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Interestingly enough, I'm typing this in Singapore, where in 2022 it's quite common to have a "maid" (helper/domestic worker, in the current local lingo), but n
by dustintrex 5y ago
Interestingly enough, I'm typing this in Singapore, where in 2022 it's quite common to have a "maid" (helper/domestic worker, in the current local lingo), but no car.
Singapore imports domestic workers for poor neighbouring countries like the Philippines and Myanmar, which keeps wages very low, on the order of US$450/month, not too far off Christie's inflation-adjusted US$220/month. Even the fully loaded cost with government levies, insurance, food & board etc is on the order of $1000/month, considerably cheaper than most other childcare options, particularly if like most Singaporeans both parents work longer hours.
By comparison, Singapore strictly limits the number of cars on the road, auctioning permits called "Certificates of Entitlement" to the highest bidder and imposing around 100% taxes on the cars themselves. As a result, a plain vanilla Toyota Corolla costs US$120,000 all in. What's more, half of that is the COE cost, which is valid for only 10 years, meaning the value of the car depreciates by around $10,000 every year. Add in petrol, servicing, parking etc, and having a live-in helper to run errands and drop off kids etc starts to look quite affordable in comparison.
- hsbauauvhabzb 5y agoDo more expensive cars get taxed at 100% also?
- dustintrex 5y agoNo, they get taxed on a sliding scale of up to 180%. Expand "Car" on the page below for details. https://onemotoring.lta.gov.sg/content/onemotoring/home/buying/upfront-vehicle-costs/tax-structure.html https://onemotoring.lta.gov.sg/content/onemotoring/home/buyi...
- Arnavion 5y agoSure, the cost of a car is one factor, but the bigger factor is that Singapore is small and well-connected with public transport. It's quite normal for someone to live in one end of the city and take bus / train to the other end for work.
- dustintrex 5y agoIt's not just a factor, cars are straight up unaffordable for much of the population. One local politician was roundly criticized for a gaffe where he said that "everybody has a car, we have two". The public transport system certainly does make live easier without a car though, as does the ubiquity and low cost of taxis and Uber-style rideshares.
- midasuni 5y agoI spent a month in singapore a few years back, about 5 miles from the office. I took uber everywhere though - bill was about £450 for the month when I put the expenses in. Uber was about 15-20 minutes, public transport took over an hour. That’s 40 hours a month extra time, and my time is worth far more than £11 an hour when my company’s paying £3k for the apartment alone.