It’s that time of the year again when the nation is gearing up for the tabling of the 2015 national Budget by prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

This is when issues about the economy and finances start cropping up taking centre stage in the people’s minds. And of course the number one topic has to be cost of living.

And why wouldn’t it be, right? The rising cost of living in Malaysia affects every person in the country who is, well, living.

Without a doubt, every year, things get more expensive and we have to continue to spend more just to maintain a certain standard or quality of living that is considered decent.

It's different for different people. Some are happy just being able to survive and put food on the table for themselves and their family while others want a little bit more of an enhanced lifestyle.

How ever you define your standard of living, one thing is constant - as the years go by, you need more and more financially to be able to maintain it, what more to improve.

It is only natural for human beings to expect that to improve your financial situation, you will most probably have to put in more effort.

We are taught that if we put in effort, be it more thought or even more physical work, we will reap the benefits. And for the most parts, this is true.

If we work harder at our jobs, we expect to be recognised and rewarded for it. If we work hard and pursue and education, we also expect there to be a reward for it.

So, I cannot fathom the reasoning of elected leaders who go on and on about how we need to appreciate the fact that the government of the day is so generous in giving handouts.

They go on and on about how cash handouts like the ever increasing BR1M money giveaway and subsidies for petrol, cooking oil, flour, etc, improves people's lives.

For example, the deputy finance minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan recently said that with all the handouts given, it should cover the living expenses of Malaysians for three months.

He also added that because of this, Malaysians basically just need to work for a living nine months in a year since the balance would already be covered.

Does that mean that the strategy here is to spoil the people so that they continue to expect handouts in order to live rather that to work themselves?

And, let me ask, where do these cash handouts actually come from? Did it appear from thin air or did someone somewhere actually have to work in order to generate it?

What will happen to the country's productivity if every single citizen develops an attitude where they can just work in a half past six way because they know that they will be taken care of?

Are we suppose to be thankful for the fact that we are not being pushed or encouraged to work harder to improve the quality of our lives?

Wouldn't it be better for the government of the day to ensure that as the cost of living starts to increase, that the income level start to move up as well?

Wouldn't it be better to channel towards more efforts to improve the worth of Malaysians as professional workers and entrepreneurs so we can indeed be a high income nation?

Sure, recent studies show the average monthly income rising from RM5,000 to RM5,900. But what if that average is pulled up by a minority earning exorbitant amounts each month?

The deputy finance minister also mentioned that the BR1M handouts will continue to increase next year. If this year, the amount was RM700, it will be increased to RM1,000 next year.

I wonder if they have ever heard of the saying, "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. But teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.".

But I guess people will like you more if you continue to give them fish rather than show them how to get that fish themselves because it would mean that they actually have to work to get it.