By Ng Tze Yong

WHEN Lehman Brothers collapsed last September, I braced myself for the end of the world.

It was my first recession as a working adult. Seeing the scared bankers scared the living daylights out of me.

But eight months on, what a surprise the recession has turned out to be.

The Great Depression I was expecting became more a Great Singapore Sale at times.

Instead of tightening my belt, I found myself salivating every Saturday morning, flipping through newspaper advertisements that offered condos, cars, furniture and electronic gizmos at dirt-cheap prices.

Friends moaned about stock market losses but, in the same breath, talked dreamily about upgrading to condos.

Even my financial planner, who went MIA for a while, is back, cooing sweet nothings.

Much of this is, of course, due to the Government's swift response to the crisis.

When bad times beckoned, we went swiftly from Nanny State to Mummy State.

Unlike a nanny, who simply keeps an eye on you, manages with a light touch and can't be bothered as long as you stay clear of trouble, the Government pulled out all stops this time. It dipped into the reserves for the first time and played mother hen to fend off employers eager to hand out pink slips.

The unintended result is complacent Singaporeans who ogle condos and cars or, as Mr Sam Tan pointed out, continue to pack fancy restaurants.

But what else is a mummy to do?

What comes naturally

In a crisis, it is only natural that people become more demanding, and the Government more protective.

And you can't blame the people.

Nobody thinks of self- improvement in a time of crisis, especially with many helping hands within reach.

To be sure, it is a happy dilemma. Many of the governments in trouble today would love to be in the Singapore Government's shoes.

But it is also a potentially tricky situation to be in.

For can you afford to give less to a people who have come to expect everything?

You could try tough love, as Mr Tan pointed out. Be a tough dad who lets his kid fall off the bicycle.

That analogy, however, cannot be applied to the political sphere.

Dads and sons cannot be compared to governments and electorates, because sons can't vote dads out.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

Read also:
» Be careful of 'false sense of security'