Misleading ST article on PAP giving $460,000 to each low-income family of four
March 5th, 2010 | 
Author: Written by Our Correspondent
Living up to its reputation as the nation-building press and in another desperate attempt to show that the PAP really “cares” about low-income Singaporeans, the Straits Times put up another hogwash again with the misleading headline – “$460,000 for a family” to create the erroneous impression that the PAP is giving cash handout to each family. (read article here)
It quoted Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam as saying:
“A low-income family of four can receive transfers from the Government totalling about $460,000 over a lifetime.”
The statement is patently false as the $460,000 consists of several packages, the majority in the form of subsidies such as childcare and student care subsidies, means-tested subsidies in public hospitals and polyclinics, course fee subsidies for Workforce Development Agency-approved courses and grant provided to Singaporean households upon the purchase of resale flats.
This means that the amount will not be used so long the families do not utilize the subsidies.
For example, the family will never enjoy the housing grant provided under the $460,000 sum if they do not purchase a resale flat and live in rental flats for their entire lives.
Given the sky-rocketing prices of resale flats now, it is doubtful if low-income families will be able to afford them, let alone use the housing grants.
Similarly, the means-tested subsidies will be untapped on if they are healthy and do not visit polyclinics and public hospitals.
Medical bills are so exorbitant nowadays that some Singaporeans opt to die or commit suicide than to seek medical treatment and hence again the subsidies will be left untouched.
Furthermore, some of these “subsidies” are derived from inflated prices. According to feedback from readers, some courses conducted by WDA are “marked up” and to “accommodate” the subsidies.
The “help” given to the lower-income Singaporeans by the PAP is most unimaginative and does not address the root source of the problem.
It should revamp the entire economy to lessen our dependence on foreign workers and allow Singaporeans to earn a decent wage commensurate with the standard of living here
It is highly obnoxious and undignified to make Singaporeans slog like dogs for a meager pay and then “subsidizing” them to make life abit more bearable. Won’t this lead to a “crutch mentality” too?
Finance Minister Tharman should not simply pluck the figures out of thin air and treat Singaporeans like idiots. He must substantiate his claims with detailed calculations on how he arrive at the magical figure of $460,000.
Though Singaporeans have been decried as sheep, donkeys and frogs by PAP leaders, many of them are still able to comprehend simple primary school mathematics.
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50 Responses to “Misleading ST article on PAP giving $460,000 to each low-income family of four”
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Hah, what rubbish is that? ST is going down the longkang!
Why not just give every family $460,000 in cold hard cash
LOl ST learn from TR
“Though Singaporeans have been decried as sheep, donkeys and frogs by PAP leaders, many of them are still able to comprehend simple primary school mathematics.”
Great line!
one word to say to dis indian botak fm: hope u get ur divine retribution soon n together u family will get it too!
If there is a God, may he execute his punishment to this blood suckers who make singaporeans suffer!!!
You guys and ST employing same reporter?
Story sounds like yr 100,000 jobless story.
Can somone plse post up the methodology of how Tharman got the figure of $460,000?
The numbers don’t seem to add up. Singapore’s entire national reserves are only estimated to be around S$200 bil.
If you give $460,00 to each family, helping just 40,000 familes would exhaust almost all of the entire national reserves.
NTUC Fairprice can also do the same calculations and conclude that a family of four can reap 4.6 million dollars worth of savings in their lifetimes if only the family buy 92 million dollars worth of their most expensive items daily for the rest of their lives.
“People do want to know, there is curiosity, it is a matter of public interest. That is not sufficient reason to disclose information. It is not sufficient that there be curiosity and interest that you want to disclose information.”
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam
And the Oscar goes to ……….. for best fiction ……..
He certainly deserves an Oscar for his acting abilities.
“A low-income family of four can receive transfers from the Government totalling about $460,000 over a lifetime.”
I’m interested in the amount the same family can expect to pay (GST, inflated and/or almost annual increase in medical bills, fees and charges) over a liftetime. That would make for a meaningful comparison.
MIW enables everyone to get to win toto at least once in their lifetime.
dun talk cock. what the gov can do for us now. this year or the next 4 yrs. not interested in next 60 yrs. none of us will be around
Well,if ST is in the habit of sensationalising news,perhaps it should splash across its next issue in big bold print the detailed salaries of our ministers and contrast them to those received by the likes of Obama,premier Wen,Merkel and other giants?
Hahaha! what a piece of shit!
The cost of a service is $1 dollar.
You sell the service for $3 dollars.
Then you tell people that you give them a discount of $1.
People still have to pay $2 to get the service and you make $1 profit.
At the same time, you can tell people that you give people a subsidy of $1.
The pigs have given a new definition of subsidy.
We need to give them competition to bring some senses to them.
KEYWORD in “$460,000 over a lifetime” is LIFETIME.
So assuming a family of 4 living to 70 years old each and each in their twenties NOW, that would mean:
$460,000 / 4 = $115,000 for EACH PERSON up to 60 years of age.
Thus in our example, living to 70 years old and at 20 years now, each will get:
$115,000 / 50 = $2300 per YEAR (or $191.00 per MOPNTH) the equivalent of 1/5 of an MP’s MONTHLY SALARY. In about 10 years time, WHAT is $191.00 a month? Enough to buy a pack of Marlboro? Tsk Tsk.
Nice Wayang! Real Nice! BUT don’t worry, Sinkaporeans very easy to CON one, especially when Gahment is doing the wayanging…
Why talk cock? Give me the $460,000 in cash lah!
@Sinkapore
Great analysis on the usual doctored statements and snake oil statistics from the PAP and parroted by their barking dog press.
Thank goodness we have TR to show Singaporeans the REAL NEWS behind the misleading “credible sources”.
I think it is very important to get the methodology before we make any firm conclusions. Perhaps TR can write to MOF and ask MOF how the $460 was derived. I am sure it will make a great article.
A lifetime is a long time. The honourable FM may not be able to outlive a newborne’s normal lifespan. So please stop counting and adding up all his/her potential income or would be benefits of the future. As leaders let’s spend time making Singaporeans’ life better rather than claiming how lucky he /she is to be in receiving few hundred thousands dollars of future benefits.
The Sims and A Tan: If you are not happy with TR, just stick with ST lah, nobody is forcing you to come here, complain so much for what? As if TR put a knife over your neck to read its articles. Please stop disturbing the reading pleasure of other readers, okay?
$460,000
Who dare to ask the Minister in Parliament to clary this amount and the bases?
Who?
Helping the poor and the elderly?
How? By what means?
How should a fund be set up, to be make it become a perpetual fund to help the poor and the elderly to address their concerns of ever rising cost of living?
Is it wrong to have such a fund that is perpetual in nature where 90% of the fund’s annual income can be earmarked to help foot the medical bills of the poor and the elderly, and part of it to help top up the dole of the poor?
Is it difficult to set up a fund of $500 million as an initial target over 5 years with the government giving dollar-to-dollar backing of the contributions from the public?
Talk is cheap. Who dare to ask in Parliament for such a fund to be set up?
Is it wrong to set up such a perpetual fund? Is the government unable to cough up $250 million over 5 years?
$460,000
Name the family who has received this amount over 60 years.
Is there such a SG family living on the dole for 60 years?
Pls don’t bullshit S’poreans.. $460k is expected gross transfers.. not net transfers..
the govt can take away $500k via GST, property tax, utilities and conservancy charges and overpriced HDB flats.. and give you back $460k !!
I don’t understand why 1 in 5 S’poreans, who are willing to earn a honest living, but just could not earn enough to provide a decent living for their families.. make to rely on government subsidies, not to mention to save for their retirement.
Bring out minimum wage law!
Dammm.. liar… $460K for low income family? Tell us which family have receive part of the money..
Hmm, maybe someone who is good in figures can compute how much our family of ministers in parliament will be getting from Singapore in their lifetimes. Should be something like 3 million multiply by their lifetimes multiply by the number of ministers? Should be quite a staggering figure?
I received $460,000 in cold hard cash……..in my dreams
I am quite good with figures, I believe that they are not lying. From my computation, if you vote in the opposition; the poor will get $870k in their lifetime. So since $870k is more than $460k, it is better to vote for opposition lor.
“Well” Done, TR!
All of you are ingrates. We know what PAP promises will deliver. I know it’s a fact becos I got all my $460k when I wrote in to Ho Ching. I needed the money for plastic surgery and I got it. So don’t complain and be jealous if you cannot be as atas as me. Each time I look at my boob job I know there is a god & I am blessed to be in Singapore. Just one more sex-op and I will apply to contest at the next election as the first transatlantic candidate. Vote for change, vote for me.
ALL THE MEN IN WHITE ARE PROFESSIONAL LIARS, THEY CAN TELL YOU THE SAME LIES OVER AND OVER WITHOUT FEELING SHAME. THESE LIARS HAVE TO BE THROWN OUT OF THE NATION FOR GOOD.
Something must be very wrong now that ST resorts to highlighting such blatant lies from the Minister.
It means PAP is desperate to the point of throwing up figures
to deceive voters…
Well, we are so used to all these “massaged” unsubstantiated subsidies or grants.
Believing them is like believing the window ads in fashion shops that read ” Selling below cost! 90% Discount Storewide!”….
Absolute rubbish. Something more concrete would be to grant all cancer treatment or surgeries costing $5000 and above FREE. This is guaranteed subsidy and will give people assurance. We don’t need any kind of unsubstantiated figure (it could be 460k, or it could be 460 billion, whatever!), show something concrete and reassuring. But he won’t have a chance – I want to sack him and replace him with Kenneth Jeyaretnam.
…but seriously dudes, there are really many many many gullible folks out there believing it!! NEVER UNDER ESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPIDITY!!! They are all around us…
In Singapore, only fake subsidy exists. In fact, our governement is generating revenue when subsiding it’s citizen e.g. HDB, public hospital. Because of this fake subsidy, citizen can still hardly or stuggle to pay for public housing and hospital bill. We have to wonder, why are we taxed and moreover is GST required ? In other countries, taxes are collected to provide true subsidy and in addition, provide public goods like utilities and public transport. Our current PAP government is only concern about paying themself exorbitant salary then to improve the quality of the life for the citizens. It is time for PAP to be booted out !!!
very funny, Aurvandil !
I stop subscribing to ST 2 years ago. The reporting style is crap and there is not much substance in it. Only when ST is privatise, the quality of the newspaper will remain unchange.
Are they trying to lure uneducated voters? Stop treating us like fools!
Oh I forgot to add even Chinese newspaper “Zaobao” is also a mouthpiece of PAP, and a bootlicking one for China since they have large audience of PRC readers in China and Singapore.
Hi Brothers & Sisters
We most probably misunderstood Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam !!!!
HM$ = Hell Money$
If it is not wrong, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is hoping that when he is dead, he wish every singaporean burned him “Hell Money “HM$460,000 from each family.
To the pappies, everything, real and fiction also got a $$$ value, for themselves, it high dollar value whereas citizens, got very little value.
All of you are ingrates. We know what PAP promises will deliver. I know it’s a fact becos I got all my $460k when I wrote in to Ho Ching. I needed the money for plastic surgery and I got it. So don’t complain and be jealous if you cannot be as atas as me. Each time I look at my boob job I know there is a god & I am blessed to be in Singapore. Just one more sex-op and I will apply to contest at the next election as the first transatlantic candidate. Vote for change, vote for me.
don’t forget to add in inflation, this will reduce a big chunk of 460K over a lifetime.
This Chua enjoying life with sister at ISD shake leg get fat paychecks don’t want to, kenna seconded to Shitty Times talk cock and sing song?
Hm… something fishy lor.
MY TOES ARE LAUGHING — ::))
Papa Mama, where is the $460.000? How come we did not recieve the money? You mean, they bullshit again! Why like that one?
Pls remember HDB suffered a 2 billion deficit last year by subsidizing singaporeans. Don’t be too quick to judge.
FIRST And FOREMOST… WHEN DID THIS “HAND-OUT” DISPENSING START???… LET”S HAVE SOME GRAPHS AND DETAIL DATA PLEASE… AS WE ARE NOT The Ah Bengs & Ah Lians whom you want to CON!!!…
And ISN’T THIS UTTERLY IN CONTRADICTION TO… Lee Kuan Yew’s NON-Welfare State ISN’T IT TRUE!!! SO… WHEN DID THIS COME ABOUT???… AND WHY TOO???… BEST IS FOR LKY & LHL TO ANSWER TO THIS RIGHT!!!
S$460,000 Over A LIFETIME IS…
1. $10,000 A Year for 46 YEARS!!!!
2. And 46 years IS about the average working lifetime span of a low-income family of not for a start Mr. Tharman???
3. Let us help him. Perhaps he HAS LUMPED “ALL” manner of SUBSIDIES into it??? But then like… Medical… Education… Transport… Job Credits for example… Aren’t they ALL Variables according to USAGE as well as Govt’s CHANGES To Them OVER Time???
4. So NOW… WHAT”S IS FM Tharman’s GRAND IDEAS in giving out such Information hah???
5. And we must stop giving TIPS to NOT help them “Git Smarter”haw!!!