Chimbu Chuckles:
I agree with you. I am a Singaporean currently living in Dubai on an expat package. I was happy with my local package in Singapore but wouldn't have moved to Dubai if the company didn't offer me some salary premium + expat benefits for living away from home.
If there was no premium to my salary for living outside Singapore, why on earth would I have moved from my comfort zone?
All my Singaporean friends who were posted by their companies to foreign locations received somewhere between 1.5 to 2x their salary + tax equalisation (since just about every place on earth has higher tax than SIN) + housing benefits + air tickets home.
I have NEVER heard of people relocating to another country for less money.
This has nothing to do with race or nationality. It's pure common sense.