where did my money go?

as yet another bill came in my mail today, i suddenly pondered on why i'm always feeling so "poor"...

where has all my money gone??

for those who know me, other than my occasional/rare indulgence in consumer durables (which has since dwindled further - my last so called "luxury" purchase being a discontinued model of Canon G2 digital camera - which cost me $699 - some three years back) and an odd independent budget trip (where i stay in US$10 hotels) here and there around Asia, I hardly spend in a month on anything i can remotely call a "luxury"...

i don't eat in fancy restaurants, nor watch too many movies in the cinema... i keep my phone bills and internet bills lean, and drive a simple Suzuki Swift using unleaded 95 petrol (and not 98) and try to drive efficiently .. and i have a wardrobe i dread to look at, containing stuff i should long have disposed of or donated away.. (hahahaa..:p )..

i don't even buy too many books and CDs nowadays (which were some of my previous "little luxuries")..

yet when i read of "Ministers on Pensions".. and "High salaries of some civil servants" and worse of all, the fact that hardly anything of what i give in taxes every year (which to me is a pretty substantial sum) actually comes back to me (cos i don't fall into any of the "categories" of people who deserve to be "rewarded" with tax reliefs (i.e. married, 3 children, NS etc) nor goes to areas that i would wish to see supported... i somehow feel... (well... i don't know how to describe the feeling...)

but i did get S$400 recently from the Progress Package (yes.. clap clap...rejoice rejoice...).. yippee.. out of all the tax money i pay out.. yippee...

i sigh out loud.. :(

Updates:
- What a coincidence: there was an article in Today about "S'poreans are fed, up with progress!" by Mr Brown. :)

- for Econs students: pls work on essay assignment with article: "To what extent can the MRP theory explain the wage differentials shown in the article?" - occupational hazard.. a teacher cannot help but spot a learning opportunity when she sees one..:p..