Income Inequality and the Middle Class
November 11th, 2009 | 
Author: TI CINEMA
TOPIC:ECONOMIC REFORMS
Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times Op-Ed columnist Paul Krugman discusses the history of the American “middle class,” and argues that growing income inequality may threaten its existence.
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11 Responses to “Income Inequality and the Middle Class”
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well,in the ned of it all,we are heading back to the feudal
system!on one side,the rich(lanlords) and on the other the fiefs(workers,like the poor farmers) of days gone by!
it’s alreasy happenning here in singapore…even for the small
businessmen…they pay rents to TH’s CAPITALAND(THE LANDLORD)
through their noses while trying to make a small living!
at the end of the line,it’s still the poor workers who have to foot the “invisible” rental bill…for the small businessmen are still shrewder than the miserable workers!
look at all the shopping malls,who own them..the same lot of people,the rich sinagporean landlords,isn’t it?
so mr paul krugman,you can use sinagpore in your dissertation!
thats how we get the middle class in singapore becoming the sandwiched class
that is how the middle class in Singapore has become the sandwiched class
thats how singapore’s middle class has become the sandwiched class
why is not possible to post comments
Hey, did anyone just watch Channel 8 between 8.45pm and 9pm?
The people of Brunei with a population of about 370000 only need not pay taxes and is guanrantee a house. They just need to pay over HK$ 1000 a month for about ten years and the house is theirs!
During childbirth, all hospital expenses are taken care of by the government, as well as free milk powders, etc. Education is also free.
This is what I call subsidises! In Brunei, the government share the wealth with the people.
Here, we pay policy holders millions of dollars and so many type of taxes, ‘ERP, GST, Maid Levy and so on!
Yet, the ordinarily Singaporeans have to work even in old age so as to be able to foot their medical and family and personal expenses. Then finally, C.O.E (”C HOR YI”)
@Aiyoyo on Wed, 11th Nov 2009 9:21 pm
..BUT u forgot to mention ..that Brunei produce oil about the same amount Singaporean consume water. Also, that in exchange for cheap housing, there’s no alcohol there, no pubs n disco.
Also that in exchange of hospital expense, u need to accept an absolute rule by a King whose family line was chosen by God.
..n u also chose to forget to mention that, while education is free [singapore also gives almost free education for primary n secondary], u r not allowed to use ur educated brain on political matters, especially not in MSM.
BTW, do u know that in brunei there’re alot of FT too? ..n the Sultan pays himself so much that makes MM’s salary looks like coins-tips ?
everything comes in a package. u can’t get canadian-healthcare, swiss-lifestyle, german-education, american-freedom, european welfare ..by paying brunei’s tax.
be realistic!!
//deoxin
as if you get to overthrow PAP…
What a joke!
dioxin:
i find dioxin’s remarks inflamatory and intolerant. TR should not permit such remarks
>>Also, that in exchange for cheap housing, there’s no alcohol there, no pubs n disco.
-> the reason why alcohol is banned is because its the Bruneians’ way of life. its not in exchange for cheap housing
>>Also that in exchange of hospital expense, u need to accept an absolute rule by a King whose family line was chosen by God.
-> did God tell you that, dioxin?
dioxin also makes ridiculous comparisons
>>the Sultan pays himself so much that makes MM’s salary looks like coins-tips ?
firstly how much does the sultan pay himself. secondly he is the absolute monarch. so why are you comparing MM’s salary with his?
dioxin are the typical fishbowl goldfish type singaporeans who live inside a confined space, have absolutely no knowledge of the world but just like a goldfish they never shut their mouth
bruneians interestingly have a much less stressful and higher quality of life in many ways. they have sufficient time in their everyday lives to have pretty large families. housing is heavily subsidised. cars are tax free. it is so common to see the families sending their kids abroad (usually britain) for tertiary education. literacy is rather high. in a typical family almost all the kids are university educated. crime is also low. basically they have a very stable, safe and comfortable lifestyle. when you compare the standard of a singaporean’s life and a bruneian’s life, there is not much of a gap. its so close that some may argue its better in brunei and some may argue its better in singapore. however the cost of singaporean’s lifestyle is way much higher than that of bruneians.
the minorities there are also treated well. you will find lots of minorities holding important positions in the courts as judges, within the civil service, within the military and police etc. the bruneians dont have a siege mentality even though they are small
Aiyoyo
Brunei is a monarchy, one of the last surviving ones. It means the country (together with all its resources) belong to the sultan (king). They have survived so long in peace with no acts of civil disobedience largely because their sultan (Hassanal Bolkiah) is well educated and British trained (did you know he was military trained at the respected Sandhurst school for officers?) and he governs the country well, using meritocracy as a tool. did you know that he booted out his brother as Minister of Finance when it was discovered that his sibling was incompetent (and defrauding the state)?
However, having said that, I have to warn that although they are well and good now, living on the prosperity of their oil wealth, the sultan has to be careful because their oil reserves don’t last forever. When that runs out their economy must continue to run based on some other engines. I think he knows that as can be seen by the astute investment policy carried out by his sovereign fund (did you know that both the Hyatt Hotel and Holiday Inn Park View at Orchard Rd are owned by Brunei?).
@ deoxin on Wed, 11th Nov 2009 11:50 pm
What a load of garbage!