Nicole Seah Instagram – Imagine that your weekly groceries for the family have increased from $60 to $80. And put yourselves in the shoes of a person who is earning $3k a month, versus someone earning $15k a month. For those who live in excess, a GST increase may seem like a mere annoyance. For those who already struggle to put food on the table, such an increase can cause a family to make hard choices such as whether they can even afford a tray of eggs. There is a perfect storm of factors that we cannot control, such as the effects of demand outweighing supply of products, supply chain and manufacturing challenges, covid and the war in Ukraine. That said, we can control one factor domestically. The timing of a GST hike during this period of extraordinary inflation and its staggered rollout over the next few years might also contribute to unintended knock-on effects, as prices go up to absorb costs in anticipation of each hike. This means that many Singaporeans might feel this pinch get progressively worse, and that daily cup of kopi-o as a morning routine might turn into a luxury as time goes by. As we encounter more and more residents at the markets lamenting this point, we do our best to educate on the external factors and why public spending needs to be funded. But one cannot turn a blind eye to the struggles of many, and it begs the question of the timing of a hike for this season that Singaporeans are going through. Blk 16 Bedok South market n hawker centre