PM Lee LNY message: Upgrade productivity & birth rate
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PM Lee's LNY message emphasizes productivity goals, replacing population
SINGAPORE : Singapore's total fertility rate fell to a record low last year.
In his traditional Lunar New Year message, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addressed the challenges facing the country which include upgrading productivity and the declining birth rate in Singapore.
PM Lee said the Year of the Ox began on a challenging note, with Singapore facing its worst economic crisis since its independence.
"In the first quarter of 2009, our GDP plunged 10 per cent. But our economy pulled back up so that for the whole year GDP only declined 2.1 per cent. We kept unemployment low, bringing it down to just 2.1 per cent in December. In a recession year, we managed to increase employment by 39,000. Thankfully, our efforts produced a much better outcome than we had feared," said PM Lee.
But Singaporeans made a collective effort to find practical solutions to tackle the crisis.
Mr Lee said it's because Singaporeans responded as one people that the country prevailed from the economic crisis. But he warned that the people must remain vigilant in the Year of the Tiger. That is because though economies have stabilised there may still be surprises and close calls.
So, Singaporeans should be psychologically prepared and not let down their guard too soon.
The PM noted that the Economic Strategies Committee has recommended moderating the inflow of foreign workers and raising productivity growth.
But Singapore cannot continue importing foreign workers as liberally as before, because it will run up against space constraints.
So to make up for this, productivity levels have to go up much faster, and Mr Lee said upgrading productivity is therefore a vital task.
PM Lee said: "Importing fewer foreign workers does not mean less competition for Singa¬poreans, because our real competitors are out there in the world, and not here among us. Instead it means that our workers have to work harder to upgrade ourselves.
"Only when every citizen is well-trained, and is continually improving his skills and know-how, will Singa¬pore do well, and every citizen better his life. Upgrading productivity is therefore a vital task.
"We must not fail, otherwise our economy will stagnate, our city will become less vibrant and our children will enjoy fewer opportunities. By working smart and bringing about this economic transform¬ation, we can exploit the abundant opportunities in Asia, and create more chances for ourselves."
Maintaining and rejuvenating the population is another challenge Singapore faces.
Despite all efforts, the PM said Singapore's producing far too few babies.
Last year the resident total fertility rate (TFR) slid further to 1.23 from 1.28 the year before. This is the lowest Singapore has ever experienced.
For the Chinese, Mr Lee said the TFR was even lower, going down from 1.14 to 1.09.
The prime minister is worried about this year too, because some Chinese couples prefer not to have children during the Year of the Tiger due to superstitions against children born under this animal sign.
He said: "In each of the last three Tiger years (1998, 1986 and 1974), the number of births dipped by 7 per cent. It is one thing to encourage ourselves with the traditional attributes of the zodiac animals. But it is another to cling on to superstitions against children born in the Year of the Tiger, who are really no different from children born under other animal signs."
Mr Lee feels regardless of the zodiac sign, Singapore must remain a good place to have and bring up children.
He added that the government will continue to support and encourage Singaporeans to have children.
Concluding, he hopes that Singaporeans will recall how important families are to them, rejoice that the people have united to overcome a very major challenge, and resolve to make the best of the year ahead.
The prime minister wishes all Singaporeans a very happy Year of the Tiger.
Click here for full text of PM Lee's Lunar New Year message.
- CNA /ls -
don't think that this lesson learnt in the US would not go unnoticed here.. since a lot of US corporations are here in Singapore:
3. Corporations now know exactly how much money they save by firing workers.
And although the employment figures show that the rich stayed employed and the lowest-wage workers — who do most of the productive work in the economy — did not, companies laid off so many lower-paid workers that they are more flush with cash than Scrooge McDuck — to the tune of $1.19 trillion. But since people who kept their jobs have been busting their humps to keep them, productivity rates went up during the recession — which means your corporate overlords know exactly how hard they can work you for how little pay without reducing output. Get used to busting that hump.Source => 5 ways American Workers Found Out Today They're Screwed
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He added that the government will continue to support and encourage Singaporeans to have children.
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You need to do more financial aid if you really want sporean to try to have babies.
And not forgetting those who has already have a few kids...they do need assistances and financial aids too.
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More kids means more future workers to drive the economy.
Higher GDP means higher salaries for the ministers.
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Why bother with productivity and birth rate?
They can always import from PRC, India, Indonesia and Philippines, cheaper, faster and better. It is far cheaper to bring up babies in these countries, considering that Singapore is top 10 in cost of living.
When are we going to start importing cheaper, faster and better Ministers from these countries?