I realized your intent, but the words mean a lot more. I'm not disparaging Filippinos in any way. Check out my profile - I live in a primarily Filippino neighborhood, and they're the most wonderful patriotic people that Hawaii has been blessed with.
I had a Filippino boss in one job. She was awesome, though I never could understand how folk could send their kids back to grandma and grandpa half a world away and not see them for a year or two or 3 at a time. My boss confided in me that she was torn between two completely different cultures. In America she had any appliance she wanted, accessibility to art, theater, etc., but the stress level of her job was huge. In the Philippines she could stay home a day or two if she felt like it, more of a mañana philosophy. She wouldn't have the lifestyle though. Overall she decided the stress was worth it. I would imagine that's the impetus behind many of our neighbors. It's a cinch they work twice as hard as most others here.
No, by "cheaper people" I meant that they don't have our conveniences, our demands. My question - do you expect to live your lifestyle as is while expecting your doctor to live as a Filippino in his own country? Want him to be working mowing lawns on the side to make ends meet?
I don't think any doctors mow lawns on the side, not because they are not poor but because mowing lawns pays even worse than medicine. Baseline labor is about 200 pesos (US$ 4) a day plus 50 pesos ($1) for lunch.
My doctor or any other professional lives his own life and has his own income and expenses. As his patient I would pay whatever his fees were. If I hired him fully time, hypothetically, then I would pay him the going wage, whatever it is.
A single female friend of mine over there lives a lifestyle that compares to a US middle class lifestyle with the exception of not owning a car. Her expenses are about $1,000 a month. She makes her money halfway through her job and half from a side business she runs. She has a beautiful house on which she was her own contractor. She has a $300 cellphone that contracted an annoying cellphone virus I had to fix for her. I'm just glad I was there to help.
So you can see doctors are not paid well at all. They are paid better than laborers and that's about all you can say.
I really loved the hospitality and warmth of the Filipino people, which is why I mention that country as an interesting benchmark. It also seemed to be easy for me to meet and get along with people there, while that has not proven nearly as true in the US.
D