The average monthly earnings in Singapore in the first quarter of 2008 is $4,316. In the USA and a few other countries, the minimum wage is about one-third of the average wage. If this concept is applied in Singapore, our minimum wage should be $1,430 a month.
In Korea, the minimum wage is 27% of the national average. In France, it is 66%. In Taiwan, it is 34%. In Singapore, our low income workers earn about $750 a month. This represents 17% of the national average, and is much lower than Korea.
My friend told me that three jounalist from Taiwan visited Singapore to see how the poor live. He brought them to visit some rental flats. The flats were dark as the occupants did not want to spend money on electricity and do not watch television. The journalists said, "The poor in Singapore are poorer than the poor in Taiwan. In Taiwan, the poor can afford to watch television".
over the past 8 years, the rich has gotten richer and poor much poorer. wealth distribution is now so much more skewed than any point in our history.
ReplyDeletethe austrian economic school attribute this to the monetary policies of central banks worldwide (eg greenspan was nicknamed the anti-robinhood)
the basic argument is that the monetary expansion via credit expansion causes a economic boom-time.
and guess who has the first access to credit?. the rich. but the wealth created never trickles down to the poor. why? because when wealth does start to tickle down, the bust-time has arrived.
add to the above, the gahmen's philosophy of higher consumption tax and lower income tax.
before the 1930s great depression, income distribution was also highly skewed. but the depression "compressed" the wealth distribution ie "leveling the playing field".
some austrian economists believe the conditions for another great depression is here. i like to view recessions/depressions as a cleansing process.
I think they include billionaire bankers, ministers, high networth people etc earnings to get the monthly average of $4316. But only 30% of people (>$20K pa or $1700 pm) in S'pore paid income tax. So the income gap must be very wide to have a high average of $4316. I heard the Gini coefficient (income gap measure)in S'pore is worse than some 3rd world countries. Isn't this alarming for a small nation?
ReplyDeleteA China national who work in coffee shop is paid S$800 with free lodge plus 2 free meals daily. She work 12 hours daily with 2 days off per month.
ReplyDeleteHow she got her job in Singapore? She paid Chinese Yen FOURTH THOUSAND (equal to 40 to 20 months of monthly income in PRC) to her employment agency in PRC in advance!! She will work long working hour every working day for two years. She can not speak English and Malay and Chinese dialect ! She is NOT happy. I told her Singapore uncle and ant earn the same amount like her and has to support family !
? BIG QUESTION
Why can't coffee shop change their operation to self-service and lower coffee price and no need foreign worker to serve?