[h=1]THE GOVERNMENT MUST NOT ENCOURAGE DEPENDENCY ON HANDOUTS[/h]
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Post date:
23 Oct 2014 - 8:37pm
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In his commentary last Saturday, Professor Kishore Mahbubani touched on the issue of future-proofing Singapore by building a wise citizenry (“To future-proof the country, build a wise citizenry”). Aside from this, we also need to guard against a dependency mindset.
The success and prosperity we are enjoying now confer on us a certain level of comfort, with some quarters clamouring for more wealth distribution.
Unlike other cities with a large hinterland to fall back on, the harsh reality for us is that we are just a tiny island-state with no natural resources.
With increased spending in recent years to create more social safety nets, some quarters may get the impression that industriousness is not as necessary as before.
Such an insidious mindset must not be allowed to take root here. It is only with a diligent workforce that we can earn the right to exist as a prosperous city-state.
For its part, the Government must ensure a system that duly rewards those who are willing to work, instead of one that encourages dependency on handouts.
We can draw lessons from some Western countries whose eroded work ethics have left them in a quagmire, and guard against taking that route – to future-proof Singapore.
Lee Yong Se
*Letter first appeared in ST Forums (15 Oct)
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Post date:
23 Oct 2014 - 8:37pm
<ins id="aswift_0_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_0" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_0" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
In his commentary last Saturday, Professor Kishore Mahbubani touched on the issue of future-proofing Singapore by building a wise citizenry (“To future-proof the country, build a wise citizenry”). Aside from this, we also need to guard against a dependency mindset.
The success and prosperity we are enjoying now confer on us a certain level of comfort, with some quarters clamouring for more wealth distribution.
Unlike other cities with a large hinterland to fall back on, the harsh reality for us is that we are just a tiny island-state with no natural resources.
With increased spending in recent years to create more social safety nets, some quarters may get the impression that industriousness is not as necessary as before.
Such an insidious mindset must not be allowed to take root here. It is only with a diligent workforce that we can earn the right to exist as a prosperous city-state.
For its part, the Government must ensure a system that duly rewards those who are willing to work, instead of one that encourages dependency on handouts.
We can draw lessons from some Western countries whose eroded work ethics have left them in a quagmire, and guard against taking that route – to future-proof Singapore.
Lee Yong Se
*Letter first appeared in ST Forums (15 Oct)
