GDP

Sat's newspapers brought out the arguable issue that Singapore is a First World economy that pays Third World wages. Most people interviewed seemed to think its true. To put it simply, wages are higher in HongKong, Japan, etc for an apple to apple comparison of the same profession and yrs of experience. Why is this so? Anaylists and economists point out that once again, it has got to do with our survival as a small country with no natural resources. GDP apparently consists of 3 main components: Wages, Profits, Taxes. In order to attract multinationals to Singapore, a large chunk of the profits margins are redirected back to the multinationals. This one of the main reasons why they will choose Singapore as a base and not a cheaper place like Vietnam or Malaysia, among other factors like stability and quality of workers of course. I worry for Singapore in the next 30 years, as other developing countries catch up and their workers get better trained and yet still remain cheaper than Singapore workers.

No wonder our cost of living seems high. In a recent survey, it is 24th most expensive in the world above HongKong and Sydney????