What else but more inflation

Some of my colleagues had a shock this week when the building management announced that the season carpark rates are going up from $86 to $110 per month starting from 1st April 2007. That's a whopping 28% increase. How's that for inflation, eh?

Fortunately, I park at a nearby HDB carpark, where the rate remains unchanged at $88.20 per month ($90 actually, but you get a 2% discount if you use GIRO deductions). I got quizzical looks from colleagues who asked why I did not take up the in-house parking, which is, you know, sheltered and you don't need an umbrella to get to your car if it rains? Despite the distance (5-min walk instead of 1-min walk) and shelter factor, the HDB scheme is more flexible. You can quit, change to another carpark, or get a refund of the unused portion of your season pass at any time. The location is good - the HDB carpark is right next to an NTUC supermarket and POSB ATM. And then there's the socio-political matter of the "apartheid queue", where directors and managers get in-house lots first, ahead of the rest of the pack. Which I understand perfectly. Anyway. The questions will probably stop now.

Back to inflation. At the nearby coffeeshops, the prices of drinks have increased recently. Price of a cup of tea, coffee and Milo went up by 10 cents, to 80, 80 and 90 cents, respectively. A soya-bean drink went up by 20 cents to $1.00 - it sets you back by a whole dollar coin now, when it was previously 80 cents. Here are the increases in percentages :

Tea: 14.3%
Coffee : 14.3%
Milo: 12.5%
Soya-bean: 25%

So much for a little 2% GST increase, huh? It seems that it was just the perfect excuse for many businesses to open the floodgates of hell ... well, um, maybe not - the floodgates of price inflation, yes. But you know what, I don't blame them. These price increases are just reflecting the underlying realities of monetary growth, which is the real source of all inflation. That's right, I am pointing the finger at M3 again. Heck, it's not even gov.sg's fault, well, not entirely. Because if they don't inflate, all other countries will, and there goes your goods and services export competitiveness. It's the entire economic system. Yep. It's a crazy system. But what else would you expect? What else, but more inflation. Of course.

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