○  新加坡总理吴作栋理国庆群众大会演讲  ○

ituents.hehandedout$200toasmartlydreedyoungmanwhohadjustlosthisjob.themantoldcheehow,"youknow,the$200yougavemeisnotevenenoughtomeetthemortgagepaymentonmycar".cheehowsaidthathefeltlikepunchingtheyoungmanintheface.

letmegiveyouanotherexampleofhowsuidiescanbetakenforgranted-utilityrebates.

inthelastthreeyears,hdbhouseholdshaveseentheirmonthlyutilitybillsincreasebyabout25to35.

therearetworeasoforthis.first,electricitytariffshavegoneup,becausetheworldpriceoffueloilusedforpowergenerationhasnearlydoubled.secondly,singaporeaareusingmoreelectricity.

doyourealisethatifyouturnonyourair-conditionereverynight,itwillcostyouabout$23amonth?ifyouusewaterheatersiteadofbathingincoldwater,thatwillcostafamily$15extraamonthinelectricity.

wecaotcapelectricitypricesassomepeoplehavesuggested.thatwouldmeandirectlysuidisingthecoumptionofelectricity,andwouldleadtoovercoumption.sowedecidedtohelphouseholds,eeciallylower-incomehouseholds,throughrebatescreditedtotheirutilitybills.thisway,ifhouseholdsuseleelectricity,therebateisstilltheirstokeep.ouraroachwastohelpsingaporeacopewithincreasesintheirutilitybillswhileencouragingthemtosaveandnotover-coume.

iam,however,worriedthatutilityrebateswillbetakenforgranted.toillustratemypoint,afterweintroducedutilitiessavelastyear,doyouknowhowmanythank-youletters1receivedfromthepublic?onlyone!however,1receivemanyletters-ofcomplaintsonvariousiues.itshowsthatmanysingaporeatakegoodgovernmentforgranted!

iamconcernedaboutthenegativelong-termeffectsoftoocomfortableasafetynetontheattitudeofsingaporea.butintheneweconomicenvironment,wedoneedtodomoretosuortlower-incomesingaporea.hence,1amproposingthenewsocialcompact,aftermuchdeliberation.weneedtostrikeacarefulbalancebetweenhelpinglower-incomesingaporea,andnotcreatingadependencymentalityamongourpeople.

theelderlyandthesingles
   ihaveaskedtheministerstotakeahardlookatthekeyareaswheregrouof

singaporeaneedecialattention.

onesuchgroupiso

 << 上一页  [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] 下一页