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A Social Documentary
By Raffles Institution
How are we going to best address the issue of income inequality in Singapore?
“Singapore is a vibrant and beautiful global city in South East Asia
and has a very strong economy”
It is a very nice place to live in with lots of tourist attractions
drawing in millions of tourists for holiday
and expatriates to work here every year. ”
“It has a very high gross domestic product per capita income of $61,000
and has retained the world’s highest percentage of millionaire in the year 2012.”
“Singapore is also one of the world’s leading financial centre
and has one of the busiest ports.”
“It was being listed as the second best in
quality of living in the world by Fortune Magazine.”
“However, Singapore has one of the highest income inequalities in the world
"It has one of the highest Gini coefficient of 0.473.”
which means that there is a great difference between the income of the poor and the rich.” “
This issue is very controversial as there is no straightforward solution to it
and there is no way the solution would result in a win-win situation for both parties.
The cause of this problem is due to globalisation and technological improvements in the world.
The improvement in technology and the substitution of labour by technology
has reduced the need of low skilled workers.
This has enabled the skilled workers to be in demand thus increasing their incomes.
The influx of foreign workers has worsened the issue of income inequality in Singapore,
as there is a greater competition of jobs, thus resulting lower paid workers.
Incomes of the rich have been increasing very sharply
Incomes of the rich have been increasing very sharply
and those who are rich will continue to do very well.
While the incomes of those with a low income will rise very slowly,
almost remaining stagnant
While the incomes of those with a low income will rise very slowly, almost remaining stagnant.
Irene Ng from Tampines GRC mentioned in Parliament that
“If we continue in this trajectory,
“If we continue in this trajectory,
we will be an increasingly rich and unequal society with an upper class of the super-rich, and an underclass.
An underclass of Singaporeans stuck in low- paying jobs can only lead to more social tensions.”
This problem will lead to severe effects of social stability and cohesion of the citizens.
And this definitely concerns the people of Singapore, especially those who are poor
and have a low income, as they are the greatest victims of this issue.
As Singaporeans, we must make sure that effective policies
and actions are taken ensure that the income gap does not increase any further.
Let us view some Singaporeans perspectives and concerns of this issue
Do you think that income inequality is a very serious problem like all over the world?
Yea, I think it is a big issue.
There is the average income? I think what it is... $1500 a month
I am not sure actually.
It's about Singapore. But the situation in Singapore is quite okay,
compared to other areas, other countries.
All the things are very expensive, very high- priced.
That is hard to fix the system...that is how it is globally
But I think what Singapore is trying to do to adjust that
is so that everyone has good access to education and that is the starting point
So you could educate even the under-privileged
that nothing that keeps them the chance to get higher-pay jobs.
What do you think the government can do to improve the situation?
Yes because, people's pay is high is basically because they are well educated,
they are well-informed, so naturally their pay will be higher. They are decision makers.
While those who didn't study, so they probably will have the lower pay.
I mean as long as the situation is safe...but here in Singapore I think it will continue to be quite okay.
Because that means money is still coming into the country
They got to start increasing the pay of the middle-income and the low-income workers.
To try to help the lower income,
give them more pay.
And the higher ones give them a bit normal.
There are many perspectives of this issue and some people may feel that this is not
a very big problem as they do not see the seriousness of it.
Increasing the taxation in Singapore could be a possibility to solve the problem
but increasing the taxes could also lead to many other problems.
By increasing taxes, it could result in social discontentment and also discourage high
income expatriates to migrate here.
income expatriates to migrate here.
According to a news article by Channelnewsasia, low wage workers form twenty
percent of Singapore’s workforce and they earn a gross monthly income of less than
one thousand two hundred dollars.
Hence, in order to address the issue of income inequality, we must approach the
problem by focusing on improving the salaries and opportunities of those who are at
the lower end of the income ladder.
Workers should also be given the chance to further upgrade their skills or even
further their education, in order to enrich their own knowledge.
Additionally, authorities should also reduce the burden of the Goods and Services
Tax for essential items like rice and milk on lower income families.
Currently, Singapore does not have a minimum wage policy being implemented.
Singaporeans should write in letters to the straits times or voice it out in the forums;
they can also come together and sign petitions to urge the government to set the
minimum wage an employee can get.
For example, making a minimum wage policy of one thousand dollars per month,
Hence, we urge Singaporeans to take action and lend these poor and low wage
workers a helping hand. It would make their lives a whole lot better.