I was talking today with a long-term Dubai resident who isn't in Aviation, but to listen to him, you'd think he was, for his complaints - (complaints that he says are shared by most of the people he deals with in Dubai) - were almost exactly what you see here from the EP Pilots' Moan Club (of which I believe I am a charter member). He even mentioned one friend who is planning to up sticks and move his business to Bahrain - same problems, but a cheaper cost of living and, most importantly, the ability to enjoy a lifestyle that Dubai's gigantic building site/perpetual traffic jam simply won't allow any more.
The conversation led me to saying that someone at the top in Dubai seems to have fallen into the trap of believing their own propaganda. Why did Western expats come to the Sandpit back in the 70's and earlier, to live in what were in many ways pretty difficult conditions? The answer is - the money. People were willing to put up with a lot of discomfort because they were able to put enough away to make the pain worthwhile, and leave them with enough money saved to enjoy a comfortable life post-Sandpit.
That equation has been lost for 99% of Dubai residents over the last few years, from Pakistaini labourers to middle level Western managers (which most of us would probably feel we equate to). Simply put, for almost everyone, the cash flow dribbling into the bucket on the right shoulder is no longer balancing the **** pouring at a far faster rate into the bucket on the left shoulder.
And unless someone towards the top recognises this fact really soon, enough (including this little black duck) are going to cry "enough" and give the Sandpit away.