I'm confused.

Singaporeans pay some of the lowest taxes I've seen. We have virtually no homeless people starving to death on the street. Education is pretty damn near free. There are no barriers to movement between social and economic classes. The average Singaporean is quite capable of surviving without resorting to crime.

And people are unhappy because they're discovering that employers prefer to hire workers with more relevant skills and are willing to work for lower pay? Is that supposed to be a surprise?

There is a reason that salaries tend to rise with age. Experience is supposed to trump a recent education at some stage. From the standpoint of an employer, I think it justified to expect that someone with twenty years of experience should have the wherewithal to outperform a fresh college graduate. And if the older person is unable to, it also seems quite justified to prefer the younger person.

As for the difference between survival and a reasonable lifestyle, that is simply delusional. A lifestyle that one cannot afford is clearly not reasonable. That should be obvious to any child who realises that his allowance is insufficient to purchase that second comic book. If you feel that you deserve a better lifestyle than that which you currently enjoy, then you might want to consider working to increase your compensation. If that turns out to be impossible, then perhaps you are being unrealistic.

I do realise that I have never been deprived. Even now, I make more than most, just 4 months out of college. Still, I do not have the lifestyle I think I deserve. I want a penthouse with a view of the White House, a helicopter to shuttle me to Paris for after-dinner cocktails, Cristal in my glass instead of Veuve. I don't have it. I know I don't deserve it at the moment. How do I know this? I cannot afford it. So I am working towards being able to afford it. And when I can, I will know that I deserve it.