Plenty of smart people (unlike me) have been posting comments online about the JCS and it’s fascinating to read all the comments. Unfortunately, it does makes the head ache and the eyes hurt after a while.

While I think the JCS is worthy of a shot, I am not unaware of its problems. I don’t think anyone, the government included, can say confidently that the JCS is a cure-all for the recession. It’s just that it’s about the only option left to try and limit the damage. If this doesn’t work, then there’s no choice but to give direct or indirect monetary relief to people who need help while we wait out the storm.

Of course, the price tag of the JCS is uncomfortably large to some people. I don’t disagree with that. We can let retrenchments continue, divide the money among all Singaporeans and end up with more than a thousand dollar angpow each for the whole year. Is that necessarily a better option? I would think yes it’s a damn good option if I still have a job. If I don’t, how long can that money last? Again, I have no definite answer to this issue, although my personal preference is to keep as many jobs as possible, but that’s because I would prefer to have a salary than unemployment handouts.

The criticisms of JCS being a blunt tool is clearly a valid one. Some companies will indeed keep the JCS monies for their own benefit instead of using it to prevent retrenchments. However, giving money directly to people also has its own set of problems too. As much as one can argue companies might hoard the JCS monies, someone else can argue that people might splurge unemployment assistance on a holiday. We just can’t predict behaviour.

The bottom line is there will be pain in this recession no matter what the government tries to do. I sure that is something everyone can agree with. What people cannot agree with is how to go around tackling the issue. I wish there exists a depressionomics SOP to tell us step by step how to climb out of the hole and people won’t have to argue but unfortunately, I don’t think such a thing exists.

This will be my last comment on the JCS. If the JCS fails to work, I will be the first to admit my folly in believing it will at least work somewhat and hope that people will be as zealous in accepting human error as dishing out criticisms.