[philliphaydon]

> It's said that nothing gets stolen in Singapore, until you speak to Singaporeans.

A friend of mine left her cellphone in a mall bathroom once, on the bench when she washed her hands. Went all the way home and realised she forgot it.

After ~4 hours when she reached the mall. It was still sitting where she left it.

> Your "Hawker Centers" have people in their 70s bent forward cleaning up tables to some earn money.

There is no social safety net in Singapore. So once you get old, there's no benefit or dole, or any government funded programs to give you a comfy life where tax payers pay for you. The idea is you life off your CPF. Because there are people who have no savings. The government subsidizes their salaries. If a company hires them then the government will pay a portion of the salary, this gives incentive to businesses to hire them.

You could raise taxes for businesses and individuals, but then who would move their business or come work in Singapore?