Response to video asking Singaporeans to do 'it' on National Day!
Okay so there's a video going viral on the internet asking Singaporeans to do 'it' on National Day as it will be the best present one can give a nation. The video is titled "Mentos National Night" (Click here to watch the video and read the article about it.) I can't exactly watch the video because I think my boarding house blocked it so the basis of my response is through the analysis of the news article on yahoo news." Like a government scholar, I wanna cram real hard and tap you all night like an EZ-link card" These are some bits and pieces of the song lyrics. I know some people might think it is funny but I honestly think it is very crude.
The person who created this song probably had good intentions hoping to inspire people to do 'it'. But what is he trying to encourage here? Inspiring people to have casual sex? Encouraging teenage pregnancies? The main intention of the song is to encourage Singaporeans to "make babies... and make Singapore's birthrate spike"So how far will people go? Will people go against societal norms and morals just to do 'it', since the main goal is to boost population growth?
In 2011, "Singapore recorded 39,654 births - prompting Minister Mentor Lee to comment that ' at the current low birth rates, Singapore's economy will slow down like the Japanese economy.'" If that ever happens to Singapore, this shows that the government is not giving enough incentives to Married couples to have children. If the government puts more resources into Baby bonus and stuff like that, I am sure couples will be incentivised to have kids and at the same time, the increase in government spending will boost the economy.
So this brings me to the next question... How high should the Baby Bonus be to encourage couples to have kids? The current baby bonus scheme is a cash gift of up to $4000 each for 1st and 2nd child and $6000 each for your 3rd and 4th child. There is also the Child development Account (CDA) whereby the savings will be matched up to the cap of $6000 each for the 1st and 2nd child, $12,000 each for the 3rd and 4th child and $18,000 each for the 5th and subsequent child. One can save in the CDA any time until 31 December in the year your child turns 12 years of age.
Technically, you get an average of $5000 cash for a child. I find the CDA scheme slightly unfair to the lower income groups because they might not have the excess capacity to put the money in financial institutions and hence they would not benefit from the CDA.
Hypothetically, if we create a level playing field by taking away the CDA scheme. Couples would only get an average of $5000 per child. I am sure raising a child costs more than that. Also, in modern Singapore gender equality is practiced. Women are as capable as men. How many women will be willing to sacrifice time from their career to get pregnant? The $5000 is not enough to cover their salary and the rising cost of living let alone motivate couples to have children.
I like the idea of how the community contributes to the upbringing of a kid. "Aboriginal children were born into ritual sub-groups or kinship groups that shaped their upbringing. Nurturing children was a responsibility shared by their wider kin group, including parents and aunts and uncles (who were not necessarily directly related)." Willmott, 2000 Civic and Citizenship Politics and law Western Australia
In the same way, I believe that the community should play a part in nurturing children. This takes some burdens away from the parents shoulders knowing that they can get support from the community and it may actually incentivise them to have kids.
Well, this is my view and response to the article. Feel free to disagree with me. Hope to hear your ideas too. :)
The person who created this song probably had good intentions hoping to inspire people to do 'it'. But what is he trying to encourage here? Inspiring people to have casual sex? Encouraging teenage pregnancies? The main intention of the song is to encourage Singaporeans to "make babies... and make Singapore's birthrate spike"So how far will people go? Will people go against societal norms and morals just to do 'it', since the main goal is to boost population growth?
In 2011, "Singapore recorded 39,654 births - prompting Minister Mentor Lee to comment that ' at the current low birth rates, Singapore's economy will slow down like the Japanese economy.'" If that ever happens to Singapore, this shows that the government is not giving enough incentives to Married couples to have children. If the government puts more resources into Baby bonus and stuff like that, I am sure couples will be incentivised to have kids and at the same time, the increase in government spending will boost the economy.
So this brings me to the next question... How high should the Baby Bonus be to encourage couples to have kids? The current baby bonus scheme is a cash gift of up to $4000 each for 1st and 2nd child and $6000 each for your 3rd and 4th child. There is also the Child development Account (CDA) whereby the savings will be matched up to the cap of $6000 each for the 1st and 2nd child, $12,000 each for the 3rd and 4th child and $18,000 each for the 5th and subsequent child. One can save in the CDA any time until 31 December in the year your child turns 12 years of age.
Technically, you get an average of $5000 cash for a child. I find the CDA scheme slightly unfair to the lower income groups because they might not have the excess capacity to put the money in financial institutions and hence they would not benefit from the CDA.
Hypothetically, if we create a level playing field by taking away the CDA scheme. Couples would only get an average of $5000 per child. I am sure raising a child costs more than that. Also, in modern Singapore gender equality is practiced. Women are as capable as men. How many women will be willing to sacrifice time from their career to get pregnant? The $5000 is not enough to cover their salary and the rising cost of living let alone motivate couples to have children.
I like the idea of how the community contributes to the upbringing of a kid. "Aboriginal children were born into ritual sub-groups or kinship groups that shaped their upbringing. Nurturing children was a responsibility shared by their wider kin group, including parents and aunts and uncles (who were not necessarily directly related)." Willmott, 2000 Civic and Citizenship Politics and law Western Australia
In the same way, I believe that the community should play a part in nurturing children. This takes some burdens away from the parents shoulders knowing that they can get support from the community and it may actually incentivise them to have kids.
Well, this is my view and response to the article. Feel free to disagree with me. Hope to hear your ideas too. :)
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