Inflation? GST Hike?

The prices of everything in Singapore have gone up. Is this a result of inflation or the recent GST hike to 7% which started 1 July 2007, or a combination of both?

G and I had lunch with some friends at Golden Shoe Food Centre near work and there was this "tissue paper" peddlers -- a blind man followed by a lady touting tissue paper to the lunch time crowd. We don't usually need the tissue (we can buy an entire SLAB of tissue for slightly above the price they are selling at!) but don't mind helping out these vendors who are trying to make a decent and honest living.

I digress.

As I said, the prices of everything has gone up. 3 packets of tissue which had a standard market rate of a dollar now costs $1.20, which, based on very elementary mathematics, translates to a 20% increase. Now, is this inflation, the effect of the GST hike, a combination of both or blatent day-light robbery? I wonder.

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Globalisation

Singapore, City of Possibilities

That's the slogan for this year's 42nd National Day Parade at Marina Centre. How apt in today's world.

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The Hungry Ghost Festival started on 13 August this year. Today must be the 8th day that the gates of hell are open for our friends from the other land to visit earth. Several people were out and about in the streets praying, offering food and burning hell money for the departed souls.

I parked at the open air carpark just opposite Borders and there was a bunch of people burning candles and hell money just at the edge of the road. A funny sight stood before me-- a guai lo in a long sleeve shirt obviously coming from some office nearby was also burning hell money in the big cauldron. He obviously looked amused as he stared hard at the paper money that he was burning, probably secretly wishing that the stacks of hell money in ridiculous denominations were real money that he could pocket a piece or two. =)