Rich Poor Inequality in Singapore ; Mind the Gap !

This issue has taken front page in Singapore. The issue was always and will always be a hot-button one. After the second world war, Singapore emerged from the ruins of Japanese occupation a backwater. Gone was the image (only) of the British Pearl of the Orient. 

The British was so pathetic in defending Singapore that many locals had lost their faith in the Western Powers and the ferment of self governance was taking place. When the first Chief Minister David Marshall, then followed by PM Lim Yew Hock, change was underway for the British to move out their defence forces and their influence waned.

Singapore is now 53 years, since the ruling PAP has come in, Singapore has developed and progressed tremendously, however at some costs. The modern Singapore offers a quality of life on par, if not better, with the best cities in the world. 

The 2nd and even 3rd generations of Singaporeans are facing a life where things are so smooth and well taken care of. The HDB public housing where 80% of the population now lives is in many respects equivalent to condominiums in  many other countries in Asia.

Personal Safety is the envy of the Western world. Many Western expats love to come to Singapore for its moderate climate, wide variety of excellent foods and - safety. We have none (thank God for that) of the nonsense and chaos which fills the screens every week in many cities across the US and even Western Europe.

Our schools are amongst the best in the world (the NUS is ranked the top Asian University), our dual language system is also admired and copied all over the world. Racial and religious harmony is also excellent, thanks to the wisdom and foresight of the founding fathers of Singapore, so that the sight of multi- cultural dating or marriages hardly makes news anymore.

                                                                  Barcelona

One major problem (amongst many others) emerging is the gap between the rich and poor has never been so apparent. Children and grandchildren of fabulously wealthy and moderately wealthy parents have never had to slog a day in their lives.

The sense of entitlement and the gap between the haves and the have nots is ever increasing. There have never been more rich and entitled children and the gap is every widening. 

The difference between the incomes earned by the rich and poor nowadays is estimated to be in the 000s ; say a super wealthy real estate developer or lawyer easily earns in excess of $5 million. Compared with the bottom 10% whose earning is say $24,000 that represents over 200 x. I am not even comparing the newly rich (nouveau riche) who migrate here with their billions and live in Sentosa. 

                                                         Vermouth and Tapas 

In the 60s and 70s, the top earner (say school principal or top lawyer) would earn about $36,000 per annum. The lowest wage earner earned about S$ 1500 (S$125 per month). So the quantum is in the tens (in this case 24 x).

My point ? Social problems and class envy will arise. Last time in the 60s and 70s, we were all more or less equally poor. Hardly anybody travlled out of Singapore let alone on business class to Europe or Iceland (as an example). Nowadays, there are alot more people (visible thanks to Facebook) who travel to all the far flung corners of the world and a lot more who have no money to afford 3 meals a day. It is indeed a very wide gap.

How the effects will be manifested will be displayed in the news. How the government is going to tackle that is also another cause for concern.