Matt's explanation is probably correct
I've had conversations with people who worked in Libya and Saudi Arabia. A reoccuring observation was the natives didn't do anything except collect welfare checks and watch television (the tendency towards violent religious fundamentalism maybe do to boredom). The whole economy is kept afloat through the labor of "guest workers". Indians, Pakis, Egyptians, Malays and Philipinos do the unskilled labor. The skilled labor goes to Europeans, Americans and Japanese. Seems insane. What do these people think will happen to their country when the oil runs out?
Gary