Survey: Income Disparity in SG Worst Among Developed Countries

Leongsam said:

Market forces would be distorted if there was no supply of cheap labour from abroad. That's what happened in the early 80s and Singapore ended up in an almighty recession as companies were crippled by the high cost of all levels of staff because of the shortage of supply.

Now that there is an abundant supply of labour, hiring costs are far more reasonable and in line with productivity levels.

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rubbish,we can always test how much supply and demand can bear......by increasing wages to a certain minimum level,we can see the optimum wage a market can bear before unemployment reaches a diminishing return.wages are not in line with productivity levels since the 1970s....most of the excess profits from the divergence between productivity and wages has been siphoned off by the finance sector.companies have increased profit margins and capitalisation exponentially and increased dividends and compensations drastically but wages and purchasing power have remained stagnant.

we have become far more productive but our incomes hasnt grown....if we are to earn in line with our productivity levels since the 1970s,our incomes would be more than twice what it is today.

frenchbriefs said:

we have become far more productive but our incomes hasnt grown....if we are to earn in line with our productivity levels since the 1970s,our incomes would be more than twice what it is today.

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Singapore does not operate in isolation. The wage levels and the abilities of the rest of the world need to be taken into consideration. If Singaporeans want to earn 5 times more than their neighbours in similar jobs, they have to be 5 times more productive which is not the case.

Leongsam said:

Singapore does not operate in isolation. The wage levels and the abilities of the rest of the world need to be taken into consideration. If Singaporeans want to earn 5 times more than their neighbours in similar jobs, they have to be 5 times more productive which is not the case.

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our gdp per cap is insanely high,so yeah our productivity levels are way off the charts....we expect to be paid according to our gross national product,but we arent,our wages are nowhere even close to other first world countries with lower gdp per cap......the wages we are making are a joke,people in other first world countries would not even get out of bed and go to work if they are earning less than $20 an hour(a caucasian once told me that in a video game)
so where is all the money going?whats the point of having the highest gdp in the world when none of the wealth is going to the people?is singapore gdp per cap the same as malaysia?

the only reason these third world scum are willing to accept a depressed wage in a first world country because its still way better than what they can dream of getting back in their shitholes.....but are we to suffer because of these cockroaches?

frenchbriefs said:

our gdp per cap is insanely high,so yeah our productivity levels are way off the charts....we expect to be paid according to our gross national product,but we arent,our wages are nowhere even close to other first world countries with lower gdp per cap......the wages we are making are a joke,people in other first world countries would not even get out of bed and go to work if they are earning less than $20 an hour(a caucasian once told me that in a video game)
so where is all the money going?whats the point of having the highest gdp in the world when none of the wealth is going to the people?is singapore gdp per cap the same as malaysia?

the only reason these third world scum are willing to accept a depressed wage in a first world country because its still way better than what they can dream of getting back in their shitholes.....but are we to suffer because of these cockroaches?

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The Singapore government runs a very prudent budget. They do not believe in subsidising those who cannot earn their keep. Instead, the money is spent on infrastructure development, defense, education and health.

In welfare states, billions are spent annually giving away free money to the undeserving. In the meantime, infrastructure development is non existent. That's exactly what is happening in NZ. The largest city, Auckland, has been waiting for 3 decades for a decent MRT system. There is little hope that it will happen any time soon. In the meantime, Singapore has gone from zero to a fully integrated rail network that Kiwis can only dream about.

yeah i know right?strip away billions from the welfare of the masses so they can spend it lavishly on themselves......without having to spend 20% to 40% of our gdp on welfare and healthcare and retirement etc,the government now has tens of billions extra to subsidise their army of jiak liao bees and lackeys that permeate the bureaucracy...they say one of the biggest burdens of a country is the giant sinkhole of bureaucracy.....if i was the chancellor and chief of treasury of this country....i would gladly sack the whole lot of them and streamline the government......the amount of endless ministries and ministers that doesnt seem to do anything or even look like they know what they are doing.....also cut the fat off the military,i can gaurantee u half the amount the SAF spends is probably redundant and goes towards the paychecks of those worthless officers.

Leongsam said:

The Singapore government runs a very prudent budget. They do not believe in subsidising those who cannot earn their keep. Instead, the money is spent on infrastructure development, defense, education and health.

In welfare states, billions are spent annually giving away free money to the undeserving. In the meantime, infrastructure development is non existent. That's exactly what is happening in NZ. The largest city, Auckland, has been waiting for 3 decades for a decent MRT system. There is little hope that it will happen any time soon. In the meantime, Singapore has gone from zero to a fully integrated rail network that Kiwis can only dream about.

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frenchbriefs said:

yeah i know right?strip away billions from the welfare of the masses so they can spend it lavishly on themselves......without having to spend 20% to 40% of our gdp on welfare and healthcare and retirement etc,the government now has tens of billions extra to subsidise their army of jiak liao bees and lackeys that permeate the bureaucracy...they say one of the biggest burdens of a country is the giant sinkhole of bureaucracy.....if i was the chancellor and chief of treasury of this country....i would gladly sack the whole lot of them and streamline the government......the amount of endless ministries and ministers that doesnt seem to do anything or even look like they know what they are doing.....also cut the fat off the military,i can gaurantee u half the amount the SAF spends is probably redundant and goes towards the paychecks of those worthless officers.

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The Singapore government runs an extremely efficient outfit. Your failure to understand the complexities of running a country is your problem not theirs.

Leongsam said:

The Singapore government runs an extremely efficient outfit. Your failure to understand the complexities of running a country is your problem not theirs.

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rubbish,who says i dont understand the complexities of running a country?i understand it better than you understand the seatless bike ride.....theres no problem big or small i cannot solve,iv learned it from years of observation and living in singapore,just increase prices,announce price hikes and raise gst and problem solved....goddam i should be prime minister,im the best man for the job.

Leongsam said:

Market forces would be distorted if there was no supply of cheap labour from abroad. That's what happened in the early 80s and Singapore ended up in an almighty recession as companies were crippled by the high cost of all levels of staff because of the shortage of supply.

Now that there is an abundant supply of labour, hiring costs are far more reasonable and in line with productivity levels.

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Your mentioning of the recession in 1985 brought back fond memories. It was a time where blocks of JTC flatted factories were empty. However, was that recession caused by high wages. I beg to defer. It was due more to external factors. The slump in oil price, shipping and electronic goods; all key contributors to our economy. Furthermore, the recession was not confine to Singapore.

It is true that wages was rising very fast from 80 to 84. But I don't recall facing the kind of inflation I am facing now (despite the abundance supply of cheap labour). What is driving cost up now? Everyone knows - it is rental and property price.

Back then, wages increases but so were CPF contributions. It is to ensure that the money is locked in to prevent run away inflation. However, they realized that at the end, they still need to return the CPF. So this indirect way of locking the money from foreign investments in the country is no good for them because the money belongs to the people. So they changed. Instead, they now use property prices and rental to lock in the money and with their GIC controlling most of the properties, the money is theirs. The difference between the past and present is that wages increased back then so inflation is not that badly felt. But now, wages stagnated while inflation continues to rise. The exact reason why the lower incomes are facing the double whammy.

So cut the crap of losing competitiveness if wages are increased. Just lower the cost of property and rental and wages can be increased. No, they can't do it anymore even if they wish to be kind to the people again. All because most of the so-called assets and reserves they boasted of are linked to the value of property price. If that goes, so will be the reserves.

Leongsam said:

The Singapore government runs an extremely efficient outfit. Your failure to understand the complexities of running a country is your problem not theirs.

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Absolutely wrong. The problem is theirs when the misunderstood complexities results in the wrong vote.

The air getting too thin for u way up there? Come down and smell the stink at sea level.

Leongsam said:

The Singapore government runs an extremely efficient outfit. Your failure to understand the complexities of running a country is your problem not theirs.

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God loves you. God only wants the best for you. Don't question Him. You are too stupid to understand him..yet God loves you. You see, these rich people, they may be fucking rich but they are not happy. Why, because God makes them so. You are dirt poor, but you live a long life. Long life is happiness! When you are 90 and collecting cardboards...remember..God loves you! Remember this and you will be happy!!

God will not blame your stupidity to understand the complexities of running God's magnificent kingdom. It's your stupidity, it's your problem...but no matter..God LOVES you!!!

Income disparity/inequality is ok. The problem is income inequity.

Didn't some prominent Familee member once publicly claim that the Gini coefficient is a bunch of poppycock? That's the end of the matter then.

Anyone read the GDP report where our coefficient is only half of Hong Kong? This means foreign workers are still useless. And we have been sold a lie

laksaboy said:

Didn't some prominent Familee member once publicly claim that the Gini coefficient is a bunch of poppycock? That's the end of the matter then.

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That family is absolutely right. GINI coefficients are one of the most stupid measurements on the face of this earth and have no place in a capitalist society. The guy who came up with the measurement is obviously a Marxist.

you'll be surprised, its was an italian fascist who invented it. Corrado Gini

Gini was a proponent of organicism and saw nations as organic in nature.[1] Gini shared the view held by Oswald Spengler that populations go through a cycle of birth, growth, and decay.[1] Gini claimed that nations at a primitive level have a high birth rate, but, as they evolve, the upper classes birth rate drops while the lower class birth rate, while higher, will inevitably deplete as their stronger members emigrate, die in war, or enter into the upper classes.[1] If a nation continues on this path without resistance, Gini claimed the nation would enter a final decadent stage where the nation would degenerate as noted by decreasing birth rate, decreasing cultural output, and the lack of imperial conquest.[2] At this point, the decadent nation with its aging population can be overrun by a more youthful and vigorous nation.[2] Gini's organicist theories of nations and natality are believed to have influenced policies of Italian Fascism.[1]

Leongsam said:

That family is absolutely right. GINI coefficients are one of the most stupid measurements on the face of this earth and have no place in a capitalist society. The guy who came up with the measurement is obviously a Marxist.

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To be fair one would have to compare Singapore with major cities rather than whole countries. However, Singapore as a country needs social cohesion and our winner-takes-all mentality will cause huge problems.

Income disparity is high, so?

Rich buy condo, poor buy HDB. No relations

Rich buy car, poor ride public transport. No relation

Rich dine in restaurants, poor dine at Hawker centres. No relation

Rich buy luxury goods, poor buy from pasar malam. No relation

Because rich requires niche and unique services, creates a specific industry catering to the rich. Poor pple take up those jobs - Positive relation

So income getting wider, doesn't affect U.