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Singapore, do you not know you're one of the poorest?

Muthukali

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
An analysis of the UBS study (Part 1): Singapore has the lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among the Asian Tigers (revisited)

January 1st, 2011 | Author: Your Correspondent

The worldwide study conducted and released by UBS lately, titled “Price and Earnings 2009″ has some unflattering results for Singapore. (download the study here)

While our economy has the highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Asia at $49,288 according to a World Bank report (source: Wikipedia), our people do not enjoy a quality of life which commensurate with it.

Though we are technically a developed first world country, some economic indictators as shown by the UBS study suggested that Singaporeans are not that better off than those in Third World countries.



Low wages

Singapore has a GDP (PPP) per capita higher than Switzerland, but our wages are way below the Swiss.

The UBS study found that employees in Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and New York have the highest gross earnings. With its extremely high gross wages and comparatively low tax rates, Switzerland is a very employee-friendly country.

The net wages used have been deducted for taxes and social security.

Zurich and Geneva have wage indices (gross) of 119.8 and 107.5 respectively. In contrast, Singapore has a wage index of only 31.3, comparable with Moscow (30.9), Tallinn (28.7) and Johannesburg (26.7).

In the Asia-Pacific region, it is exceeded by Tokyo (83.0), Sydney (74.1), Auckland (44.1), Hong Kong (42.3), Taipei (35.5) and Seoul (32.3)



Low domestic purchasing power

Where does an average income buy the most products and services? Wages alone do not determine the standard of living in a particular city or country.

A better way to measure prosperity is to divide the average annual salary by the total price of a selected basket of goods and services (as used in the UBS study). This tells us how much purchasing power local wages.

Again, Zurich (106.9), Sydney (95.9) and Luxembourg (95.4) topped the list – its citizens have the highest domestic purchasing power.

Singaporeans have a low purchasing power of only 39.9, comparable to Kuala Lumpur (39.5), Warsaw (34.0) and Bogota (33.7).

Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region which are ahead of us are Tokyo (82.2), Auckland (68.9), Taipei (58.9), Hong Kong (58.1) and Seoul (57.4).

In other words, though the cost of living is higher in Tokyo, the average Japanese has a domestic purchasing power more than twice that of an average Singaporean.

Though Malaysia is still a developing country and has a GDP (PPP) per capita of only $14,215, less than 3 times of ours, the ordinary Malaysian citizen has about the same domestic purchasing power as the Singaporean.


Low relative purchasing power of wages

This is calculated in the UBS study by using a specific, highly uniform product that is available everywhere in the same quality, and then calculate how long an employee has to work to afford it in each city.

For the purpose of this article, the iPod nano (with 8 GB of storage) is used.

An average wage earner is Zurich and New York can buy a nano from an Apple store after nine hours of work. A Singapore worker will have to work three times longer after 27.5 hours.

The figures for selected Asia-Pacific cities are as follows: Sydney (9.5hrs), Tokyo (12hrs), Auckland (16hrs), Hong Kong (19hrs), Seoul (22hrs) and Taipei (23.5hrs). Again we came in last among the 4 Asian Tigers.


Long working hours

People work an average of 1,902 hours per year in the surveyed cities, but they work much longer in Asian and Middle Eastern cities, averaging 2,119 and 2,063 per year respectively.

European cities had the lowest working hours per year. A global comparison showed the people in Lyon and Paris spend the least amount of time at work: 1,582 and 1,594 hours respectively.

Singaporeans spent on average 2,088 hours at work per year with 11 days of vacation.

This is less than Hong Kong (2,295) and Seoul (2,312), but more than Tokyo (1,997), Taipei (2,074), Sydney (1,747) and Auckland (1,884).

Singaporeans also took the least number of holidays after Hong Kongers (10 days/year).


High cost of living

Singapore was ranked the second most expensive place to live in after Tokyo, surpassing Hong Kong for the first time.

Let us compare the food prices in Singapore and other developed countries since food is a basic necessity.

In the UBS study, a basket of 39 food items is put together and weighted mainly according to Western European consumption habits. The average worldwide cost of the basket is USD385.

In Asia, Tokyo topped the list with an index of 124.7, followed by Hong Kong (96.5), Singapore (89.4), Seoul (89.0), Taipei (67.9) and Sydney (66.3)


Conclusion

The high cost of living coupled with low wages and domestic purchasing power condemns the average Singapore worker to an ignonimous, monotonus and stressful working life.

Singapore workers have to work harder to earn the same amount of money and save for a longer period to purchase the same product.

In 1991, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong promised Singaporeans that we will be able to achieve the “Swiss standard of living” within a decade. Ten years later, we have a living standard which is closer to Russia than Switzerland.

Like Singapore, the Russians has a low wage and domestic purchasing power and Russia, especially the city of Moscow, has one of the highest cost of living in the world.

In the next part of this article, we shall examine the uncanny similiarities between life in Singapore and Russia after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.



Also see: http://kentridgecommon.com/?p=10902

NUS has also published the same opinion based on the UBS findings.



Also please note: our income gap, as measured by the Gini Coefficient, is the highest among the twenty most developed economies, comparable with the Philipines, Nigeria and Nicaragua. (source: wikipedia)



So pathetic Singapore!
 
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Papsmearer

Alfrescian (InfP) - Comp
Generous Asset
Wow, this is a very teling article. many people already know this is what is going on here, but this UBS study encapsulates it with facts and figures. I note that the PAP has not gone on the offensive to shoot it down. I guess they cannot defend againstthe truth?
 

batman1

Alfrescian
Loyal
Someone from MIW ,Wooden Goh,keep bluffing and misleading the sinkees that we have "attained "the Swiss standard of living, that's why his nose is becoming longer!What is his motivations for bluffing the sinkees ???
 

Char_Azn

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Does anyone here besides me actually know basic math?

According to the report, the amount of time SG needs to work to buy an Ipod is 27.5hrs. I can prove this is wrong with some simple math

http://www.ubs.com/1/ShowMedia/wealthmanagement/wealth_management_research/prices_earnings?contentId=170298&name=PreiseLoehne_2009_e.pdf

SG median income = $2500
SG median income by hour(base on 20 working days * 8 hrs) = 2500 / 160 = 15.625
Cost of Ipod Nano(8gb) = $228
Number of hours locals need to work to purchase an Ipod = 228 / 15.625 = 14.592
Number of hours locals need to work to purchase an Ipod(with CPF factored in) = 228 / (15.625 * 0.8) = 18.24

Amount of time needed to buy a Big Mac(UBS Report) = 36min
Base on my above calculations(the one with CPF), locals median wage per min = 0.20833
Amount of hours needed to buy 1 Big Mac = $4.60 / 0.20833 = 22min

Took me all of 2 min to find the report to be flawed
 

patrickv

Alfrescian
Loyal
Does anyone here besides me actually know basic math?

According to the report, the amount of time SG needs to work to buy an Ipod is 27.5hrs. I can prove this is wrong with some simple math

_e.pdf[/URL]

Cost of Ipod Nano(8gb) = $228
Number of hours locals need to work to purchase an Ipod = 228 / 15.625 = 14.592
Number of hours locals need to work to purchase an Ipod(with CPF factored in) = 228 / (15.625 * 0.8) = 18.24

Amount of time needed to buy a Big Mac(UBS Report) = 36min
Base on my above calculations(the one with CPF), locals median wage per min = 0.20833
Amount of hours needed to buy 1 Big Mac = $4.60 / 0.20833 = 22min

Took me all of 2 min to find the report to be flawed

CB pap dog,

every negative comment about pap u will say it is flaw. fuck u. u r indeed a good dog.

what makes u think the comparison is flaw? if the calculation basis is consistent throughout all the countries tabulated, then the comparison can stand. if the report uses the same formula eg. earnings per month/no. of hours work for all the countries, then why is is flaw? it is FLAW becos the report show that PAP is crap is it?

fuck u pap dog.:oIo::oIo:
 

Char_Azn

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
U're assuming it's consistent throughout all countries. I'm not. I just showed U using simple mathematics the report is flawed. So the likelihood of others being flawed is there. Whether or not they are adjusted down or up no one can tell. And also please read the report properly, they are using Western consumer standards. How many self respecting local eat sandwich more often then they eat chicken rice
 
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patrickv

Alfrescian
Loyal
U're assuming it's consistent throughout all countries. I'm not. I just showed U using simple mathematics the report is flawed. So the likelihood of others being flawed is there. Whether or not they are adjusted down or up no one can tell. And also please read the report properly, they are using Western consumer standards. How many self respecting local eat sandwich more often then they eat chicken rice

pap dog kong lancheow wei. kena caught trying to smoke now say u ASSUME the basis of calculation is not consistent. fuck u lah. :oIo::oIo:
 

drifter

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
An analysis of the UBS study (Part 1): Singapore has the lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among the Asian Tigers (revisited)

January 1st, 2011 | Author: Your Correspondent

The worldwide study conducted and released by UBS lately, titled “Price and Earnings 2009″ has some unflattering results for Singapore. (download the study here)

While our economy has the highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Asia at $49,288 according to a World Bank report (source: Wikipedia), our people do not enjoy a quality of life which commensurate with it.

Though we are technically a developed first world country, some economic indictators as shown by the UBS study suggested that Singaporeans are not that better off than those in Third World countries.



Low wages

Singapore has a GDP (PPP) per capita higher than Switzerland, but our wages are way below the Swiss.

The UBS study found that employees in Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and New York have the highest gross earnings. With its extremely high gross wages and comparatively low tax rates, Switzerland is a very employee-friendly country.

The net wages used have been deducted for taxes and social security.

Zurich and Geneva have wage indices (gross) of 119.8 and 107.5 respectively. In contrast, Singapore has a wage index of only 31.3, comparable with Moscow (30.9), Tallinn (28.7) and Johannesburg (26.7).

In the Asia-Pacific region, it is exceeded by Tokyo (83.0), Sydney (74.1), Auckland (44.1), Hong Kong (42.3), Taipei (35.5) and Seoul (32.3)



Low domestic purchasing power

Where does an average income buy the most products and services? Wages alone do not determine the standard of living in a particular city or country.

A better way to measure prosperity is to divide the average annual salary by the total price of a selected basket of goods and services (as used in the UBS study). This tells us how much purchasing power local wages.

Again, Zurich (106.9), Sydney (95.9) and Luxembourg (95.4) topped the list – its citizens have the highest domestic purchasing power.

Singaporeans have a low purchasing power of only 39.9, comparable to Kuala Lumpur (39.5), Warsaw (34.0) and Bogota (33.7).

Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region which are ahead of us are Tokyo (82.2), Auckland (68.9), Taipei (58.9), Hong Kong (58.1) and Seoul (57.4).

In other words, though the cost of living is higher in Tokyo, the average Japanese has a domestic purchasing power more than twice that of an average Singaporean.

Though Malaysia is still a developing country and has a GDP (PPP) per capita of only $14,215, less than 3 times of ours, the ordinary Malaysian citizen has about the same domestic purchasing power as the Singaporean.


Low relative purchasing power of wages

This is calculated in the UBS study by using a specific, highly uniform product that is available everywhere in the same quality, and then calculate how long an employee has to work to afford it in each city.

For the purpose of this article, the iPod nano (with 8 GB of storage) is used.

An average wage earner is Zurich and New York can buy a nano from an Apple store after nine hours of work. A Singapore worker will have to work three times longer after 27.5 hours.

The figures for selected Asia-Pacific cities are as follows: Sydney (9.5hrs), Tokyo (12hrs), Auckland (16hrs), Hong Kong (19hrs), Seoul (22hrs) and Taipei (23.5hrs). Again we came in last among the 4 Asian Tigers.


Long working hours

People work an average of 1,902 hours per year in the surveyed cities, but they work much longer in Asian and Middle Eastern cities, averaging 2,119 and 2,063 per year respectively.

European cities had the lowest working hours per year. A global comparison showed the people in Lyon and Paris spend the least amount of time at work: 1,582 and 1,594 hours respectively.

Singaporeans spent on average 2,088 hours at work per year with 11 days of vacation.

This is less than Hong Kong (2,295) and Seoul (2,312), but more than Tokyo (1,997), Taipei (2,074), Sydney (1,747) and Auckland (1,884).

Singaporeans also took the least number of holidays after Hong Kongers (10 days/year).


High cost of living

Singapore was ranked the second most expensive place to live in after Tokyo, surpassing Hong Kong for the first time.

Let us compare the food prices in Singapore and other developed countries since food is a basic necessity.

In the UBS study, a basket of 39 food items is put together and weighted mainly according to Western European consumption habits. The average worldwide cost of the basket is USD385.

In Asia, Tokyo topped the list with an index of 124.7, followed by Hong Kong (96.5), Singapore (89.4), Seoul (89.0), Taipei (67.9) and Sydney (66.3)


Conclusion

The high cost of living coupled with low wages and domestic purchasing power condemns the average Singapore worker to an ignonimous, monotonus and stressful working life.

Singapore workers have to work harder to earn the same amount of money and save for a longer period to purchase the same product.

In 1991, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong promised Singaporeans that we will be able to achieve the “Swiss standard of living” within a decade. Ten years later, we have a living standard which is closer to Russia than Switzerland.

Like Singapore, the Russians has a low wage and domestic purchasing power and Russia, especially the city of Moscow, has one of the highest cost of living in the world.

In the next part of this article, we shall examine the uncanny similiarities between life in Singapore and Russia after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.



Also see: http://kentridgecommon.com/?p=10902

NUS has also published the same opinion based on the UBS findings.



Also please note: our income gap, as measured by the Gini Coefficient, is the highest among the twenty most developed economies, comparable with the Philipines, Nigeria and Nicaragua. (source: wikipedia)



So pathetic Singapore!

dey ...teach Char_Azn some maths leh ...:wink:
 

sense

Alfrescian
Loyal
An analysis of the UBS study (Part 1): Singapore has the lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among the Asian Tigers (revisited)

January 1st, 2011 | Author: Your Correspondent

The worldwide study conducted and released by UBS lately, titled “Price and Earnings 2009″ has some unflattering results for Singapore. (download the study here)
:
:
:

The above article is full of loopholes and it's authenticity is highly in doubt.

So, how many people are gullible enough to be duped in this make believe report? Apparently, quite a few: http://is.qd/H1JmNZ, sad.

Oppositions who blindly use this piece of info simply show the world that it would take them a very very long time to make it to the A-team.

imgname--how_do_you_spell_credibility_its_not_beng---50226711--images--istock_5504476.jpg
 
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patrickv

Alfrescian
Loyal
pap dogs only endorses pap approved studies/surveys/audits. nothing new. charlatan dog is the no.1 defender of pap policies here.
 

patrickv

Alfrescian
Loyal
Please point out any part of my calculations that is flawed. I'll be glad to redo them

Dumb pap dog,

the simple fact that u ASSUME they use different formulas to calculate for different countries is already FLAWED :oIo: u think other people so free to create a study just to whack singapore is it?

pap dog u understand or not? of course this logic is very difficult for a pap dog like u to accept. because pap dog rule no. 1 is your pap masters is always right and whiter than white.

fuck u :oIo::oIo:
 

Char_Azn

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Please point out the part where I say they are whacking SG. I only pointed out the fact that their calculations are flawed. I don't mind being corrected if someone thinks I calculated wrongly and that UBS is right. Just show me how I'm wrong
 
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patrickv

Alfrescian
Loyal
Please point out the part where I say they are whacking SG. I only pointed out the fact that their calculations are flawed. I don't mind being corrected if someone things I calculated wrongly and that UBS is right. Just show me how I'm wrong

CB pap dog,

UBS used the same set of formulas and is consistant across their calculations for all countries. they do not specifically calculate to make any country look bad or good. spore is not being targetted. why u CB pap dog keep insisting it is flawed? becos it make your pap masters look bad is it. :oIo::oIo:

if UBS based on the wages u need earn in X hours to purchase the ipod in your country, what is so flaw about that? fuck u. once again u have proven to be nothing except a pap mouthpiece here. :oIo::oIo:
 

youtalkcock

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
Someone from MIW ,Wooden Goh,keep bluffing and misleading the sinkees that we have "attained "the Swiss standard of living, that's why his nose is becoming longer!What is his motivations for bluffing the sinkees ???

Swiss standard of living applies only to MIWs and top civil serpents. :biggrin:
 

bryanlim1972

Alfrescian
Loyal
Please point out any part of my calculations that is flawed. I'll be glad to redo them

your calculations are based on the cost of the ipod NANO.

ipods also include ipod touch 32gb.

in true blue PAP fashion, you have selected data points beneficial to your arguments.

your arrogance is your downfall. i'll see you in hell.
 

GoldenDragon

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Someone from MIW ,Wooden Goh,keep bluffing and misleading the sinkees that we have "attained "the Swiss standard of living, that's why his nose is becoming longer!What is his motivations for bluffing the sinkees ???

Swiss standard of living, to GCT, simply means S'poreans are able to afford Swiss chocolates and low end watches.
 

SIFU

Alfrescian
Loyal
your calculations are based on the cost of the ipod NANO.

ipods also include ipod touch 32gb.

in true blue PAP fashion, you have selected data points beneficial to your arguments.

your arrogance is your downfall. i'll see you in hell.

what else can u expect from this pap dog. old dog dunno new tricks.
 

unicando

Alfrescian
Loyal
Please point out any part of my calculations that is flawed. I'll be glad to redo them

hmm...if i recalled correctly for example a swiss worker can work 12hr on monday he can then work just 4hr the next day if he want as long as he clock the require hrs...a sg worker normally work more than 8hr per day many often have to work late to earn overtime (without overtime they might not hit the median salary target)... also most low & median paying jobs normally are 6 days and not 5 days per week...
 
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