Show ME the Money DOOBAI !!!

"Overworked and Underpaid" - This was the title of an article in a recent issue of 7 Days (Dubai's weekly newspaper covering an array of interesting and bizarre topics). Struck by the title and amused by my colleagues clipping the headline to post below their office name tags, I checked out the article and discovered something new.

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You drive the streets of Dubai and luxury cars by far out number the economical vehicles. Malls are always packed with women carrying designer handbags and wearing overpriced sweatshop jeans. Go to one of the local hot spot bars and you will be promised a evening filled with people parading off their bottles of top of the line champagne through exaggerated light and music shows ending with their name being projected on the wall.

From these observations you'd assume that Dubai is filled with people making good money to be enjoying such luxuries. Interestingly enough, the surveys show otherwise:

1. 54.8% of people earn less than 3,000 AED a month (roughly $800)
2. 21.3% of people earn less than 1,000 AED a month ($270)
3. Less than one of five get health insurance
4. 60.9% want new jobs because their salaries are just too low
5. AND only 4.6% of people in Dubai earn more than 20,000 AED per month (roughly $65,000 annually)