Income distribution?
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Discontent will always exists, you are correct, but the level of discontent depends on the income gap. The wider the gap, the bigger the discontent, and there will come a threshold where the level of discontent is so high, that someone will be willing to do something about it, and you better hope that, that someone is not a revolutionary whom then will lead the poor to take down the rich.Originally posted by Gazelle:Discontentment will always exist regardless of how wide or narrow is the income gap. Singaporeans are well known for their kiasu attitute hence I am not surprise that they will be unhappy to see rich people snapping up million dollar apartments like buying grocery in supermarket.
I dont think the government is pro rich, they are just pro business and that is something they will continue to do because of the survival of Singapore for future generation.
If we were to compare the cost of living in Singapore, it will be better to compare it with cities such as Seoul, Toyko, HK, Dubai, Mumbai etc. In singapore, you still can have a bowl of fishball nooble in the city that cost only S$2.00. Can you find that in other big cities?
You can also tell me that's not possible, that PAP will ensure no one can revolt, but its PRECISELY becoz of that fear of the possibility of it happening, that they are controlling it so tightly now. Reminds me of V for Vendetta
I can also assure you that come GST rise, I Believe the $2 will become $2.50 soon. -
People talk about the pay gap within the country, but are completely oblivious to the income gap globally. Get real! In a globalised economy, you are competing with your counterparts all over the world. Those with specialized skills that are in demand will be paid better wages whilst those whose skills can be obtained from poorer economies will see their salaries slashed.
The pay gap will only widen with globalisation...that is true in London, it is true in New York and no reason why it should not be true in Singapore. If you want higher salaries, make sure your skills are in demand and that there are few people who possess that skill. -
Does that mean we should be resigned to that fate, and not do something about it?Originally posted by oxford mushroom:People talk about the pay gap within the country, but are completely oblivious to the income gap globally. Get real! In a globalised economy, you are competing with your counterparts all over the world. Those with specialized skills that are in demand will be paid better wages whilst those whose skills can be obtained from poorer economies will see their salaries slashed.
The pay gap will only widen with globalisation...that is true in London, it is true in New York and no reason why it should not be true in Singapore. If you want higher salaries, make sure your skills are in demand and that there are few people who possess that skill.
You are looking at things from a "self" angle, thus you believe (or you don't want to do anything about it) that things that are happening globally, we cannot change anything.
You are talking like that probably coz you are not the one suffering. There ARE people whom are caught in an unfortunate position, where they cannot keep up to the world.
Based on what you say, you don't care, and they can die for all you care. But what difference does that make you and an animal then? -
Dude, when was the last time you checked the property market in Singapore?Originally posted by Gazelle:a) Property speculation only started last year and it is concentrated in prime and downdown area close to the IR, not island wide.
g) A sudden crash is unlikely to hit singapore property market because majority of the buyers are people with high net worth and the boom is concentrated in the prime district or areas close to the IR, not island wide. If you are not in the market speculating, why should you worry about it. Furthermore recession is a cycle, no country in this world will be able to avoid it, you just have to be prepared and face it like a man.
Last time I checked, which was like yesterday, the property price in Singapore is now on the rise regardless of the area.
Go and talk to any real-estate agents in Singapore if you don't believe me. -
hi soulrage & walesa
looks like this gazelle is spouting nonsense again...who is this african animal anyway -
I think you have missed the point here. what we are talking is about property market booming not rising.Originally posted by ky13:Dude, when was the last time you checked the property market in Singapore?
Last time I checked, which was like yesterday, the property price in Singapore is now on the rise regardless of the area.
Go and talk to any real-estate agents in Singapore if you don't believe me. -
What the government can do is to prevent the poor from getting poorer and that is why the government has been encouraging and subsidizing Singaporeans to upgrade their skills inorder to move up the value chain.Originally posted by soul_rage:Discontent will always exists, you are correct, but the level of discontent depends on the income gap. The wider the gap, the bigger the discontent, and there will come a threshold where the level of discontent is so high, that someone will be willing to do something about it, and you better hope that, that someone is not a revolutionary whom then will lead the poor to take down the rich.
You can also tell me that's not possible, that PAP will ensure no one can revolt, but its PRECISELY becoz of that fear of the possibility of it happening, that they are controlling it so tightly now. Reminds me of V for Vendetta
I can also assure you that come GST rise, I Believe the $2 will become $2.50 soon.
I am not sure if there is any policy in this world that can actually prevent the rich from getting richer. Do you know of any that I dont know?
Instead of blaming our government, you should take some time to understand the effect of globalization, the supply from cheap labours in developing countries and effect of technology.
And what does GST has to do with the question I was asking you? -
I dont think someone living in Australia has got anything to do with this discussion. Would appreciate if you could start a thread to look into the income distribution between australiansOriginally posted by Coquitlam:hi soulrage & walesa
looks like this gazelle is spouting nonsense again...who is this african animal anyway -
I am not answering your question on the cost of living in Japan, etc, coz I firmly believe your behavior is like the govt, always taking selective countries that show them in the best light, and then telling everyone how good we are.Originally posted by Gazelle:What the government can do is to prevent the poor from getting poorer and that is why the government has been encouraging and subsidizing Singaporeans to upgrade their skills inorder to move up the value chain.
I am not sure if there is any policy in this world that can actually prevent the rich from getting richer. Do you know of any that I dont know?
Instead of blaming our government, you should take some time to understand the effect of globalization, the supply from cheap labours in developing countries and effect of technology.
And what does GST has to do with the question I was asking you?
Again I throw the statistics of us being only the 34th best standard of living country in the entire world. I note you have not answered anyone on this as well. With our cost of living, you would have thought that we could have done better.
And no, don't put words in my mouth, I did not say we should prevent rich from getting richer. And please, stop all the crap, that you know a lot of things. Globalization, I know, supply of cheap labour I know. As I said before, I am not far from what you earn, and so its wise not to assume I know nothing about globalisation
Let me ask you, you think Indians from India are cheaper than Singaporeans? Answer this first, then we talk.
Again, I have already mentioned, the govt can do more to help the poor, the rich we do not control, but its the govt's RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that the poor don't get left behind. -
a) I am sorry, I dont compare singapore to a country, I compare Singapore to cities. Am I being selective? I dont think so, I am just trying to avoid comparing an apple to an orange.Originally posted by soul_rage:I am not answering your question on the cost of living in Japan, etc, coz I firmly believe your behavior is like the govt, always taking selective countries that show them in the best light, and then telling everyone how good we are.
Again I throw the statistics of us being only the 34th best standard of living country in the entire world. I note you have not answered anyone on this as well. With our cost of living, you would have thought that we could have done better.
And no, don't put words in my mouth, I did not say we should prevent rich from getting richer. And please, stop all the crap, that you know a lot of things. Globalization, I know, supply of cheap labour I know.
Let me ask you, you think Indians from India are cheaper than Singaporeans? Answer this first, then we talk.
Again, I have already mentioned, the govt can do more to help the poor, the rich we do not control, but its the govt's RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that the poor don't get left behind.
b) Does income gap = standard of living? or are you trying to divert this discussion to something that is irrelevant?
c) You may claim you know about globalization, but I am not sure if you really understand globalization and its impact it is causing to lower skills workers, especially those in develop countries. And please it is not just about FT it is more than that.
d) So what do you think the government should do to ensure that the poor dont get left behind? -
a) You are comparing to cities that are more expensive than Singapore. Isn't that selective?Originally posted by Gazelle:a) I am sorry, I dont compare singapore to a country, I compare Singapore to cities. Am I being selective? I dont think so, I am just trying to avoid comparing an apple to an orange.
b) Does income gap = standard of living? or are you trying to divert this discussion to something that is irrelevant?
c) You may claim you know about globalization, but I am not sure if you really understand globalization and its impact it is causing to lower skills workers, especially those in develop countries. And please it is not just about FT it is more than that.
d) So what do you think the government should do to ensure that the poor dont get left behind?
b) Income gap does have impact on std of living. If the majority of your people are on the lower end of the income scale, and the cost of living is high, won't that cause to some extent a drop in std of living? And if many people are on the lower end, and only a few are ultra rich (even up to the 95 percentile, for eg, people are still earning miserable salary), then won't it cause a decline in the std of living?
c) Same lah, you look at yourself, and tell me if you think you know about globalization. A truly globalized person, someone who understands all the issues, and not just thinking he is the best in the world, will not openly insult others, and put other people down in this forum. Your behavior is very unbecoming of a 'globalized' person.
True enough, globalization doesn't just affect talents, but just tell me, you think Indians from India are cheaper than our local talent? Coz this is what our govt claims.
d) I have given my idea in another thread. Pls go and read if you are truly concerned with Singapore. Its in the consolidated thread. Thanks -
a) I am just comparing a global city like Singapore to other global cities in Asia. Is that being selective? Should I include other global cities in Europe? Or do you think it is fairer to compare cost of living in Singapore to cities in developing countries?Originally posted by soul_rage:a) You are comparing to cities that are more expensive than Singapore. Isn't that selective?
b) Income gap does have impact on std of living. If the majority of your people are on the lower end of the income scale, and the cost of living is high, won't that cause to some extent a drop in std of living? And if many people are on the lower end, and only a few are ultra rich (even up to the 95 percentile, for eg, people are still earning miserable salary), then won't it cause a decline in the std of living?
c) Same lah, you look at yourself, and tell me if you think you know about globalization. A truly globalized person, someone who understands all the issues, and not just thinking he is the best in the world, will not openly insult others, and put other people down in this forum. Your behavior is very unbecoming of a 'globalized' person.
True enough, globalization doesn't just affect talents, but just tell me, you think Indians from India are cheaper than our local talent? Coz this is what our govt claims.
d) I have given my idea in another thread. Pls go and read if you are truly concerned with Singapore. Its in the consolidated thread. Thanks
b) Are you describing Singapore or talking about country like Myanmar? Do you know that Singapore is a devloped country? If yes, why make such irrelevant comparison about if this and if that? Plus why is it that widening income gap has got to do with majority poor minority rich. Cant it be minority poor and rich and majority middle class?
c) I think you would have to tell me, which indian you are talking about, because one of the riches man in the world Lakshmi Mittal is an indian. Plus, what Singapore talent are you talking about? Those who are making big bucks in financial institution or cobbler at Chinatown? -
do you propose kill them? or you have other means?Originally posted by oxford mushroom:People talk about the pay gap within the country, but are completely oblivious to the income gap globally. Get real! In a globalised economy, you are competing with your counterparts all over the world. Those with specialized skills that are in demand will be paid better wages whilst those whose skills can be obtained from poorer economies will see their salaries slashed.
The pay gap will only widen with globalisation...that is true in London, it is true in New York and no reason why it should not be true in Singapore. If you want higher salaries, make sure your skills are in demand and that there are few people who possess that skill. -
a) Are we a developed or developing country? I thought LKY said we were a developing country and is now applying for 1st world status. And why is it not correct to make comparison across different spectrums. You think that all cities in developing countries will be poorer than Singapore, or std of living lower than Singapore? How about Shanghai, isn't the std of living also good over there? And you can get some streetside snacks for a low low price.Originally posted by Gazelle:a) I am just comparing a global city like Singapore to other global cities in Asia. Is that being selective? Should I include other global cities in Europe? Or do you think it is fairer to compare cost of living in Singapore to cities in developing countries?
b) Are you describing Singapore or talking about country like Myanmar? Do you know that Singapore is a devloped country? If yes, why make such irrelevant comparison about if this and if that? Plus why is it that widening income gap has got to do with majority poor minority rich. Cant it be minority poor and rich and majority middle class?
c) I think you would have to tell me, which indian you are talking about, because one of the riches man in the world Lakshmi Mittal is an indian. Plus, what Singapore talent are you talking about? Those who are making big bucks in financial institution or cobbler at Chinatown?
b) Hello, you are a person with a 'globalized' view, don't tell me you don't understand the 80/20 rule, then the middle class is also in the 80%?
c) sigh... now I know why you are such a sad person, when I read this, you don't seem to understand that FT is a term for anyone coming here to work on a highly-educated job, and that there are Singaporeans in Singapore that can perform this sort of jobs as well. It is pretty sad that you seemed to view only the financial institutions as the talents, and all other professions as rubbish. -
a) If you want to compare that way than why should singaporeans complain the widening income gap since their salary so much more than their counter part in china? plus, do you think that the cost of living in shanghai is actually lower than singapore, especially if you factor in the salary? And does shanghai or china have the same widening income gap problem? NO?Originally posted by soul_rage:a) Are we a developed or developing country? I thought LKY said we were a developing country and is now applying for 1st world status. And why is it not correct to make comparison across different spectrums. You think that all cities in developing countries will be poorer than Singapore, or std of living lower than Singapore? How about Shanghai, isn't the std of living also good over there? And you can get some streetside snacks for a low low price.
b) Hello, you are a person with a 'globalized' view, don't tell me you don't understand the 80/20 rule, then the middle class is also in the 80%?
c) sigh... now I know why you are such a sad person, when I read this, you don't seem to understand that FT is a term for anyone coming here to work on a highly-educated job, and that there are Singaporeans in Singapore that can perform this sort of jobs as well. It is pretty sad that you seemed to view only the financial institutions as the talents, and all other professions as rubbish.
b) Are we talking about income distribution or wealth distribution here? Would appreciate if you could teach me how you apply 80/20 to analyze income distribution of a country.
c) "Stop focusing on me and get back to the topic of discussion",
Contrary to what you are saying, you dont need to be highly educated to be a talent. For example, a singer, a musician, a dancer, an artist, a photographer, and a cook in the kitchen. Sorry to say this but I suspect that you dont really understand what you are saying. Is that the reason why you are twisting my word? Didnt I say that a cobbler is a talent? -
I can see what prompted you to make the decision to leave for a place devoid of such "african animals"...Originally posted by Coquitlam:hi soulrage & walesa
looks like this gazelle is spouting nonsense again...who is this african animal anyway
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a) *shrugs* you were the one that said can only compare with developed countries' cities. So what is your assumption then, that the developing countries' cities aren't comparable to us? I merely cited Shanghai, a DEVELOPING country's city, whose std of living may be higher than ours. So I am confused by you, what are you trying to say?Originally posted by Gazelle:a) If you want to compare that way than why should singaporeans complain the widening income gap since their salary so much more than their counter part in china? plus, do you think that the cost of living in shanghai is actually lower than singapore, especially if you factor in the salary? And does shanghai or china have the same widening income gap problem? NO?
b) Are we talking about income distribution or wealth distribution here? Would appreciate if you could teach me how you apply 80/20 to analyze income distribution of a country.
c) "Stop focusing on me and get back to the topic of discussion",
Contrary to what you are saying, you dont need to be highly educated to be a talent. For example, a singer, a musician, a dancer, an artist, a photographer, and a cook in the kitchen. Sorry to say this but I suspect that you dont really understand what you are saying. Is that the reason why you are twisting my word? Didnt I say that a cobbler is a talent?
Also you are so full of yourself, I suggest you better read up more about Shanghai before you enter into an argument with me, coz I have more background on Shanghai which from your limited words, I find you probably lack any info on it.
By the way, you were the one that used the bowl of noodles at $2 as a benchmark of cost of living. I am merely telling you, you can get snacks and food at a much cheaper price in Shanghai. And they do not necessarily earn lesser than us.
b) Why do I need to teach you? You are so full of yourself, you seemed to have so much self-confidence (arrogance), that you know everything. So I don't know what you want me to teach you. I ain't so full of myself as you
c) An FT according to our govt, is a talent with high educational background. That is what I feel the govt is looking for, or are you saying our govt is wrong?
I am just referring to FT based on the way the govt imports foreigners.
And of coz I am focusing on you, coz you are now a part of the topic on talent. It is Singaporeans like you that give us a bad name, coz on the contrary to what you say, you look down on many people, and you behave no better than an uncouth person. You go about insulting others, and making comments that belittle others.
YOU LOOK DOWN ON YOUR OWN FELLOW COUNTRYMEN, and this, I feel, is an unforgivable sin, something which no matter how highly educated you are, and how highly paid you are, shows a failure of being a person. oxford mushroom, from what I hear, is probably a foreigner, so it doesn't matter what he thinks.
But you, the way you speak, and you insult others leaving Singapore. Let me tell you, they are much better than you. You stay here pretending to be a Singaporean, and belittle everyone else. Your opinions show how myopic a world you live in. At least these overseas Singaporeans are still concerned about Singapore
Even me, when I speak to you in a nice manner previously, gets comments from you that are unkind and rude.
Others tell me not to bother with you, but I tend to like to see how you respond, coz behind that talk about how good you are, there exists a lack of knowledge in many areas. And you also lack compassion and heart. -
[quote]Originally posted by soul_rage:
a) *shrugs* you were the one that said can only compare with developed countries' cities. So what is your assumption then, that the developing countries' cities aren't comparable to us? I merely cited Shanghai, a DEVELOPING country's city, whose std of living may be higher than ours. So I am confused by you, what are you trying to say?
Also you are so full of yourself, I suggest you better read up more about Shanghai before you enter into an argument with me, coz I have more background on Shanghai which from your limited words, I find you probably lack any info on it.
By the way, you were the one that used the bowl of noodles at $2 as a benchmark of cost of living. I am merely telling you, you can get snacks and food at a much cheaper price in Shanghai. And they do not necessarily earn lesser than us.
In the first place, I wasnt comparing singapore to developed countries, I was comparing Singapore to other GLOBAL CITIES in ASIA. Do you know what is a global city?
"MAY" is meaningless word if you want to talk about facts, hence whatever background you claim you know about shanghai will not make your 'MAY' anymore credible.
Cost is relative to buying power hence considering the salary scale and standard of living in Singapore, I would say that a $2 bowl of noodle right in the heart of the city, is extremely affordable. And btw, before your forget, this $2 noodle is to rebutt your claim that cost of living in Singapore is getting out of control.
b) Why do I need to teach you? You are so full of yourself, you seemed to have so much self-confidence (arrogance), that you know everything. So I don't know what you want me to teach you. I ain't so full of myself as you
I suggest that you go do some reading on globalization and 80/20 rules
c) An FT according to our govt, is a talent with high educational background. That is what I feel the govt is looking for, or are you saying our govt is wrong?
I am just referring to FT based on the way the govt imports foreigners.
Are you trying to give your own edition of the government's policy on FT? I didnt know that those S-league footballers and badminton players from China are all scholars and PHDs.
And of coz I am focusing on you, coz you are now a part of the topic on talent. It is Singaporeans like you that give us a bad name, coz on the contrary to what you say, you look down on many people, and you behave no better than an uncouth person. You go about insulting others, and making comments that belittle others.
YOU LOOK DOWN ON YOUR OWN FELLOW COUNTRYMEN, and this, I feel, is an unforgivable sin, something which no matter how highly educated you are, and how highly paid you are, shows a failure of being a person. oxford mushroom, from what I hear, is probably a foreigner, so it doesn't matter what he thinks.
But you, the way you speak, and you insult others leaving Singapore. Let me tell you, you are worse than them. You stay here pretending to be a Singaporean, and belittle everyone else. Your opinions show how myopic a world you live in.
Even me, when I speak to you in a nice manner previously, gets comments from you that are unkind and rude.
Others tell me not to bother with you, but I tend to like to see how you respond, coz behind that talk about how good you are, there exists a lack of knowledge in many areas. And you also lack compassion and heart.
If you are in capable of continue this discussion, I suggest that you just keep quite instead of bring up all sort of BS about others to cover up your lack of understanding of the subject.
And btw, I do look down of people who claim to be a top10% income earner in Singapore and yet dont even know the fundamental of globalization, FT and 80/20 rule, (just to naming a few). -
Originally posted by Gazelle:
let me refer you back to your on words
[
In the first place, I wasnt comparing singapore to developed countries, I was comparing Singapore to other GLOBAL CITIES in ASIA. Do you know what is a global city?
[b]If you are in capable of continue this discussion, I suggest that you just keep quite instead of bring up all sort of BS about others to cover up your lack of understanding of the subject.
And btw, I do look down of people who claim to be a top10% income earner in Singapore and yet dont even know the fundamental of globalization, FT and 80/20 rule, (just to naming a few).
[/b]
"a) I am just comparing a global city like Singapore to other global cities in Asia. Is that being selective? Should I include other global cities in Europe? Or do you think it is fairer to compare cost of living in Singapore to cities in developing countries? "
Your statement itself is already implying that you only want to compare Singapore to cities that are in developed contries.
haha its interesting to see how you insult others to try and maintain some pride. I guess I must have hit a sensitive spot somewhere in you.
You were unpopular since uni days, till now. And after so long, you still have not changed. It is really sad to see that.
Anyway, I rest my case, everyone's here probably laughing at you right now. I don't need to reply you any further, coz I don't need to prove to you that I know more things than you. Its a useless exercise to someone whom is myopic and thinks only for himself. -
The idea has rule-of-thumb application in many places, but it is commonly misused. For example, it is a misuse to state that a solution to a problem "fits the 80-20 rule" just because it fits 80% of the cases; it must be implied that this solution requires only 20% of the resources needed to solve all cases.
Question: Is this 80/20 rule in our case the result of fair or unfair processes? After all one can probably find the 80/20 rule in many differing countries, and not all have the same quality of life.
Mathematically, where something is shared among a sufficiently large set of participants, there will always be a number k between 50 and 100 such that k% is taken by (100 − k)% of the participants; however, k may vary from 50 in the case of equal distribution to nearly 100 in the case of a tiny number of participants taking almost all of the resources. There is nothing special about the number 80, but many systems will have k somewhere around this region of intermediate imbalance in distribution.
This is a special case of the wider phenomenon of Pareto distributions. If the parameters in the Pareto distribution are suitably chosen, then one would have not only 80% of effects coming from 20% of causes, but also 80% of that top 80% of effects coming from 20% of that top 20% of causes, and so on (80% of 80% is 64%; 20% of 20% is 4%, so this implies a "64-4 law").
One should not be seduced by the symmetry of the idealised case - 80-20 is only a shorthand for the general principle at work. In individual cases, the distribution could just as well be say 80-10 or 80-30. (There is no need for the two numbers to add up to 100%, as they are measures of different things, eg 'number of customers' vs 'amount spent'). The classic 80-20 distribution occurs when the gradient of the line is -1 when plotted on log-log axes of equal scaling.
What is it for us now? -
Originally posted by soul_rage:
I think you are starting to apply the 80/20 rule in our sentence. That is 80% lies and 20% nonsense.
let me refer you back to your on words
"a) I am just comparing a global city like Singapore to other global cities in Asia. Is that being selective? Should I include other global cities in Europe? [b]Or do you think it is fairer to compare cost of living in Singapore to cities in developing countries? "
Your statement itself is already implying that you only want to compare Singapore to cities that are in developed contries.
haha its interesting to see how you insult others to try and maintain some pride. I guess I must have hit a sensitive spot somewhere in you.
You were unpopular since uni days, till now. And after so long, you still have not changed. It is really sad to see that.
Anyway, I rest my case, everyone's here probably laughing at you right now. I don't need to reply you any further, coz I don't need to prove to you that I know more things than you. Its a useless exercise to someone whom is myopic and thinks only for himself.[/b]
Way to do go dude!! -
see? This is a typical example of a govt-modelled citizen. When he is caught sprouting nonsense, and contradicting himself, he just ignore that and continue on something else.Originally posted by Gazelle:I think you are starting to apply the 80/20 rule in our sentence. That is 80% lies and 20% nonsense.
Way to do go dude!!
Way to go, robot! -
Actually what can we do about it? The payslips of many people are decided by the private companies they work for that probably pays according to the skills the employee has.. even the government cant do anything.. even though they somewhat promised.. except increase their own payOriginally posted by soul_rage:Does that mean we should be resigned to that fate, and not do something about it?
You are looking at things from a "self" angle, thus you believe (or you don't want to do anything about it) that things that are happening globally, we cannot change anything.
You are talking like that probably coz you are not the one suffering. There ARE people whom are caught in an unfortunate position, where they cannot keep up to the world.
Based on what you say, you don't care, and they can die for all you care. But what difference does that make you and an animal then?
seriously i have no idea how one would go about lowering the income gap
And even if it is possible is it desirable? Imagine if we really did lower the income gap that would mean A CEO of a company that brings about employment to thousands of people, a company that manufactures products that bring about a rise in the standard of living of the population, a company he painstakingly built from nothing, would earn somewhat the same (perhaps afew K higher) as those he employs? now thats not fair isnt it.. and it would drive all entrepreneurs away which ultimately would result in damage to the economy.
Yes there are some people suffering.. but its not the system's fault.. If the system could speak, it might say 'Its nothing personal' They just have to find a way to survive or they don't. -
ok, I am telling myself now, no more response to Gazelle since wherever he goes, he causes mayhem and destruction from his desperation to want to prove he is smart.
So bringing ourselves back to the topic... Note that household income with $10,000 or more is in the top 15.8%.
Interestingly, all their statistics cannot be found on the link they refer to. I think much of the information is kept hushhush from the public.
All Singapore households enjoyed real income growth in 2006
Lowest 10 per cent see reversal from decline since Asian financial crisis, says report
By Narendra Aggarwal
Feb 12, 2007
AsiaOne
All households in Singapore enjoyed real income growth last year, thanks to the sustained economic growth in the country.
What is even more significant is that the lowest 10 per cent of employed households saw a reversal from the decline they had been experiencing since the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
In a report on "Key household income trends 2006", the Department of Statistics (DOS) says that the average monthly household income from homes with at least one working person rose by 4.3 per cent in 2006, to hit $6,260.
After adjusting for inflation, they enjoyed real income growth of 3.2 per cent last year.
"The expanding economy and improving labour market have benefited all income groups. Employed households across the board experienced an increase in income per household in real terms,'' said the DOS report.
However, the DOS says that despite the strong pickup in income per household member among the lower-income employed households, individual wages among lower-income workers had generally remained stagnant.
It says this apparent discrepancy can be explained by two factors. First, there had been an increase in the number of working persons in the lower-income employed homes as more had been able to get jobs in a growing economy.
Secondly, there had been a reduction in the size of households during 2006, thereby increasing the average income of each member in the household. (Some of the reasons households shrink include children moving out to form their own nuclear families after marriage, death, divorce or a rental tenant leaving).
For statistical purpose, a household refers to a group of persons living in the same dwelling unit and sharing common living arrangements. A household may comprise related or unrelated members. Incomes taken in consideration do not include those of domestic workers.
DOS said that in real terms, the income of each working household in the lowest 10 per cent of homes had recovered to the 2001 level.
For all other income groups, their incomes had recorded new highs.
In particular, the higher-income households saw faster income growth, reflecting higher wage increases for skilled and knowledge workers.
This means that the income distribution among all employed households continued to widen.
The study also found that more homes had moved up to the higher-income brackets. In 2006, half of employed households had household income of at least $4,500 generated from work, up from $4,320 in the previous year.
There were also more employed households with $10,000 or more household income last year - 15.8 per cent, against 14.7 per cent in 2005.
Interestingly, while all ethnic groups enjoyed growth of household income in 2006, Indians showed the faster increase in average household income at 4.2 per cent, as against 3.5 per cent for Chinese and 3.1 per cent for Malays.
For more details of the household income trends, go to DOS's website at http://www.singstat.gov.sg
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Well, for a start, YOU can do something about yourself. Build up your skills and EQ skills and move towards foreign companies. Many Singapore companies typically pay real low pay, and force people to work like horses.Originally posted by ulquiorra87:Actually what can we do about it? The payslips of many people are decided by the private companies they work for that probably pays according to the skills the employee has.. even the government cant do anything.. even though they somewhat promised.. except increase their own pay
seriously i have no idea how one would go about lowering the income gap
And even if it is possible is it desirable? Imagine if we really did lower the income gap that would mean A CEO of a company that brings about employment to thousands of people, a company that manufactures products that bring about a rise in the standard of living of the population, a company he painstakingly built from nothing, would earn somewhat the same (perhaps afew K higher) as those he employs? now thats not fair isnt it.. and it would drive all entrepreneurs away which ultimately would result in damage to the economy.
Yes there are some people suffering.. but its not the system's fault.. If the system could speak, it might say 'Its nothing personal' They just have to find a way to survive or they don't.
And note, I did not mention lower the income gap. I meant helping the poor to try to bridge the income gap. Those that are caught in the whirlwind progression of our economy and whom are helpless to do anything about it.
If you look at our Gini coefficiency, our gap is something like 3rd world countries.
Sometimes, I believe becoz we move so fast within 30 years from 3rd world to 1st world living, many people are caught in their tracks, and cannot react fast enough to the changes. Credit to LKY for bringing us up to this level, but the consequence is that many people are left behind.