※Translated with Notion AI. (Plus version)
I’ve been talking about the various forms of ‘discrimination’ in Singapore.
What I don’t want to be misunderstood is that I do not intend to criticize Singapore.
I’ve been living here for over 25 years and I do have a fondness for it.
However, it is a country that has achieved rapid economic growth, so it’s not that I don’t have complaints.
In particular, the lack of etiquette is undeniable.
I’m not in a position to point out the behavior of others, but I still can’t accept the mentality of making money at all costs.
And when it comes to eating manners, it’s still a developing country.
In that respect, they are still not as good as Hong Kong people.
Despite my complaints, the reason I stay in Singapore is because there are no inheritance taxes or capital gains taxes, and the income tax rate is very low.
The truth is, these advantages have kept me here for 25 years.
The rapid economic growth of the past 10 years has brought wealth to the Singaporean people.
Especially the ‘real estate bubble’ that is said to be the world’s greatest rise in the past 5 years, many Singaporeans must have become millionaires.
My friend, a Chinese person, who was working at a Japanese bank’s Singapore branch 25 years ago when I moved to Singapore, making an annual income of USD 30,000, has been actively investing in real estate and stocks over the past 10 years with a loan from the bank.
As a result, he retired at the age of 52 and now travels abroad every month, owns two Teslas worth USD250,000 each, and has sent his three children to private universities in the UK.
And of course, he employs five maids.
When I met him last month in Japan, he was heavily investing in wine.
He seems to love making money to an astonishing degree.
Additionally, he humbly says, “I’ve just earned a little more than the average.”
On the other hand, he proudly says,
“I, whose father was not highly educated, studied hard and graduated from the National University of Singapore, but with a first-generation degree, I don’t have a chance in Singapore.”
“Now that I have the passport of money, my children will have plenty of opportunities.”
The current Singapore is undoubtedly in a good economic condition.
However, there is a new ‘discrimination’ born out of this economic situation.
That is the ‘Discrimination of Wealth’.
Let me give you a concrete example.
