The 5th and 6th is:
- Legalize Playboy and Hustler: let all the men steam so they can make babies
- Ban Geylang: Men will then go home and do their wives instead of a WL.
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_269150.html
Four ways to boost birth rate
THE issue of the need, and hence ways, to increase the birth rate in Singapore has not gone away, despite multiple measures introduced over the years. The current focus seems to be to get men more involved in parenting. It is questionable to what extent this will really increase birth rates significantly. Men have significant work responsibilities as well. Would it not come to a point where, like we working women, the men - tired out by demands from both the workplace and the home - also opt out of having babies? Everyone will quickly realise raising kids is no walk in the park. Why do we seem to assume that with men, their desire for children is infinite?
As a mother of three who has recently made the agonising decision to leave the full-time workforce, I would like to offer my view of the situation and some suggestions for the relevant policy-makers to consider.
Singaporeans contend with not only a high cost of living, but also the fact that we need to plan for the future by saving for our children's education, as well as our own retirement and our future medical expenses. To those who say our children should take care of our future and retirement needs, I say first there is no guarantee, and second, we do not have children so they act as our 'insurance' in old age. In addition, for the 'sandwich generation', financial responsibilities include care of our aged parents. We have virtually no social safety nets to fall back on (unless we are really destitute) and we are told our CPF and Medisave are probably inadequate to see us through our increasing life expectancies.
It is ingrained in us that we must not adopt a 'welfare mentality' and we must be self-sufficient. As such, dual-income families are the norm. There is no 'real choice' in this regard, because for many families, both parents working is what it takes to be able to cater for present and anticipated future needs.
Regardless of the admirable stance some have taken, that children should not be viewed solely in economic terms, the reality is that, unless there is some financial certainty and security for the family, birth rates will not rise, but fall. This is consistent with the well-known positive correlation between birth rates and the strength of the economy at any point in time. I would venture to hypothesise that, in countries where there is better financial certainty and security for citizens, this correlation may be weaker.
For many, our difficulties stem from the question: Why have children when you don't have time for them because of increasing work responsibilities and hours? There is a limit to what companies can do with respect to family-friendly practices and policies; their raison d'etre is to make profits. No company I know of has national birth rates as one of its key performance indicators.
The Government cannot keep harping on and hoping that Singaporeans have more children, unless real impediments are removed. Here are some suggestions (I have several more, but space is a constraint) if we want to target three to four children per family (to strive towards a total fertility rate of 2.1):
- Free (or even more greatly subsidised) post-secondary education for the third and fourth children;
- Free (or even more greatly subsidised) medical care for the third and fourth children, up to a certain age or ceiling;
- Nominal or token pension for parents (or for at least the one parent who has given up his or her job to care for children full time) with more than two children upon statutory retirement age; and
- More significant tax reliefs for working couples who have, in addition to more than two children, aged parents.
The Baby Bonus was definitely a step in the right direction, as evinced by a slight increase in birth rates in recent years. Putting additional measures such as my suggestions in place will go even further towards alleviating some of the pressures and insecurities couples face in deciding whether to have more children.
Karen Tan (Ms)
- Legalize Playboy and Hustler: let all the men steam so they can make babies
- Ban Geylang: Men will then go home and do their wives instead of a WL.
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_269150.html
Four ways to boost birth rate
THE issue of the need, and hence ways, to increase the birth rate in Singapore has not gone away, despite multiple measures introduced over the years. The current focus seems to be to get men more involved in parenting. It is questionable to what extent this will really increase birth rates significantly. Men have significant work responsibilities as well. Would it not come to a point where, like we working women, the men - tired out by demands from both the workplace and the home - also opt out of having babies? Everyone will quickly realise raising kids is no walk in the park. Why do we seem to assume that with men, their desire for children is infinite?
As a mother of three who has recently made the agonising decision to leave the full-time workforce, I would like to offer my view of the situation and some suggestions for the relevant policy-makers to consider.
Singaporeans contend with not only a high cost of living, but also the fact that we need to plan for the future by saving for our children's education, as well as our own retirement and our future medical expenses. To those who say our children should take care of our future and retirement needs, I say first there is no guarantee, and second, we do not have children so they act as our 'insurance' in old age. In addition, for the 'sandwich generation', financial responsibilities include care of our aged parents. We have virtually no social safety nets to fall back on (unless we are really destitute) and we are told our CPF and Medisave are probably inadequate to see us through our increasing life expectancies.
It is ingrained in us that we must not adopt a 'welfare mentality' and we must be self-sufficient. As such, dual-income families are the norm. There is no 'real choice' in this regard, because for many families, both parents working is what it takes to be able to cater for present and anticipated future needs.
Regardless of the admirable stance some have taken, that children should not be viewed solely in economic terms, the reality is that, unless there is some financial certainty and security for the family, birth rates will not rise, but fall. This is consistent with the well-known positive correlation between birth rates and the strength of the economy at any point in time. I would venture to hypothesise that, in countries where there is better financial certainty and security for citizens, this correlation may be weaker.
For many, our difficulties stem from the question: Why have children when you don't have time for them because of increasing work responsibilities and hours? There is a limit to what companies can do with respect to family-friendly practices and policies; their raison d'etre is to make profits. No company I know of has national birth rates as one of its key performance indicators.
The Government cannot keep harping on and hoping that Singaporeans have more children, unless real impediments are removed. Here are some suggestions (I have several more, but space is a constraint) if we want to target three to four children per family (to strive towards a total fertility rate of 2.1):
- Free (or even more greatly subsidised) post-secondary education for the third and fourth children;
- Free (or even more greatly subsidised) medical care for the third and fourth children, up to a certain age or ceiling;
- Nominal or token pension for parents (or for at least the one parent who has given up his or her job to care for children full time) with more than two children upon statutory retirement age; and
- More significant tax reliefs for working couples who have, in addition to more than two children, aged parents.
The Baby Bonus was definitely a step in the right direction, as evinced by a slight increase in birth rates in recent years. Putting additional measures such as my suggestions in place will go even further towards alleviating some of the pressures and insecurities couples face in deciding whether to have more children.
Karen Tan (Ms)
