Originally posted by Atobe:
Ten years since MM Lee first raised the issue, and why does this
problem of declining birth still persist ?
The answer is written on the wall but accepting it is persistently
resisted.
The Cost of Living is simply too high despite all the data that the
Department of Statistics has produced and which the Government has
used to refute such claims, insisting that they have done a good
job in keeping inflation low.
Keeping inflation low does not necessarily mean that Cost of Living
is affordable vis-a-vis the balancing of the family budget.
The family budget varies widely between the [b]Upper Income, Uppder Middle Income, Lower
Middle Income and the Lower-lower Income
groups - and the amount of Official Help that is available
differs even more between those in the Lower-low Income and
the Upper
Income.
The irony of it is that somehow the disparity in the number of
children in the family seems to wider between the Upper Income - (with
less children) - and the Lower-lower Income -
(with more children despite not being able to afford).
The pinch of the high
Cost of Living experienced by the Lower-lower
Income do not seem to deter such families from having more children
- as there exist some degree of social support from the Government
and from its own ethnic community.
While the Upper
Income groups - supposedly more educated - are more
aware of the significance in the costs of child rearing WITHOUT any
forms of social support, and the budget comes from their own
resources only.
The higher the income, the higher the parental ambitions for the
children, which will entail higher expenses, and tighter budget
even with a larger income compared to the Lower-lower Income
families.
The families trapped in the Upper-Middle Income
and Lower-Middle
Income will form the larger portion of the
Singapore population, and this is where many prefer to remain
single or childless, while slogging it out to build the nest, or
achieve one's Life Goals.
If the Government do not attend to the issue of the Cost of Living,
and prefer to use statistics to convince us that all is well - when
it is not - this subject will continue for another Ten Years, and
by then those Foreigners will also be a member of this single
Singaporean pool.
[/b]
Very well said indeed!!
In actual fact about 2% our professionals working population
migrate every year.Why our gov doesnot do any thing to retain them
and the Gods are sometimes simply say if u dont like the cost of
living here then go loh?
I think 2 increase the population is just an excuse 4 something 2
come?
Do really think the increased population will solve our ecnomic
problems,pls think carefully and let me know which sch of thought
said so?
