So it got announced that our fertility rate is at an all time low and we're nowhere close to replacing ourselves. Old news from a new angle. Apparently, only the gahmen is worried while the people go on living their merry lives.
All the stats makes one wonder if we're victims of our success. A few decades it was "Stop at two" with disincentives thrown in to discourage large families. Of course that was a time of economic uncertainty. Then the country took off on a steep curve of growth, and we didn't really stop, apart from small recessionary dips. The gahmen took care of the country's success quite well. We generally got richer and better educated. Things too got pricier. So like most educated folk in pricey cities, we decided to stop with the childbearing. In human geography, we learnt that primitive societies had many kids because infant mortality was high and the farm needed tending. Today, the farm doesn't need hands but brains, a few smart people to run the show.
In cities, cost of raising kids is phenomenally higher because standards of living are higher. (Already, I spend an average of $7 for lunch at Raffles Place when I could do with $4-5 outside of town.) With kids, I've discovered that parents spend loads of cash on diapers, milk and doctors' visits. Go down to the local supermarket and check out the cost of baby products. The mind will boggle at the continual expense. You’ll feels worse when the little monster doesn’t drink up or vomits that precious vitaminised, fortified goodness. Money going down the drain.
Here’s what I figure parents today spend on a kid from age 0 to 3 on a monthly basis (basis, my nephew):
1. Milk - $80
2. Diapers and wash related - $80
3. Food - $100
4. Doctor visits and medicine - $80
5. Extras like educational material and toys - $30
6. Clothes - $30 (they grow so fast!)
That’s $400 a month already and I think I’m being conservative. It doesn’t include cost of electricity, water, furniture damage, insurance, taxi rides and the tons of towels parents need. When the little tike turns 2 or 3, education becomes a financial worry. Kindergartens are expensive and parents worry if their kid is getting into a good kindergarten or not. Some pre-school classes cost upwards of $800 a month. It’s kiasuism that drives the economy, and drives parents mad.
So money is a big, big issue. The next big issue is time. Parents don’t have any. For a comfortable life, both parents generally need to work. They don’t have the time to spend and nurture their kids like earlier generations could. We hire maids and other professionals to assist in child rearing but seriously, it’s not the same thing. The maid my sister’s home taught my nephew to say “Pantat” or backside in Malay. Goodness. Consider paternity leave - does it exist? But can one parent stay and attend to the kid/kids? Can we downsize our expectations and ambitions to make this happen? Some people would go “Then study so hard for what?”. How can we find that balance of time to ensure our kids turn out ok and yet lead a comfortable existence in a city that’s seeing prices climb, the gahmen asking us to boost productivity and the possibility of not being able to retire? It’s all a little crazy, and many it seems don't want to overcomplicate their happy existence with kids. I can understand.
But my nephew makes me want to rush and home and play with him. Yes, a kid can bring joy you cannot imagine plus fears you cannot comprehend. Awesome.
Perhaps we all need to cool it a little. Take time to evaluate what’s really important for this young nation of ours. If we keep importing our citizens, we’ll never achieve a national identity. It’ll be a flux of people, forever. Here to make $ and leave. Sad but think about how true that is.
Perhaps a little socialism will help too. If we need to pay a little more tax so that the government can fund 70% last drawn salaries to both parents to stay home to look after kids (a year for mums, 1 month for dads), why not? How about healthcare and education subsidies? Hard cash and not tax rebates. Real money, not electronic write offs.
Go have a think.
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Friday, 4 February 2011
Breakfast Observations
I was overseas on holiday over the weekend and on my last day at the hotel, some unfortunate work-related circumstance had me up at 730am and having breakfast in the hotel restaurant at 8am. Alone, I was given a table for two by a lady who I can only describe as a double for Gloria Arroyo (I was not in the Philippines btw). Her job was to make sure there weren't any strange intruders who could having food on the house. True, someone could walk right in and they'd be none the wiser. (I was asked the day earlier by one of the wait staff what my room number was as I was loitering about the buffet lines with a glass of juice in hand. Suspicious behaviour I guess.).
I did not sit, as usual, and went to check if the nasi lemak served the day before made a reprisal that morning too. Alas no, but there was prata and dhal. Tried it, disappointing.
I sat eating and observing. There were Americans, about 3 of them, middle aged, sitting nearby. They spoke in uncharacteristically hush tones. Then their friends came. It was time to pump up the volume. Hugs, kisses and loud greetings we're used to and find quite annoying. I think it's an announcement of 'i've got friends' thing. You gotta be loud when doing that else no one will know you're not a loser.
There were a few families from China who made their appearance at that hour. I noted that 1) they like to walk and chew their food, and 2) their kids are without sensible manners. I'll elaborate on the second point as the first is a quirk of nature. One kid, of 6-7 years, was holding his heavy ceramic plate at an angle and spilling his carbo-loading all over the place. Another kid, couldn't sit down and was wandering about touching things. He didn't ask politely when his way was blocked but simply pushed through, once even crawling over another diner's chair. Ghastly behaviour that these kids' parents were hardly giving two hoots about. Maybe this one child policy has created psychological complexes we're only going to find out about when these loners start interacting with the world outside China.
I was eyeing a slice of marble cake as my final go at breakfast but declined my instincts last minute. So that was it.
I did not sit, as usual, and went to check if the nasi lemak served the day before made a reprisal that morning too. Alas no, but there was prata and dhal. Tried it, disappointing.
I sat eating and observing. There were Americans, about 3 of them, middle aged, sitting nearby. They spoke in uncharacteristically hush tones. Then their friends came. It was time to pump up the volume. Hugs, kisses and loud greetings we're used to and find quite annoying. I think it's an announcement of 'i've got friends' thing. You gotta be loud when doing that else no one will know you're not a loser.
There were a few families from China who made their appearance at that hour. I noted that 1) they like to walk and chew their food, and 2) their kids are without sensible manners. I'll elaborate on the second point as the first is a quirk of nature. One kid, of 6-7 years, was holding his heavy ceramic plate at an angle and spilling his carbo-loading all over the place. Another kid, couldn't sit down and was wandering about touching things. He didn't ask politely when his way was blocked but simply pushed through, once even crawling over another diner's chair. Ghastly behaviour that these kids' parents were hardly giving two hoots about. Maybe this one child policy has created psychological complexes we're only going to find out about when these loners start interacting with the world outside China.
I was eyeing a slice of marble cake as my final go at breakfast but declined my instincts last minute. So that was it.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Guys And Hips
I've been going to yoga for a while and like anyone who's been practicing some regular form of exercise, I have become more aware how my body works. One particular part is the hips.
Most guys have been brought up to 'walk like a man'. You know, legs apart, strutting their stuff. Guys also sit like their jewels need airing. So generally knees apart. What many guys don't realize is that after years of moving and sitting that way, the hips have had to adjust, slowly but surely, to make our 'open' position viable.
Many guys also suffer from lower back pain. Guess what? Your manly gait and wide kneed sitting position is partially to blame. When the hips adjust to make wide waking possible, the bones squeezed around the muscles and nerves around the base of the spine. Over decades and once your body shape decided to lock in, the hips sort of locked in place too, forever tightening the grip around the spine. Hence the occasional discomfort or pain.
Some weeks ago, the yoga class instructor came up to me as I was crouched in the foetal position facing up, trying to bring my knees to my chest (wind relieving pose for transverse colon) and told me to keep my knees together. So I did and quickly realized that that action allowed my lower back to relax further. Wow. I felt a release of tension. So simple and unassuming a movement with glorious repercussions. I found it easier to flatten my spine and managed to squeeze in tighter.
Try it. I'm not saying you gotta start walking funny or sitting pretty. Just try lying in bed, knees up to the chest, arms around knees squeezing them in. Then breathe, long and deep, several times. You'll feel the tension leave as the lower back relaxes. Do it a few times a week. Over time you'll realign your hips and spine.
And by "over time", I mean years. You've got the rest of your life.
Most guys have been brought up to 'walk like a man'. You know, legs apart, strutting their stuff. Guys also sit like their jewels need airing. So generally knees apart. What many guys don't realize is that after years of moving and sitting that way, the hips have had to adjust, slowly but surely, to make our 'open' position viable.
Many guys also suffer from lower back pain. Guess what? Your manly gait and wide kneed sitting position is partially to blame. When the hips adjust to make wide waking possible, the bones squeezed around the muscles and nerves around the base of the spine. Over decades and once your body shape decided to lock in, the hips sort of locked in place too, forever tightening the grip around the spine. Hence the occasional discomfort or pain.
Some weeks ago, the yoga class instructor came up to me as I was crouched in the foetal position facing up, trying to bring my knees to my chest (wind relieving pose for transverse colon) and told me to keep my knees together. So I did and quickly realized that that action allowed my lower back to relax further. Wow. I felt a release of tension. So simple and unassuming a movement with glorious repercussions. I found it easier to flatten my spine and managed to squeeze in tighter.
Try it. I'm not saying you gotta start walking funny or sitting pretty. Just try lying in bed, knees up to the chest, arms around knees squeezing them in. Then breathe, long and deep, several times. You'll feel the tension leave as the lower back relaxes. Do it a few times a week. Over time you'll realign your hips and spine.
And by "over time", I mean years. You've got the rest of your life.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Sellers Are Not Serious
Got this published in the TODAY paper on Jan 5:.
"The latest cooling measures by the HDB have admittedly had some effect in curbing the COV requirements for resale flats, but still we're unlikely to see any decrease in valuations. In fact, I have come across some sellers who have had their flats re-valuated even before their current valuations have expired to lock-in a further gain. A flat owner who rejected by my offer did exactly that because he was convinced by property agents that his flat was "too cheap". In another case, a property agent was trying to convince me to buy a particular flat because the valuation price had increased by $10,000 since the last assessment two months earlier. Is this practice of multiple valuations for a HDB flat across such short period condoned? Can the value of a flat can really increase so quickly? Since valuation prices are partly based on previous assessments, frivolous seller behaviour causes unjustified increases in baseline prices. In addition to focusing on buyers, I feel that the HDB also should introduce steps to weed out non-serious sellers. Perhaps a sellers' cash deposit to the value of 1% of the valuation price is necessary."
I am sure there are strong opinions about this, and some have appeared on Mr Wang Says So blog.
Simply put, it's greed. Sellers want the best highest price and buyers want a cheap deal. So compromise is left to negotiations and market forces apparently. But like all things in the market, there are ways to manipulate the situation, and valuations is one way. It bothers me that people don't play fair. Yeah, that's naive, whimsical thinking. But being in the thick of it, it's not funny anymore. We're a tiny country and 80% of us live in tinier cubes in the sky. Any changes that happen to home prices here have massive consequences because we're so small. Resale flat prices have gone up by 50% since 2007. Many first time buyers have been priced out of the market and those who jump in headlong and commit to high prices face a lifetime of debt. We're essentially locked into our economy till we decide to call it quits or win lottery. Quality of life issues come to play. We'll have fewer kids because it'll be too expensive. So will Singapore always have a flux of immigrants? Maybe, because one generation after the next will find out how pricey things can get.
It's just bloody sad that the powers that be have failed to protect our interests and in some ways watch it all happen without seemingly little reaction till it was late. I think the HDB shouldn't even put resale flats on the open market at all - have ballotting at valuation prices just like they sell new flats. Especially since they technically own every flat and we're just leasing. Maybe devolving their responsibility to the nation to property agents is their way of leaving things to market forces.
I don't think flat prices are coming down. They'll plateau or grow at lower speed. So those who made a buck, good for you. Those who didn't, well, keep those fingers and toes crossed.
"The latest cooling measures by the HDB have admittedly had some effect in curbing the COV requirements for resale flats, but still we're unlikely to see any decrease in valuations. In fact, I have come across some sellers who have had their flats re-valuated even before their current valuations have expired to lock-in a further gain. A flat owner who rejected by my offer did exactly that because he was convinced by property agents that his flat was "too cheap". In another case, a property agent was trying to convince me to buy a particular flat because the valuation price had increased by $10,000 since the last assessment two months earlier. Is this practice of multiple valuations for a HDB flat across such short period condoned? Can the value of a flat can really increase so quickly? Since valuation prices are partly based on previous assessments, frivolous seller behaviour causes unjustified increases in baseline prices. In addition to focusing on buyers, I feel that the HDB also should introduce steps to weed out non-serious sellers. Perhaps a sellers' cash deposit to the value of 1% of the valuation price is necessary."
I am sure there are strong opinions about this, and some have appeared on Mr Wang Says So blog.
Simply put, it's greed. Sellers want the best highest price and buyers want a cheap deal. So compromise is left to negotiations and market forces apparently. But like all things in the market, there are ways to manipulate the situation, and valuations is one way. It bothers me that people don't play fair. Yeah, that's naive, whimsical thinking. But being in the thick of it, it's not funny anymore. We're a tiny country and 80% of us live in tinier cubes in the sky. Any changes that happen to home prices here have massive consequences because we're so small. Resale flat prices have gone up by 50% since 2007. Many first time buyers have been priced out of the market and those who jump in headlong and commit to high prices face a lifetime of debt. We're essentially locked into our economy till we decide to call it quits or win lottery. Quality of life issues come to play. We'll have fewer kids because it'll be too expensive. So will Singapore always have a flux of immigrants? Maybe, because one generation after the next will find out how pricey things can get.
It's just bloody sad that the powers that be have failed to protect our interests and in some ways watch it all happen without seemingly little reaction till it was late. I think the HDB shouldn't even put resale flats on the open market at all - have ballotting at valuation prices just like they sell new flats. Especially since they technically own every flat and we're just leasing. Maybe devolving their responsibility to the nation to property agents is their way of leaving things to market forces.
I don't think flat prices are coming down. They'll plateau or grow at lower speed. So those who made a buck, good for you. Those who didn't, well, keep those fingers and toes crossed.
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