A Lesson in Tagalog
Lots of people know that the Filipino economy is dysfunctional in a number of ways. Not only are local wages low, forcing large numbers of adults to work overseas, the domestic economy has also become so reliant on remittances that it cannot function without it. Also, the absent parents only cause societal problems down the road.
Thankfully, Singapore has a healthy economy, which claims a low unemployment rate. Yet, wages for the lower-paid jobs have not gone up whilst costs have escalated, forcing many in that strata to work two jobs to make ends meet. Many are forced to work overseas, not being able to find work in Singapore.
As we strive to become more competitive, could we be importing foreign talent, discarding the less productive of our own on the wayside to fend for themselves overseas? Could we become like the Philippines, but with a seemingly functioning economy, where the average local finds difficult to eek out a living?
I know that the government controls the ratio of foreign workers to locals, but what prevents a firm from only hiring foreigners to be the managers, leaving the locals with the lowly-paid jobs?
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