $2,200 (growth dividends) + $1,400 (CPF top-up) + $1,200 (workfare bonus) + $80 (utilities rebate). That is $4,880 in hard cash.

Of course, to get this amount of money, you must have two parents over the age of 50, one who has been retrenched since 2003, and one who earns $500 a month for a 40-hour a week job. When you look at it this way, $4,880 does not seem like it will last long, especially when my own monthly pay has been frozen under the $2,000 mark for the last three years.

Yet, life is not hard, thank God; we have more than enough through the wise thrift of my parents and their parents before them; and I am very grateful.