Thomas Hobbes wrote that people accumulate wealth not out of excess, but out of fear.
That’s what comes to mind with this latest report on inequality in Singapore. Now most of that article covers familiar ground: the constant back-and-forth argument about how the GINI co-efficient should be calculated, so as to produce the most soothing results on the financially struggling.
What stands out, however, is a new inclusion. For the first time, the data includes non-owner-occupied housing equity. That is, property wealth which, up till now, did not show up as income. Previously, for example, someone living with their parents while renting out their own property for $4,000 a month could appear far less advantaged than they actually were; at least as far as the inequality radar could detect.
To be clear, I do agree with this inclusion. As Singapore is an ageing society, post-retirement income – rather than employment income – is increasingly what separates the haves and have-nots.
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