Originally Posted by Unregistered

While this thread is quite hilarious, it's unfair to blame all posters here as insecure. What's happening in the accounting sector is the natural consequence of Singapore's "open leg" policy of pursuing unbridled economic growth. The (relatively) less capable white-collar Singaporeans will be squeezed out by (relatively) more capable foreigners from "cheaper" countries. As always, the most capable Singaporeans have nothing to fear from globalized competition.

The question is: at what point does "open leg" policy becomes a political cost to the ruling government such that the G has to become protectionist at the expense of delivering economic outcomes?

I'm fortunate that I'm a lawyer and due to the protectionist nature of my industry, the legal sector has hardly any Malaysians, Filipinos, Indian or PRC nationals, or indeed any FTs from less-developed countries. You'll only find white expats whose international law firms with market-leading salaries set up offices here and open up high paying roles (think >$25K p/m for 6-7YOE associates). Most of my peers are English-speaking and largely come from the same socioeconomic circles (upper middle class) so we're one of the least affected groups from foreign competition.

Even so, the pains of globalized competition are acutely felt when I talk to my MNC clients and find out how many on the client side are FTs from regional countries with such terrible English that I have to re-read their instructions multiple times over.