Birth rate vs childrenÂ’s healthcare costs.
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Birth rate vs childrenÂ’s healthcare costs.
SGporean getting extinct?
SGporean has he worldÂ’s 3rd lowest birth rate (223/ 226 countries) @ 1.05 /woman lifetime (2005est.) (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2127rank.html),
This means that the population of SGporeans would be halved every generation- this is unsustainable. The army and workforce would definitely be compromised.
To encourage couples to have more children- child healthcare costs should be more subsidized and capped at an annual maximum. More residential facilities for e.g. downs syndrome children should be provided at affordable rates because many educated parents (being of the slightly older age group when pregnant) are very afraid to have a downÂ’s syndrome (/ equivalent) child which they know- would impact greatly upon the quality of their lives (shattered dreams, multiple costly medical/ behavioral problems to attend to, need to quit job to look after child, marital stress)-
Across board child subsidies are not the only answer… as said: is adequate support for the mentally dull/ chronically ill child available & affordable? – does our elitist society have a place for everyone? – Should the birth of such a child to be considered a disaster? - Are we really united as a society? Why is our society failing?- - What’s the consensus?
Thus I feel that it is the responsibility of our society to deeply investigate this important issue if we are to avoid the slippery slope of population contraction and its attendant problems.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12826-2004Sep10.html :
There will be fewer people to support a growing elderly population and to sustain the military that protects this 400-square-mile island sandwiched between Indonesia and Malaysia. Singapore's vaunted tiger economy will whimper.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/26012006/323/singapore-birth-rate-inches-enough-babies-report.html
“… 37,593 babies were registered in 2005…. Singapore needs a replacement rate of 2.1 percent or 50,000 babies a year just to maintain the local population without the need for immigration.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3589744.stm
23.8.2004- Singapore aims to lift birth rate
Analysts have warned that future growth may be hampered by an aging workforce -
Government will not do something that makes them lose money. They will recover it from somewhere. So in the end, it is still expensive.
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the gahmen is accountable to their shareholders, not the voters.
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People wouldn't dare have children; what if they grow old and lose their jobs and can't support their child or children because employers don't hire older workers??
Healthcare keeps going up, school fees keeps going up, jobs hard to come by, - so, what babies?? -
Low birth rate because most singaporean can hardly support themselves. I don't see a future for myself in singapore when I m old
