That haven't stop the Singapore government from trying to downplay the "title" though. Chief among them is Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam who said that the "title" is mostly due to expatriates working in Singapore and the strengthening Singapore dollars for past 5 years.
He has been roundly slammed for his comments and while not looking forward to kicking someone who's down, I have to totally agree with the comments against him. That is an insane comment to make from a finance minister.
I mean does property price change just because you are a foreigner? Does the COE prices changes due to your nationality? Foreigners or Singaporeans, we all live in Singapore and there's no difference in the price of your groceries just because you are a foreigner. If there is, then Singapore really is in trouble!
That is because you are admitting that there is a class system in the country. Prices for foreigners are higher because they can pay, while prices for Singapore are lower because they can't, You are saying Singaporeans are useless and not worth the high salaries you pay foreigners. Is that really what the Singapore government think of Singaporeans?
You can't say cost in Singapore is high because "the basket of goods and services evaluated by the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) included imported cheese, filet mignon, "Burberry-type raincoats", the four best seats in a theatre and three-course dinners for four in high-end restaurants." Is the Finance Minister saying Singaporeans can't go to high-end restaurants to eat or to the theatre to watch a show?
Like I said earlier, that is insane. Singapore is the world's costliest city. That's a fact. The Singapore government need stop trying to find silly excuses for it and just accept it. It's something everyone else in Singapore already does.
3 comments:
They can't fix it so he got to spin it.
What’s there to spin? Everyone knows and accept the fact Singapore is expensive. He would just accept the fact instead of getting himself in a twist for no reason.
If you are interested, you can see a comparison of Singapore with other world cities: Singapore vs World Cities
Thanks!
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