If Singapore were a person, I would objectively say that Singapore is someone who is rather financially savvy. Instead of spending impulsively on frivolous wants and racking up huge debts, Singapore has long been fiscally prudent, accumulating budget surpluses for most years. Don’t just take my word for it. Singapore has the highest possible AAA credit rating (Aaa rating for Moody’s) from international agencies like Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, and Rating and Investment Information (R&I). This financial prudence is even written into our constitution, which requires Singapore to maintain a balanced budget over a typical five-year government term. For the past few electoral cycles, the Singapore government has maintained budget surpluses which grants it the ability to roll out bigger budgets in subsequent years. Think of it as an emergency fund of sorts but on the national level. Thankfully there was no pressing need to use this ’emergency fund’ until recently....