WSJ: Influx of foreign workers decrease wages of Singaporean
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WSJ: Influx of foreign workers decrease wages of Singaporeans, labor productivity & quality of life
January 14, 2010
A recent editorial published by the respected international newspaper Wall Street Journal claimed that the relentless influx of foreign workers in Singapore has helped to depress the wages of ordinary Singapore workers leading to a lower quality of life. (read article here)
Due to the ruling party’s myopic immigration policies, the number of foreigners has increased to 36 per cent of Singapore’s population, up from 14 per cent in 1990.
“Between 2005 and 2009, Singapore’s population surged by roughly 150,000 people a year to 5 million—among the fastest rates ever there—with 75% or more of the increase coming from foreigners,” Wall Street Journal reports.
The influx of cheap foreign labor helps to keep GDP growth impressive since they help to cut business costs and create new demands for good and services in the short run.
A significant proportion of Singapore ministers’ exorbitant salaries is pegged to Singapore’s annual growth rates – the higher the growth, the more money they bring home.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earns an estimated $3 million dollars a year, more than 6 times the annual salary of U.S. President Barack Obama. Even a Singapore minister earns more than the most powerful man in the world and Singapore has a land mass of only 0.000073 per cent of the United States.
Wall Street Journal estimates that “a third or more of Singapore’s 6.8% average annual growth from 2003 to 2008 came from the expansion of its labor force, primarily expatriates, allowing Singapore to post growth more commonly associated with poor developing nations.”
However their arrival has depressed the wages of blue-collar workers, exacerbating Singapore’s income gap between the rich and the poor. Singapore has the highest income-gap among the 30 most developed countries in the world as measured by the Gini Coefficent, comparable to some third world nations like Kenya, Russia and Tunisia.
A long-term devastating effect of the mass immigration is that it appears to contribute directly to the decrease in labor productivity as companies continue to depend on cheap imported labor to keep their profit margins instead of innovating to make their businesses more efficient:
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
“Labor productivity, or output per employee, fell 7.8% in 2008 and 0.8% in 207—a phenomenon that could eventually translate into lower standards of living,” said WSJ.
In an interview with Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, an economist by training and the Secretary-General of the Reform Party, he opined that immigration has “kept our economic growth high but, at a tremendous cost.”
Another economist, Choy Keen Meng from NTU added that “relying on foreign labor to help boost growth is unsustainable” and that a “better model would involve the reining in immigration and accepting that Singapore is becoming a more mature economy like the U.S. or Europe, with a long-term growth rate of 3% to 5% a year.”
But then, a decreased growth rate will hurt the pockets of Singapore ministers who have been justifying their astronomical salaries on the grounds that they have “delivered” economic growth to Singapore when GDP figures can be easily popped up artificially by increasing the intake of foreigners without translating directly to a higher quality of life to its citizens.
Though Singapore is able to lose billions of dollars of national reserves from investment losses suffered by its two gigantic sovereign wealth funds GIC and Temasek Holdings, Singaporeans receive few social welfare benefits from the ruling party which has won 11 consecutive elections by overwhelming margins since first assuming power in 1959.
Wall Street Journal recounts the plight of 58 year old Singaporean Lee Ah Lee who makes 850 Singapore dollars a month (about US$600) clearing tables in a cafeteria, saying that the flood of immigrants has made it hard to make ends meet by pushing down blue-collar pay in Singapore.
Despite rising unhappiness and resentment among Singaporeans at its pro-foreigner policy, the ruling party is adamant that the influx of foreigners will continue to increase Singapore’s population eventually to 6.5 million people.
At the rate the ruling party is replacing native Singaporeans by their new pets from China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and even Nigeria, many Singaporeans may end up like Lee Ah Lee in their twilight years, finding themselves replaced by “foreign talents” and have no choice but to continue working till they drop dead and die to finance the hefty housing loans of their over-priced HDB flats built by the ruling party.
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Next time might import
those african tribal ppl also
Sounds nice , can dance tribal dance
for us to see..
Me love to watch!
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WSJ - THANKS YOU.
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heck, this is causing problem to employment of locals.
I am curious to find out if there is an increase number of foreigners employed by the govt or govt related depts/companies/statutory boards/quasi and so on.
Called MDA the other day and a PRC attended to my call.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
heck, this is causing problem to employment of locals.
I am curious to find out if there is an increase number of foreigners employed by the govt or govt related depts/companies/statutory boards/quasi and so on.
Called MDA the other day and a PRC attended to my call.
PRC
ni hao ar
wo ke yi help ni ma
ni cai da wei lai ke yi ma
xie xie ar
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This is a class war. And it must be fought.
Import cheap labour to benefit employers and foreign multinational companies while the wages of the working class is depressed. All the while using state media as a tool to brainwash public to accept their propaganda.
Cost of consumer goods rises due to increased demand from imported aliens while at the same time the wages of working class is being destroyed.
Gap between rich and poor is increasing. A small tiny elite benefits due to cheap labour while majority suffers decline of standard of living.
This is life under rule of PAP.
The issue must be confronted. PAP rule must end by end of this year.
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Channel 8 & U news are report by PRC - Wang Zhen, Zhang Hai Jie, Zhao Wen Bei.
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Originally posted by Great1:
WSJ: Influx of foreign workers decrease wages of Singaporeans, labor productivity & quality of life
January 14, 2010
A recent editorial published by the respected international newspaper Wall Street Journal claimed that the relentless influx of foreign workers in Singapore has helped to depress the wages of ordinary Singapore workers leading to a lower quality of life. (read article here)
Due to the ruling party’s myopic immigration policies, the number of foreigners has increased to 36 per cent of Singapore’s population, up from 14 per cent in 1990.
“Between 2005 and 2009, Singapore’s population surged by roughly 150,000 people a year to 5 million—among the fastest rates ever there—with 75% or more of the increase coming from foreigners,” Wall Street Journal reports.
The influx of cheap foreign labor helps to keep GDP growth impressive since they help to cut business costs and create new demands for good and services in the short run.
A significant proportion of Singapore ministers’ exorbitant salaries is pegged to Singapore’s annual growth rates – the higher the growth, the more money they bring home.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earns an estimated $3 million dollars a year, more than 6 times the annual salary of U.S. President Barack Obama. Even a Singapore minister earns more than the most powerful man in the world and Singapore has a land mass of only 0.000073 per cent of the United States.
Wall Street Journal estimates that “a third or more of Singapore’s 6.8% average annual growth from 2003 to 2008 came from the expansion of its labor force, primarily expatriates, allowing Singapore to post growth more commonly associated with poor developing nations.”
However their arrival has depressed the wages of blue-collar workers, exacerbating Singapore’s income gap between the rich and the poor. Singapore has the highest income-gap among the 30 most developed countries in the world as measured by the Gini Coefficent, comparable to some third world nations like Kenya, Russia and Tunisia.
A long-term devastating effect of the mass immigration is that it appears to contribute directly to the decrease in labor productivity as companies continue to depend on cheap imported labor to keep their profit margins instead of innovating to make their businesses more efficient:
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
“Labor productivity, or output per employee, fell 7.8% in 2008 and 0.8% in 207—a phenomenon that could eventually translate into lower standards of living,” said WSJ.
In an interview with Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam, an economist by training and the Secretary-General of the Reform Party, he opined that immigration has “kept our economic growth high but, at a tremendous cost.”
Another economist, Choy Keen Meng from NTU added that “relying on foreign labor to help boost growth is unsustainable” and that a “better model would involve the reining in immigration and accepting that Singapore is becoming a more mature economy like the U.S. or Europe, with a long-term growth rate of 3% to 5% a year.”
But then, a decreased growth rate will hurt the pockets of Singapore ministers who have been justifying their astronomical salaries on the grounds that they have “delivered” economic growth to Singapore when GDP figures can be easily popped up artificially by increasing the intake of foreigners without translating directly to a higher quality of life to its citizens.
Though Singapore is able to lose billions of dollars of national reserves from investment losses suffered by its two gigantic sovereign wealth funds GIC and Temasek Holdings, Singaporeans receive few social welfare benefits from the ruling party which has won 11 consecutive elections by overwhelming margins since first assuming power in 1959.
Wall Street Journal recounts the plight of 58 year old Singaporean Lee Ah Lee who makes 850 Singapore dollars a month (about US$600) clearing tables in a cafeteria, saying that the flood of immigrants has made it hard to make ends meet by pushing down blue-collar pay in Singapore.
Despite rising unhappiness and resentment among Singaporeans at its pro-foreigner policy, the ruling party is adamant that the influx of foreigners will continue to increase Singapore’s population eventually to 6.5 million people.
At the rate the ruling party is replacing native Singaporeans by their new pets from China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and even Nigeria, many Singaporeans may end up like Lee Ah Lee in their twilight years, finding themselves replaced by “foreign talents” and have no choice but to continue working till they drop dead and die to finance the hefty housing loans of their over-priced HDB flats built by the ruling party.
KNN
PUI
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Originally posted by noahnoah:
PRC
ni hao ar
wo ke yi help ni ma
ni cai da wei lai ke yi ma
xie xie ar
They don't speak clear English. I gotta request her to repeat.I am pissed off that the govt is not for employing locals. All they want is locals go upgrading and then accept low pay job, work long hours. With low pay job, how can one support a family and help to contribute to child birth????
Out the evil tyrant goes, kick him out.
With an evil heart, I don't what will happen to him after he dies.
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Originally posted by Great1:
Channel 8 & U news are report by PRC - Wang Zhen, Zhang Hai Jie, Zhao Wen Bei.
They can't find a local to talk PAP propaganda on TV. So they have to import aliens to talk PAP propaganda on TV.
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Originally posted by ztreyier:
They can't find a local to talk PAP propaganda on TV. So they have to import aliens to talk PAP propaganda on TV.
carry prc .... -
Originally posted by Great1:
carry prc ....Actually there is a very strange phenomenon with local state media which I will talk about later.
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I am pissed, really pissed with the way the govt is treating the locals who have been feeding them with money to survive, loyalty in voting them in.
It is time to throw them away.
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no leh, my paid still remain the same mah, and i got better variable payments than last time, somemore can live like a princess.
By right, Singaporeans should be the master of all these foreign labourers, but instead some become more worst or on the same par as them, why??? The americans let the mexicians and south americans work and they be the boss, but in singapore, singaporean join in to work with bangalas and indians workers...funny???
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
I am pissed, really pissed with the way the govt is treating the locals who have been feeding them with money to survive, loyalty in voting them in.
It is time to throw them away.
Aunty,want to piss...go toilet, dun anyhow piss in the public, it is an offence ya
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Originally posted by angel7030:The americans let the mexicians and south americans work and they be the boss, but in singapore, singaporean join in to work with bangalas and indians workers...funny???
But in USA the government serves interests of americans.
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Originally posted by ztreyier:
But in USA the government serves interests of americans.
they also serve for the interest of oil and world control. -
Originally posted by angel7030:
they also serve for the interest of oil and world control.At least they don't serve interests of aliens.
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Originally posted by angel7030:
Aunty,want to piss...go toilet, dun anyhow piss in the public, it is an offence ya
trying hard to act cute oldie ah ma angel7030 u think i am impressed by what you said. hahahah, crap! -
Originally posted by ztreyier:
At least they don't serve interests of aliens.
well, they send their own son to die in foreign land -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
trying hard to act cute oldie ah ma angel7030 u think i am impressed by what you said. hahahah, crap!
take the crabs and ask maids to prepare chilli and black pepper -
Originally posted by angel7030:
take the crabs and ask maids to prepare chilli and black pepper
don't talk nonsense here. Still here, your lau hero waiting for you to go report to him -
Wages Down.
Bills up.
Sucide up.
Loansharke up.
Gamblers up.
Robbers up.
Illegal / vice up.
All up.
And wages down.
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Sg Uncles cannot stand up!!
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Originally posted by likeyou:
Wages Down.
Bills up.
Sucide up.
Loansharke up.
Gamblers up.
Robbers up.
Illegal / vice up.
All up.
And wages down.
I somehow believe that there is a hidden agenda for them to do this