The heavy price tag to raise a child is a major factor in the declining birth rate in developed countries, including Singapore. It is also the result of the "free market" policies adopted by these governments, that has allowed the cost to be exorbitant. Read this article:
If governments wish to see a higher birth rate, it has to recognise that the cost of raising a child (up to three in a family) should be borne by society, and not by the individual parents. Policies have to be adopted to reduce the cost burden, such as subsidised medical care for pregnancy and childbirth and access to free or subsidised education up to tertiary level.
If parents are relieved of this heavy cost, they are more inclined to take the other burden of parenting. This requires higher taxation, but it is fair. Those who choose to remain single can help to pay the parents to raise the children for the future of the nation. We have to think beyond self interest to the interest of the nation.
Tan Kin Lian
3 comments:
I think you could table a motion to the government to ask them to calculate how much it will cost the GDP to do those items which you mentioned. The amount should be compared against current spending on civil servant salaries, defence and so on. All it takes is for the ministers to cut their salaries permanently to realistic levels, divert the funds to support pro-baby policies, and we might not even need to touch the GDP to do this necessary thing. Even if we have to sacrifice and give up the submarine to have more babies, it will be worth it. What is there to defend, if you have no more people left in the country.
Singaporeans could have a referendum to decide whether to do that. We cannot leave it to incumbents who keep on highlighting a problem, blaming us, whilst the real solution is right before our eyes, all the time, anytime!!!! People are not stupid.
REX
Let's look at this issue in perpective. Whoever wants more babies should pay for it using their OWN money, and not other people's money? You cannot expect Mr A to pay for a baby that Mr A does not want, but Mr B wants.
I only hear the govt wanting more babies. So the govt should pay using its OWN funds, and not taxing the general public any further. If a politician wants more kids, then he/she should pay from his own pocket.
On another note, I feel that the population policy of the world (sg included) is flawed. Sg says that to support 1 million old folks we need 1.5 million young folks (as an example). In 50 yrs time we will need 2 mil young ppl to support the 1.5 mil ppl who would have already grown old by then. If you take this arguement to its logical conclusion, we should have a world population of trillion sometime in the future. The world just cannot sustain such exponential growth. This is nonsense. Yet most first world countries are clamouring for more in-country births. Sg should instead consider importing more and more young ppl from China, India, Africa etc. This will also help to re-distrubute ppl from over-populated countries. This is better solution than creating more babies locally.
Is declining birth rate really a financial cost issue?
If it is, then it should be easily solved with money, which Singapore seems to have a lot. Does it mean that if Singapore increase the baby bonus, there will be more babies?
My idea is that if a problem can be solved by money, it's no problem. The answer is very clear, you either have the money to solve, or no money to solve. I'm speaking from the government point of view.
I think there needs to be a further study on the link between babies and cost.
People always say cost is a factor without thinking. People who I asked whether they are interested in starting a business also say cost is a factor without thinking. There has to be some the factor than cost.
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