Peesai: Highest Living Cost, Lowest Quality of Life, Highest Paid Ministers!

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Rebutting ST letter: Good quality of life need not come at high
cost of living


July 10th, 2013 | Author: Ng Kok Lim




I refer to the 4 Feb 2013 Straits Times letter “High cost
of living comes with good quality of life” by Ms Tan Lin Neo [1].

Ms Tan found Singaporeans’ lament on high cost of living puzzling given the
hundreds and thousands who throng condominium show flats and travel
fairs. While hundreds and thousands may seem like large numbers, they are just
0.01% and 0.1% respectively of the Singapore population. The good life of the
0.01% or 0.1% should not be misconstrued as representing the good life of all
Singaporeans.

Ms Tan took issue with Singaporeans who complain about high HDB prices but
yet don’t mind selling their flats at high prices. But who in the first place
sold Singaporeans the asset enhancement drug that got Singaporeans hooked?

Ms Tan asserted that high cost of living comes with living in a First World
country with good quality of life while low cost of living means dirt roads,
poor housing and low quality amenities. But there are many countries and cities
that combine better quality life with lower cost of living.

For example, International Living’s 2011 Quality of Life Index listed 93 out
of 192 countries with better (or same) quality of life as Singapore but with
lower (or same) cost of living as Singapore.

Country Quality of Life Final Score Cost of Living (higher score means lower cost) United States 86 76 New Zealand 76 69 Malta 76 68 Belgium 75 65 France 75 58 Monaco 75 47 Japan 74 61 United Kingdom 74 60 Austria 74 58 Germany 74 50 Portugal 73 72 Andorra 73 61 Australia 73 55 Italy 73 54 Netherlands 73 52 Hungary 72 79 Argentina 72 73 Slovenia 72 66 Norway 72 53 South Korea 71 76 Uruguay 71 67 Iceland 71 65 Spain 71 62 Greece 71 59 Ireland 71 51 Denmark 71 48 Poland 70 67 Czech Republic 70 64 Canada 70 61 Bulgaria 69 80 Estonia 69 76 Latvia 69 67 Finland 69 57 Sweden 69 49 Lithuania 68 70 Croatia 68 54 Mexico 67 77 Slovakia 67 70 Israel 67 56 Liechtenstein 67 50 Taiwan 66 75 Brazil 66 73 Antigua & Barbuda 65 80 Ecuador 65 78 Costa Rica 65 73 Romania 65 73 Bahamas 65 66 Cyprus (Greek) 65 61 Panama 64 78 Albania 64 75 Saint Kitts & Nevis 64 64 Barbados 64 57 Paraguay 63 84 Colombia 63 72 Jamaica 63 69 Chile 63 68 Cayman Islands 63 65 Mauritius 62 74 Serbia 62 70 Bolivia 61 88 Marshall Islands 61 86 Bosnia-Herzegovina 61 76 Dominica 61 74 Macedonia 61 70 Turkey 61 68 Tunisia 60 79 Dominican Republic 60 76 Botswana 60 76 Namibia 60 74 Ukraine 60 67 Morocco 60 64 South Africa 60 57 Trinidad & Tobago 60 55 Cuba 59 86 Lesotho 59 84 El Salvador 59 82 Malaysia 59 80 Guatemala 59 76 Belize 59 75 Moldova 59 73 Grenada 59 65 Macau 59 47 Kiribati 58 83 Thailand 58 77 Georgia 58 76 Bahrain 58 53 Bhutan 57 86 Suriname 57 78 Cape Verde 57 78 China 57 73 Tonga 57 72 Qatar 57 59 Singapore 57 47

The Economist Intelligence Unit listed 18 cities that are simultaneously
better than Singapore in the Best City ranking and less expensive than
Singapore. Its list
of top 50 most liveable cities also does not include Singapore.

City EIU 2012 Best City rank EIU 2012 top 10 most expensive cities Hong
Kong 1 #N/A Amsterdam 2 #N/A Osaka 3 #N/A Paris 4 6 Sydney 5 7 Stockholm 6 #N/A Berlin 7 #N/A Toronto 8 #N/A Munich 9 #N/A Tokyo 10 2 Rome 11 #N/A London 12 #N/A Madrid 13 #N/A Washington DC 14 #N/A Chicago 15 #N/A New
York 16 #N/A Los Angeles 17 #N/A San Francisco 18 #N/A Boston 19 #N/A Seoul 20 #N/A Atlanta 21 #N/A Singapore 22 9

Mercer’s 2012 Quality of Living index and Cost of Living Index together show
23 cities that have simultaneously better quality of living and lower (or same)
cost of living than Singapore.

City Mercer quality of living 2012 rank Mercer cost of living 2012 rank (higher ranked means more costly) Vienna 1 48 Zurich 2 6 Auckland 3 #N/A Munich 4 #N/A Vancouver 5 #N/A Düsseldorf 6 #N/A Frankfurt 7 #N/A Geneva 8 5 Copenhagen 9 21 Bern 10 14 Sydney 10 11 Amsterdam 12 #N/A Wellington 13 #N/A Ottawa 14 #N/A Toronto 15 #N/A Berlin 16 #N/A Hamburg 17 #N/A Melbourne 17 15 Luxembourg 19 #N/A Stockholm 19 46 Perth 21 19 Brussels 22 #N/A Montreal 23 #N/A Nurnberg 24 #N/A Singapore 25 6

Finally, the UBS Prices and Earnings report 2011 also listed Singapore
amongst the priciest of First World cities.

City Price level excluding rent City Price level including rent Oslo 139.1 Oslo 108.9 Zurich 135 Geneva 106.5 Geneva 133.1 Zurich 105.5 Copenhagen 118.4 New York 100 Stockholm 117.5 Tokyo 94.2 Tokyo 112.6 Copenhagen 89.4 Sydney 107.7 Sydney 89.1 Helsinki 103.5 Stockholm 88.5 Toronto 102.8 Singapore 88.3 Singapore 102.4 Paris 82.8 Vienna 102 London 82.5 Paris 100.9 Toronto 82.1 Luxembourg 100.1 Helsinki 81.5 New York 100 Dublin 78.8 London 99.8 Montreal 77.6 Munich 99.7 Luxembourg 77.1 Montreal 99.4 Hong Kong 76.5 Frankfurt 98 Frankfurt 76.3 Dublin 95.7 Vienna 75.2 Brussels 93.3 Munich 75 Rome 92.8 Brussels 74.5 Lyon 92.2 Rome 74.4 Auckland 91.7 Auckland 73 Barcelona 90.9 Los Angeles 72.7 Amsterdam 88.2 Chicago 72.3 Los Angeles 88.1 Barcelona 71.1 Madrid 88.1 Miami 69.2 Tel Aviv 87.6 Milan 68.9 Berlin 87.5 Madrid 68.7 Milan 84.5 Amsterdam 68.4 Seoul 84.5 Seoul 68.4 Hong Kong 82.3 Lyon 67.2 Chicago 82.3 Tel Aviv 66.5 Athens 80.1 Berlin 64.6 Lisbon 79.9 Lisbon 62.4 Miami 78.8 Athens 60.1 Taipei 73.2 Taipei 57.3

So this is the reality reflected in many international surveys: that there
are many cities and countries that have simultaneously better quality of living
and lower cost of living than Singapore. It is a truth larger than the one
advocated by Ms Tan which Ms Tan claimed to be the entirety. Singaporeans don’t
need the government to fulfil every whim and desire, only to face up with
reality entirely and responsibly.

Thank you



Ng Kok Lim

[1] Straits Times, High cost of living comes with good quality of life, 4 Feb
2013, Tan Lin Neo (Miss)


MANY Singaporeans lament the high cost of living here.
I find this rather
puzzling.
At almost every condominium launch, there would be hundreds of
Singaporeans thronging the showflats. This is so even after the recent round of
property cooling measures.
And at travel fairs, there are thousands of
Singaporeans thronging the booths and snapping up travel deals, with some
bookings sold out months ahead.
It seems that Singaporeans often complain
about the high cost of an HDB flat.
And yet, when they sell their flats and
pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in gains and cash over valuation, they
do not mind the high prices.
Would Singaporeans prefer to buy HDB flats at a
low cost, and subsequently sell them at low prices?
Many seem to fail to
recognise that the high cost of living comes with living in a First World
country with a good quality of life.
Visitors to a country with a low cost of
living will find that it comes with poorly made dirt roads, poor housing
standards and low-quality amenities.
I urge my fellow Singaporeans to see
things in their entirety.
The Government has made the effort to listen and to
accommodate the wants of Singaporeans.
Singaporeans should not see the
Government as existing to fulfil our every whim and desire.
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