Posted on 06/12/2012 6:43:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Bankers have always been a worldly crew, and since Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship and moved to Singapore, we've thought that island deserved our attention.
So we started digging and we found out that bankers are heading there in droves. In a recent Telegraph survey Singapore dominated a list of places that bankers said they wanted to work, with 27% of the vote it even beat out NYC.
Boston Consulting Group recently named Singapore the country with the world's densest population of millionaires -- 17 percent of all households, to be exact.
It's no surprise then that Singapore has become a veritable playground for the richest of the rich. If you've got the dough (and we mean serious dough) then there's plenty of room for you to play (and work) too.
Singapore is the best country in the world for doing business, according to a report released earlier this year by the World Bank. Here's why:
It takes, on average, three days to open a business. Trade is open and competitive: there are no tariffs on imports and foreign and domestic business are regulated equally.
Unemployment is only 2.1%
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
RE: Chewing gum
BTW, there is the law, and there is reality.
Chewing gum is not a crime in Singapore (just as illegal parking is not a crime in the USA), and neither is possession of gum for personal use.
You cannot bring in large quantities of gum to Singapore (it would be assumed you were selling it, which is a crime).
You cannot spit your gum out on the street or stick it under the seat on the bus (this is common sense, people).
In any case, IN PRACTICE, you don’t go to jail for any offense related to gum (unless you kill someone with it). Generally, there is just a fine.
RE: Chewing gum
BTW, there is the law, and there is reality.
Chewing gum is not a crime in Singapore (just as illegal parking is not a crime in the USA), and neither is possession of gum for personal use.
You cannot bring in large quantities of gum to Singapore (it would be assumed you were selling it, which is a crime).
You cannot spit your gum out on the street or stick it under the seat on the bus (this is common sense, people).
In any case, IN PRACTICE, you don’t go to jail for any offense related to gum (unless you kill someone with it). Generally, there is just a fine.
Singapore is a very nice country and miles ahead of most of Asia except maybe Japan. I have family which has lived there for 15 years.
BTW, I have been to Singapore MANY times and even can immitate the way they speak English very well ( with the inevitable “LA” at the end of sentences ).
Regarding fines, yes, You CAN be fined.
But just as there are laws in any country which exist but are rarely enforced, many of the laws in Singapore for minor offenses are not enforced either.
Not flushing the toilet after you use it is a fineable offense, but since most toilets in Singapore flush themselves after someone uses it (thank you, infrared sensors), this is rarely a problem anymore.
Spitting on the street can get you fined $200, but I have yet to see this one enforced either, although I have been a primary witness to some rather nasty things being spit out.
No freedom to walk into a deli and urinate on the cheese.
Thanks! Any excuse to watch the great Harvey Korman!
Either use a sarc tag or you will be called a socialist pig.
Sadly, I think you may be right.
There are so many newbie types posting these days ... most of them here to attempt to demoralize.
Thanks FRiend.
You’ve put your finger on exactly why I could never live in Singapore! I would miss all the public lewdness and fornication I get here in the good ole USA.
Oh, get a life. Most of my posts were just jokes. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who wants to move to Singapore can happily do it. I hope they keep all their money away from the greedy bastards in Washington and live long and happy lives.
I have a Webley 38 revolver that was once in service with the Singapore Police ... it has seen some firing, which I believe was lots of practice. It still shoots accurately and cleans up nice.
If Obama wins or steals a second term, a lot of people are going to be looking for somewhere to go. Freedom in the US has been rapidly shrinking and places like Singapore already don't look so oppressive. Singapore sounds way too expensive for many, but the search will be on.
Just renounce your US citizenship and then sneak back in the country (via Mexico) as an “undocumented migrant worker”.
Just like in the USA, most of those laws are selectively enforced. They aren't aimed at Western expats (unless they decide to spray paint graffiti on trains) - they are aimed at boorish Malay and Indonesian farmer types who spit on the sidewalk, engage in public drunkenness, and otherwise threaten the cherished Chinese concept of "social order". The same holds true in China, for that matter - much of what is ascribed by an uncomprehending Western media to top-down Communist authoritarianism is actually a codification of Chinese cultural beliefs that go back thousands of years. The people there really do have the government they want, hard as it is for Americans to believe. Do we have the government we want?
It's a different culture, and judging Singapore (or China) by one's lack of freedom to stage angry political protests misses the point. It seems we can't do that in the USA anymore, either, without earning a visit from the SS or DHS.
And the truth is, American social conservatives would love Singapore. It's like an ultra-high tech Orlando, Florida - minus the frequent outbursts from Holder's People. :)
Wow! Seriously, your post is the best post on this entire thread. You explain so carefully the social history of Singapore. I always suspected the “spitting” laws had something to do with the culture itself - not with Western expats.
Let me ask you another question: what is the attitude towards gays? I assume that some of these wealthy expats will be gay guys. From what Ian McKellan once did in Singapore (going on tv and calling out the anti-sodomy laws),I suspect that gay activism and/or activity could get you in big trouble.
Rush let it outta da bag other day; this is his first choice is the SHTF. Hmnn.
RE: If Obama wins or steals a second term, a lot of people are going to be looking for somewhere to go.
You mean they are not going to publicly THREATEN to leave the way some celebrities did (and then did not leave) when Bush won?
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