On the 22nd of January 2009, at 3.30pm sharp, NYJC’s LT4 was filled with teachers and students alike. It was the live telecast of the 2009 Budget. It was very much anticipated to see how the government was going to help its citizens ride the worst recession after the Great Depression.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore’s Finance Minister had the duty of announcing the contents of the budget. According to the Finance Minister, he theorised that Singapore would be unlikely to recover from the recession in the years to come. Even if it did, the recovery would be weak. It was also said that the root of the problem stemmed from the US economy and as a result, many jobs will be at risk in 2009. To rectify this, the government centralised the budget on several key factors that would alleviate the worries of several Singaporeans. $5.1 billion will be used to improve the job situation for Singaporeans; $5.8 billion will be used to stimulate bank lending. $2.6 billion will be used to enhance business flow and competition while $2.6 and $4.4 billion will be used to support families and build a home for the future. To summarise, the main parties the budget addressed were Singaporeans who had lost their jobs, or, in search for one, from low-income groups as well as local firms.

I realise that this Budget is significant to students as most of us will continue to study. How then do students’ fees get affected? What happens to fresh graduates who will be joining the workforce soon? Does it mean scholarships would be readily available? As much as the Budget would help students understand and apply in subjects such as General Paper and Economics, one can’t help wonder but will this recession recover or will it dip into another depression…

Article by Cheryl Tan