Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing was quoting ex-DPM Wong Kan Seng when he said Singapore could turn its dismal total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.2 around, as Nordic countries managed to do, if it accepts women having children out of wedlock. That should make him popular in those countries, children born out of wedlock are usually associated with the "b" word.
In March 2011, Wong had quoted OECD figures to show that Sweden, Denmark and Norway have a high TFR because many people there are having babies out of wedlock as much as they are within marriage. What the keechiu general conveniently skipped was the qualification by Dr Yap Mui Teng, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, "although parents may not officially get married, they are more or less in stable cohabitating relationships... Sometimes they go on to marry after a child is born." Something Brad Pitt and Angelina Joline planned to do, after having 3 biological and 3 adopted kids.
Dr Yap cited research published in 2005 to state, "Where they start from is a pro-individual approach - where individuals are supported in pursuing their aims and lifestyles - it didn't start out as a policy to encourage child bearing." In other words, they had children of their own volition, not simply to feed the state with economic fodder.
Singapore women, like the men, are resigned to being pawns in the GDP game. Nine months of labour are nine months of economic loss. That's worse then the opportunity cost of Reservist Training. Some women are even given the pink slip for getting in the family way. And there is always the possibility that the slim waistline will go to pot.
The Daily Telegraph ("Half of India's surrogate babies for UK" reported that British bankers, senior civil servants, executives at MNCs and even National Health Service doctors are having babies through surrogates to avoid pregnancy and child birth. Women in India are being paid up to US$9,000 to donate eggs and carry babies to term. And since most Singapore kids are raised by Filipina domestics anyway (whose maternal roles have extended to carrying the NSmen's backpacks), mom won't have to miss a single day of work. Wong, before he lost his million dollar paycheck, had said that a solution (to the TFR issue) was not just a matter of taking what works elsewhere and trying to apply it here, societal context mattered. Well, it looks like we have something workable here. After all, we have extensive experience outsourcing to India. Why stop at babies?
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The so called fertility problem in Spore only exists in the mind of the Singapore super elite. In the 60's and 70's they claimed that we were overpopulated. Leave people alone.
ReplyDeleteYes. Just like government should leave oral sex alone.
DeleteWhatever decisions made by any cabinet of goverments of the world are are always political decisions. Stop at two & FTs policies are focal to ensuring continued ruling power, period
DeleteCopying ideas straight from other countries will not work unless environmental factors are considered. I remembered in the early days, our government kept on asking people to emulate the Japanese work attitude but never talk about the welfare and life long commitment from the company to employees. It did not work well in Singapore because the whip is always hitting on one side i.e. the workers and not the employers.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid keechiu's idea is too idealistic since it ignores emotional and social issues related to children from out of wedlock.
At the end, government must empathise with its citizens and find out the real reasons why they are not producing. We have been telling them and they have continued to ignore the fact that cost of living, housing, school, work environment, COE, healthcare, mass transport, pay etc are the main reasons why people are holding back babies or decided not to have at all.
It's not idealistic to explore radical ways of improving TFR. But when you pitch it in such a manner that is so black and white like what CCS did - If you want to xxxx, are you prepared to xxxx? Why must it a either or situation? How about going in the manner of 'what if we did xxxx, could we get xxxx or yyy or zzz?"
DeleteAnd who is he preaching to anyway? Those people who have a strong social or puritanical moral judgments would surely be the ones to shoot it down. I bet if he has taken a different approach, and reach the right segment, he would be surprised to find some supporters to the out-of-wedlock dichotomy.
Perhaps someone should do a study on cost of living and stress, and if they do correlate with the birth rate. Though I would think its pretty obvious.
ReplyDeleteBut what do I know, I don't have state resources, a budget and researchers at my beck and call.
This whole fertility problem is a fraud hoisted upon the people. The elite is not interested in having happy families with children. They want drones for the work force, consumers to purchase products and fodder for an army whose job is to protect the interests of an elite who pay very low taxes.
ReplyDeleteIncreasing the fertility rate is ensure a steady supply of drones, consumers and army fodder so that can they keep the economy growing.
People want to raise their children in a happy environment witn a bright future. Thy dont want their children to be drones, consumers and fodder for the army.
Ya! We don't want to become worker bees! Bzzz....
DeleteOutsourcing to India is practical and relatively cheap but education, healthcare and board and lodging while waiting for the drones to mature are unaffordable. Those are the reasons for mass importing healthy, mature drones that foreign governments have already paid for their cultivation (or the lack of) to drive up GDP for the elites' bonuses. Make the joys of parenting too expensive, a luxury reserved for the overpaid elites and the lesser mortals will keep their noses to the grind to pay off their 30 year mortgages.
DeleteSaycheese
You are absolutely right!
DeleteNow we are seeing a fraud within a fraud. They are now using low fertility rate as an excuse to import more drones and worker bees to keep their system going.
It boggles the mind that Singapore, the 2nd most crowded country in the world, wants to squeeze more people here. Blind idiots. The world has already reached 7 billion people, and soon will outstrip what the earth can support.
If an idea works in another country.
ReplyDeleteYou can depend on the deaf frogs to twist the idea to fit their outdated ideology.
Until the idea becomes yet another new anti-people policy.
Pro Alien Party is a Party Against People.
They only have anti-people ideas and policies to offer.
They are politically bankrupt of ideas and vision.
Machine men,
with machine hearts,
and machine minds.
//In other words, they had children of their own volition, not simply to feed the state with economic fodder. //
ReplyDeleteWe should ask, why is it good for a society, when all we do is see how intelligent people say/do stupid things like :-
1) install fear in our political psyche - 1 party good, 2 party bad, 3 party worse
2) appeal to guilt in adults who embrace cohabiting in a healthy sexual/personal relations outside an "unconventional define'; or even to people (LBGT) who have orientation unlike heterosexual couple
3) to preach shame on a new born child that we would say 'beautiful, almost perfect but is born out of inferior parents or wedlock'. We should kill it?
What kind of society are we leaving for our children? Until the citizens engage in such humanistic philosophy of what a life worth living is about, we will never get to why this country is worth fighting for. When everything is dressed down to an utilitarian purpose - education is for job, children is for old age, NS is for survival, adult is for productivity etc, instead of evaluating humanity's interconnectedness, our very reasons on this passing earth or on this red dot, will just be for one thing and one purpose only =
That we will be judged and assessed only as economic pawns of this country. Nothing more, nothing less. That is the unvarnished truth.
Just keep voting Opposition;
ReplyDeleteconsistently & loyally;
The deaf frogs will eventually understand the problem.
Our votes.
The only effective feedback mechanism that is understood by our Pro Alien Millionaires in Parliament.
Your Opposition vote is more effective when you also persuade a friend/relative to vote Opposition.
You are sounding like a broken record, dude.
DeleteIf you or the Opposition parties have new solutions and refreshing things to add, please do so. Otherwise, pick your place and time to do this.
You must be a fart from the old ass hole.
DeleteNothing wrong with a broken record.
Or repetition.
As long as it's the truth.
"There is nothing to prevent you from pushing your propaganda, to push your programme out either to the students or with the public at large... and if you can carry the ground, if you are right, you win. That's democracy. We're not preventing anybody" ~ Lee Kuan Yew, 31 January 2005
Schoolchildren having sex as early as 13-16 years old is already happening.
ReplyDeleteAdults living together before marriage is already happening.
LBGT exists on this island, already happening.
Children out of wedlock is already happening.
Single moms adopting is already happening.
Couples outsourcing childbirth to surrogates is already happening.
This govt is so out-of-touch, and continue to pander to the majority conservatives and ignoring the existence of such groups are clearly doing so at their peril.
It can only open doors for a more enlightened and liberal party.
Because there are no credible solutions and policies that want to address them. The heads are still in the sands. And they continue to preach their own white versions of morality.
This government is definately out of touch. What can you expect. The ruling elites do not mix with the people on the ground. The only connection is through their grassroot leaders who in the effort to please them will not tell them all are not too well on the ground. I remembered during the Cultural Revolution days, Mao was on a conducted tour to some villages. Farmers were told to cut fresh paddy stalks, hold them above head and hid from sight of Mao. They were directed to line along the path, giving Mao the impressiom that paddy production is good and people are happy.
DeleteReligions can be a force of evil, but can also be force of good.
DeleteWe should not judge any of those anon12:50 listed, any more we would judge politics by bad politicians, or journalism by bad journalists. That's what an inclusive society is really about.
You are right. Baby surrogacy is no difference from maid outsourcing. Or kidneys outsourcing. You trade such services and time with your money.
ReplyDeleteSomeone's exploitation is another's gain. That speaks volume about the quality of our people. Money surely makes the world go around.
Pragmatism rules!!!
Capitalism rules!!
Instead of outsourcing, let's get to the root of the problem.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of the cause.
Let's outsource our Millionaires, I mean Ministers, in Parliament.
You want a Swiss standard of living?
Let's bring in a team of Swiss experts.
Cut out the middleman.
No need to vote in the Millionaires in White.
And then send them to Switzerland to study the country.
And then come back to Singapore.
And implement a half baked version of the Swiss success.
HDB or rather PAP also try to outsource its upgrade work through Rotary Club's toilet funding too. Liddat also can ah?
ReplyDeleteTo a large extent, having babies outside of wedlock means outsourcing the wife's primary function to mistresses, traditionally a Confucian practice.
ReplyDeleteOur PAP leaders will most certainly love to endorse it if not for the women's vote.
The only obstacle left for our Govt is how to placate the wives and make it legal, I suppose ?
Don't think that is the case here.
DeleteThere are mature and financially independent adults who don't believe marriage for marriage or for a piece of paper's sake. They could be staying together like any other couple but the baby came along before any decision to marry. In scandinavian it is common that the man may/may not marry the woman after child is born. And I believe there are already some people doing this. Of course, including the young adults who may not have the maturity nor financial means. The question is, does the society then pass harsh judgment on such single parenthood or unconventional parenthood and thus create even more barriers to these groups, just because it doesn't fall within the "normal social construct?".
The Indian software industry has the ability to transform into one of the major in the world. It is actually additionally quite captivating to overseas suppliers.
ReplyDeleteOutsourcing to India supplies not just advantages to a corporation but to clients also. It offers entry to some of the finest talent and expertise in the area at cost-effective costs.
ReplyDelete