‘Living within our means’ a key lesson for S’pore from Greek crisis: Lawrence Wong

SINGAPORE — Live within one’s means, implement sustainable policies, and avoid populist spending: These are some lessons that can be drawn from the Greek debt crisis, said Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Communications and Information in Parliament today (July 14).

Mr Wong was replying to a question by Member of Parliament Ms Irene Ng (Tampines GRC), who had asked how the default by Greece on its debt owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would impact Singapore, the region and the rest of the global economy, and whether there were lessons to be drawn from it.

“Living within our means and ensuring that budget policies are sustainable. This means avoiding populist spending, promises of benefits that can only be financed by accumulating debts indefinitely,” Mr Wong elaborated.

“Greece’s … wages and benefits (were) much higher than productivity increases, and the severe loss of its economic competitiveness including against its Eurozone partners like Germany … has weakened its growth prospects and compounded its build-up of debt,” he said.

Mr Wong stressed that the Greek crisis would have a limited impact here, as the troubled country accounts for less than 0.2 per cent of total trade with Singapore, and forms only 0.1 per cent of bank assets here.