The falling birthrate in Singapore

I came across this letter written to the Straits Times addressing some issues about falling birthrate in Singapore. It pointed out many straight and obvious factors and if the nation is really concern, then they should looked into it in long term and not a Cheaper, Better, Faster way out as we know there are no short cuts in life or we will have to pay the price later like we are in now.

Be single-minded about having more babies

I AM glad the Government acknowledged in yesterday's report, 'Fewer babies for first time in five years', that growing our population is a priority.

But the devil is in the details.

First, the cost of living. With the HDB and private home index rising, homes are becoming more expensive and beyond the reach of young couples who want to start a family.

Couple that with the rising cost of electricity, food, transport, goods and services tax and education, and it is small wonder that we are way below our total fertility rate and are being forced to face the challenges of an ageing population.

The salary increment of an average Singaporean lags behind the rise in cost of living and housing.

The dramatic spike in public flat prices benefit only those of previous generations who bought their properties earlier.

As for the work-life balance that is vital in creating a conducive environment for procreation, Singaporeans work long hours to make ends meet.

Others struggle with night classes after work to upgrade themselves or are caught up in a mid-career switch.

The men are also expected to set aside time to keep fit to meet the requirements of their duties as national servicemen.

So, let us have more clarity about priorities.

If having more babies is the national priority, then there should not be two or three other priorities that detract from our focus on arresting the trend of having fewer and fewer native-born citizens.

Wong Yeow Chong
* Credit to straitstimes.com

Comments

moemoekyun said…
This a very big problem in japan , canada and US but canada and US have a lot of immigrant coming every year ^^
the problem is SG isn't a very popular place for immigrant
for growing problem try japannese gov you have more child have less taxes :) maybe working (not work in japan tho)
world is strange china going crazy with their population and some country going crazy with their growing problem
ps:I heard about this in newspaper last year but now I heard directly from the Singaporean himself so I believe that news now
LEon said…
@moemoekyun
Japan is facing the problem face on without encouraging immigrant which can be a good thing or a bad. I didn't know they have tax lesser for having more kids.
moemoekyun said…
How abou SG is there lots of immigrant too ??
LEon said…
@moemoekyun
Yes for the pass years we do... You can take a look here for a rough sample. google if you want to find out more.
[SK] said…
haha, cool!! i like this letter.. :)