Singapore is a very rich country?


J

Jedi

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Jul 17, 2002
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Most of us know that Singapore's per capital income is one of the highest in the world.

Despite that, the income inequality gap is widening. Not all Singaporeans enjoy the fruits of the labour of the country's prosperity.

IMF has urged Singapore government to narrow its huge current account surplus by increasing more government spending.

http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/imf-urges-singapore-narrow-current-024500125.html

In other words, Singapore has lot of monies. :thumbsup:
 

Jedi said:
Most of us know that Singapore's per capital income is one of the highest in the world.

Despite that, the income inequality gap is widening. Not all Singaporeans enjoy the fruits of the labour of the country's prosperity.

IMF has urged Singapore government to narrow its huge current account surplus by increasing more government spending.

http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/imf-urges-singapore-narrow-current-024500125.html

In other words, Singapore has lot of monies. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

You see how many people start queuing up for A7 series on release date, you will know. ;p
 

You see how many people zip around town in Audis, Lambo, Ferraris etc and you would think there really is no poor in SG. If you live in an ivory tower.
 

The queue for toto is 100x longer :)
 

Kopi price going up, grocery prices going up, transport fare about to go up... only my salary is not going up
 

Only 5% are rich, the 95% want to become rich by queueing to buy toto :)
 

Yutaka Go said:
Only 5% are rich, the 95% want to become rich by queueing to buy toto :)
Click to expand...

Define 'Rich'...

Most of us have not know true hunger where you can't afford even the most basic of food... Most of us have a solid roof over our head, not something that leak or get blown off during bad weather... Alot of us go for at least one or two overseas holiday a year... Nearly all of us will be buying the latest iPhone, Android phone and/or Tablet/Camera/Lense when we want to...

Most of us will never be 'RICH' enough to buy sport car or landed property. But the majority of S'porean is well-off enough. :bsmilie:
 

Yep, in neighboring countries, overseas holiday is considered a luxury
 

In Singapore, there are many poor. They are less obvious cause they do not parade around or hold protests.

However the rich are more obvious because of conspicuous consumption. Just try counting the number of expensive limousines passing you within 5 minutes along Orchard Road. After a while you give up because there are too many.

Nothing against the rich. It is good to be rich. I think in Singapore, they are still generally well behaved.
Large numbers of rich foreigners are attracted to Singapore due to its safety and facilities.
 

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the issue is not that you cannot afford to buy an iphone. the issue is income inequality, income gap. sure you can go on holiday once a year, but you may have to save up for it and look for the most affordable deal. the rich go at the drop of a hat, a weekend in paris, a cruise on their luxury yatch.

the issue is you are taxed the same whether you earn $1000 a month or $100,000 a month. sure, the poor gets some GST rebate but they are made to pay for the roads, for the government ivory towers just like the rich. if you are poor, why should you contribute to government infrastructure? you should be getting financial aid instead.

the poor are just cheap labor for the rich who make you slave for every dollar. so wake up, while you have to save up for your dslr, the rich can buy the latest professional model the moment it comes out and junks it after using it for a few months. so do you still think you are rich ? Singapore is a very rich country, true but are you getting a piece of it ? like someone else posted, 5% are rich, the rest are by no means in the same category. of course you should be thankful you are not starving. but do not go under the illusion you are rich, unless you are in the 5%.

but my main point is to spare a thought for the many who are struggling to put food on the table. a nation is not rich until every ordinary citizen can have a decent standard of life. can have aspirations, dreams and yes, a dslr ;). the problem with being smug and self satisfied is that you forget about those who are left behind, because they are voiceless and invisible. thats why you only see the rich flaunting their wealth and forget there re still many poor people in Singapore.
 

BBTM said:
You see how many people start queuing up for A7 series on release date, you will know. ;p
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, you don't see how many people buying 2nd hand cameras from internet :bsmilie:

It should be more than the people in the queue for A7 :bsmilie:
 

Sion said:
Communism is the answer? :bsmilie:
Click to expand...

haha, stalin and mao never promised their cadres a dslr ... decent does not mean equal or same. communism has been tried and failed miserably because people will never share their power and prosperity equally with others. you always want more for yourself. if you put in more effort and get more, its fair. but if you work diligently and conscientiously and still cannot live decently, thats human exploitation. every human being deserves to live with dignity and not be exploited. leave it to the individual and it will not happen. but a good government has a chance, and Singapore has a chance to be a country where every one can live with dignity and not be exploited. but its not there yet.
 

"Now, if you dominate the people with violence, they will eventually fight back because they have nothing to lose. And that’s the key.
I go into the favelas and give them something to lose. Electricity, running water, school rooms for their kids. And for that taste of a better life, I own them."

From Fast Five.
 

i just mind my own business and focus on my own rat race

Nobody is blowing trumpets here, its an IMF report
 

davidnn99 said:
but my main point is to spare a thought for the many who are struggling to put food on the table. a nation is not rich until every ordinary citizen can have a decent standard of life. can have aspirations, dreams and yes, a dslr ;). the problem with being smug and self satisfied is that you forget about those who are left behind, because they are voiceless and invisible. thats why you only see the rich flaunting their wealth and forget there re still many poor people in Singapore.
Click to expand...


Every nation in this Earth have some citizen struggling to put food on their table.... from 3rd World to so call 1st World countries... yet not one ever called USA or European countries poor.... by your very standard of 'every citizen can have a decent standard of life'.... then no Nation is rich. Because I sure that there are a lot more homeless people in the streets of major US/Europe Cities than here....

The simple fact is there almost no nation on Earth has a truly 'equal' society... even so called Communist countries like N.Korea or Cuba... there is always a group of elite or group of people richer than you.

Majority of S'porean does have a well off life.... if only the majority of them would stop trying to keeping up with "The Joneses"... must have Car, must have the latest gadget, must have that branded LV Leather Handbag... then they'll know no way are they as 'poor' as they like to portray. And they'll also have a less stressful life with minimum Rat Race...

I have no doubt that there are family struggling in SG... or even poor homeless people around. The question is what you, yourself, have been doing to help... beside, expecting 'other' people (the rich in this case) or the Govt to help ??

As announced recently... Govt may be (who are we kidding :bsmilie: ) rising the GST higher to afford more social welfare for all our underprivileged S'poreans... are you one of those who, as the old saying goes... put the money where the mouth is... and either 'support' or at least take it as it comes.... or are you one of those that is complaining and grumbling, and expect only the 'others' to do it ??
 

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A good reading material would be 'Price of Inequality' by the Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz.
He argued that a better way to narrow the gap is a higher progressive income tax, rather than GST or VAT which hit everyone equally.
 

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