True. Inflation has actually been around for while. Printing bank note is the best way to pay back the mountainous domestic debt, much of which is used for nation wide construction of basic facility. There is another solution though - accepting FDI for basic facility in stead of doing it by ourselves. But that will be a major change...
As to average income, take a look at per capita GDP of PRC, Malaysia, ..., you will see why. It's not surprising at all. Average household income in SH is not high enough to feel proud of, average building height is.
GDP per cap ita (US$)
2001 2002 2003
China 909 964 1023
Hong Kong 23,225 22,438
Mexico 5,861 5,897
S ingapore 20,049 20,047
Thailand 1,789 1,933
Indonesia 652 820
Malaysia 3,777 3,963
Argentina 7,419 2,650