What's the government doing about Singapore's low fertility rates? | Deep Dive podcast
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2024
- In our second part on the issue of falling fertility rates in Singapore, Minister Indranee Rajah gives Steven Chia and Crispina Robert an inside look at why the financial incentives matter and what else might help. Business owner and father of three, Mark Lee, gives his input too.
0:00 Intro
1:09 Why is Singapore's TFR so low?
4:15 Factors contributing to stress
5:03 Addressing housing concerns
6:19 Changing attitudes towards marriage and parenthood
7:59 The role of flexible work arrangements
13:45 Financial support for parents
15:30 What the government is doing to support parenthood
20:22 Shifting mindsets
Watch part 1 here: cna.asia/4agtaC4
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I had a casual discussion with a group of scholars, age 28 to 30. Some married, some single. Some said they wanted to stay single. And those married ones don't want to have children. I asked why. They don't no confidence in their future, no confidence in raising kids, worried children hindered their future.
These people's income are not low. Basically 6 figure salary.
because expectations are high today
Rich ppl dont need stress all these and dont need about having kids or not ...MONEY is the medicine
After getting hitched, you have to wait a few years to get a HDB. By then, you would be around 35 and most couples just settled with one child or give up. Not to mention the prices of BTO are getting ridiculous.
I wonder if previous generation actually bought house before having a children because it's a commonly agreed among youngster that owning a house is a basic prerequisite for starting a family. If SG can't fulfill that, other action doesn't really results in significant return
1. Please do not have children if you cannot afford to give them a decent living. 2. Please do not have children if you are not bless with good genes. 3. Please do not have children if you are not willing to take care of them decently. 4. Please do not have children if you are not willing to give your time to them.
Agree with 1,3 and 4.
Our new prime minister Lawrence Wong also no kids . Since he is making so much and childless why normal Singaporeans earning below SGD3k need to HV children? Everything is so expensive. HSE , food , utilities, transport so expensive.
What they r doing? 😂
Make cost of living n medical fee sky high !!!😂
PROPAGANDA 🐂💩
Indranee is CHILDLESS
👍👏👏👏
That makes her the least qualified representative from the govt to talk about this topic 😂😂
With regard to policy planning matters, you don’t need to be someone to understand and plan for solution. Most parents are still clueless in parenting. You don’t have to be a criminal to understand criminals.
One of the most useless talker !!!
U never notice they don't wanna let her hold a file, anytime she will just snap and slam
Childless for a reason 😂 Imagine how sad your life would be if you were to become her kid
Increase annual leave. If european countries have minimjm over 20 days leave and still manage to be productive , what is the sg govt afraid of? Our minimum 7 days is ridiculous as some companies still make use of this law. Increase paid maternity and paternity leave so parents don't have to rely on external help and can instead give their dedicated time to their child
no easy solution. Taking care of child needs a lot of time. Even if double the leave will still not be enough. And is a blunt tool. Is better you find a job that suits you.
Why so troublesome? There are plenty of migrants from PRC and India queuing up for citizenship! What for pleasing all the difficult locals?
I was jobless post NSF for 5 years. Earn less then $1K for the next 3 years. Only jump up $2K when realized my colleague fresh NSF was earning that much. And earn under $2.5K for next 15 years. And I have a diploma from Singapore Poly since ORD. How to get married even?
Asking indranee about birth rate is like asking a lifelong fat person how to lose weight
It actually makes sense. A fat person can tell people how he/she got so fat and you just have to do the opposite. So if she is not having sex, then you should have lots of sex.
Why should anything be done about it to begin with?
Catch a man a fish, and you feed him for a day
Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life
But create a man, and you create a lifetime of hunger that didn't need to exist in the first place.
should ask her why she is still single herself. she is the representative of all local women mindset
Later she'll Throw Tantrums like Terrible 2 Flipping Folder
cuz she can accept failures like u...
The throwing of folders during parliament already shows her character...really no respect for all ...
@@Humorousguy64
That's the Quality of Incumbent
ARROGANT n OBNOXIOUS
Locals already have difficulty getting a job ,talk about low fertility rate?
94.5% jobs in 2023 went to foreigners!
no relation...busy getting a job den dun fu**...
Only wayang...excuses for importing more to PR or Citizens
I felt the Govt can consider to give full support to children born with congenital diseases. My understanding now is - to get subsidies,family is still subject to income check to qualify. Some are lifelong. Take haemophilla - a recent CNA program - the whole family;has to enjoy less and live very frugally to support the expensive medication. And these are genetic diseases which is not predictable and no one knows it will happen. So I felt this is something our Govt can give assurance. Also like those born with special needs - ausitic children. More support and help to caregiver, the whole family
Basically, it is expensive to have a child nowadays. This issue is not limited to Singapore, it’s the same for Hong Kong. The cost of raising a child is getting more and more expensive… you need money or be quite well off to afford to pay for all the extra lessons (ballet, art, music, sports, language, etc) to give your child a competitive advantage, not to mention the tuition costs for school subjects. On top of this, you also need to ensure that you have savings for your own retirement and for any unforeseen calamity that result in you being made redundant by the company you are working for. Given all these, only the very brave would opt to have children.
CEO business tycoon as NMP? Is it family business? Or self-made man?
OPEN Leg Policy
KEEP IMPORTING
Wah lao eh, at least find a MP mother to talk about!
When you just started out in life after schools, having children is the last thing you think of. Honestly it is no money no children. if everything is not so expensive so competitive then children will come. and then the gov is only half hearted to push for real results, still holding back, more concern with economy, so the easier solutions is to import citizens. hoping they will naturalize
Sg Govt wants to have their cake and eat it.
Want to have double digit annual growth, want both adults to be in the workforce, and at the same time the Singaporean has to compete with foreigners and worry about their own job security while raising 2 children at the same time.
Ridiculous and unrealistic demands by Sg Govt.
1. Please give proper childcare support - make it like free including for good childcare
- private childcare at 1-2k a month for 3 kids is 6k a month - not gonna happen
2. Work
- there is an opp cost, it’s not just the first 4 months, it’s the feeding for the 1-2 years and the lack of sleep
- stacking 3 kids - you literally lack of sleep for 6-7 years or up to a decade. Part time work could make sense- and allow this transition within the company.
- ensure organizations to not penalize moms or dads taking 5-10 years off to take care of kids (we were senior leadership before but jobs now put us as middle management- only diff is that we took time to have kids and spend time with them)
3. Money
- money to take care of kids every year of their life till 7 ( min need 10k a year a kid )
- 70k cash per kid
If Singapore doesn’t fix this the lack of people will costs more than what I have Proposed.
4 DAY WORK WEEK.
Singapore’s Workplace Culture isn’t Family Friendly. There need to have strict Laws and enforcements to protect employees whom want to have children. Due to the need for leaves and time out for caregivers of Newborns, Many unscrupulous Management would used the opportunity to nitpick and give working parents of very young children, poor appraisals reviews in an effort to impact their bonuses. ST Engineering Aerospace are one of those!
Like any other issues, it is pure pragmatism, if you desire something, pay for it. The government goal is quality population increase, then use the reserve to pay Singaporeans for it PERIOD
Free education free medical for child and increase payout to $50000. Definitely will boost fertility rate it all come down to money is just realistic..
When the pigs are not breeding it’s the farmers that are worried.
This is all about choice, to have and/or not to have children, and the reasons behind that decision. If the Singaporean Government wants to increase the amount of children that Singaporeans have then it will have to give every Singaporean incentives to overcome that reasoning. Everything else apart from that, mentioned here, is irrelevant. Who cares about a childless MP commenting on the issue as she is there to do a job and not being a mother, or parent, has nothing to do with coming up with solutions to the problem of increasing fertility rates in Singapore. Furthermore, children born with birth defects, due to genetic abnormalities or resulting in disabilities of any sort, do not account for the lowering of the fertility rate as they constitute a very small number of total births per year. I needn't go on giving more examples. Sufficed to say the real problem to Singapore, long term, due to low fertility rates can be seen in its population demographics. Currently, the median age of Singapore's population is in the 42.8 years as of 2022, in comparison to 28.3 in 1990 and the trend isn't changing. At this rate, by 2050 the median age will be 53+ and rising quickly. At this stage, the it is forecasted that 33% of the population will be 65 or over. If you are half-way smart, then this statistic worries you. If you think there will be money issues now taking care of children, then wait till the future retirees retire considering that a couple may or may not be caring for either or both their parents. By that stage, the majority will have very little income to take care of a child for obvious reasons and then those prospective parents will have no resources to have children at all. The domino effect just makes it worse over time. What is plain to see is that what the government sees and what the people see are two totally different things as evidenced by some of the mindless comments that are plastered here. Here we are, in one comment at least, saying that we should be providing top notch education for the coming generations etc. Or the comment where they say the migration is not the answer. Wait another 30 years when there arent enough people doing particular jobs where companies might just bring someone from an outsider to do the job and force the migration on you. Just think about that for a moment before answering. The point I am trying to make is that while everything is rosy now, it isn't going to be the same in 30 years. Do your maths, see where it takes you.
There will be a point in time one day some people in Singapore will finally ask themselves why must they be worried about fertility rate in a place like Singapore. I mean go take a look around you Singapore is SO SMALL with 6 Millions living in it. Why wwould you still want to continue packing a bursting Singapore with even more people in it. There are already technologies and machines available in this world by now already so ask your givernment to learn to use it and stop living and thinking using a 1960s mindset already by trying to use human resources and population number to generate growth and momentum in life.
3:00 Spot on-it really does all come down to money. From the moment you have a baby until they walk out of university or polytechnic, it's a financial marathon. Parents have to adjust their lifestyle, whether they like it or not, to save up for the next 20-plus years of child-rearing expenses. And yeah, for the elite crowd IYKYK, it's a whole different ball game. They've got it easier and can even splurge on luxuries most families can only fantasize about. Parent also need to commit to spend quality time with their kids as part of parenting. This means both husband and wife have to compromise on their personal time for their kids. It’s really 1/3 of parent lives committed to raise their children.
Our kids look at us and say I better don't get married and if married no kids.
Guys, get real. This KPI hasn't been met for a loonnnng time.
Nobody mention small space 🙅😒
she is not even a parent with kid. why put her into this role.....?
Working Mother's tax relief should have been a combination of fixed and percentage depending which one is higher.
House to expensive for new family . Old rich people have 4 home As an investment. Increase house prices
not true. SG has very strong affordability than many Asia countries. Basically a working couple can easily pay off all loan with 7 years easily.
To those who give reasons or excuses... uncertain future ... cannot afford to pay for children expenses ... cannot cannot cannot ... This is what I learned ... there is no guarantee nor safety net in life ... nobody owe you a living nothing stays constant but what stays true and relevant is about taking accountability of your life n actions ... the need to pivot n change course to stay afloat .... learn to give back to your family, community n nation. In short, learn to grow up, take hard knocks n give back n be a little less selfish. ✌️
What else can they do by now other than bringing in migrants and continuing to embrace relying heavily on foreign labour in Singapore. After 60 years of rule they have made themselves very expensive to upkeep and maintain and everything in Singapore have been marked up in operating cost and valuation estimation in order for them to live higher than everyone else in Singapore. As long as the minority hold the power in Singapore the majority will have to prop them up leaving little incentives to reproduce in Singapore. Low fertility rate in Singapore are caused by high living cost and stress in it. And these are cause by who? The ones doing daily fear mongering propagating that they are the best in life and without them Singapore will flounder. They have been saying these directly to people face daily for decades already. The most recent speech was made by the old retiring thing just a day ago on yet another unsightly interview again.
Sg is an island nation where key resource is people. We do so well and lifted the whole country. Is already fantastic the cost of living did not rise as much. Immigrants are the way to lower our basic necessity costs as we focus on higher end role.
In the past yes when Singapore have nothing except people. But now no. Machines,AI and Technologies are the key components and new resources of Singapore. These are also easier to maintain and are are relatively fuss free to monitoring and keeping a human population in control and contentment.
You want to take on higher end role you need to give your people the necessary education and exposure to get on board by giving them greater executing power to administer in their roles and job scopes. And you don't need more than 6 millions people in a republic as small as Singapore. What you need is good techs and good competent people to use it.
How can one who is single and no kids have any idea about the struggles of married life, why people are not getting married and when married have no kids.
To name a few "disadvantages":
1. High HDB prices
2. JOb security
3. High cost to raise kids
4. High medical cost
5. High transport cost
Money will definitely fix the problem. Don't be silly to say it doesn't.
Don't blame that other cities are also the same.
The men also have an opportunity cost due to national service!
Wrong person for the job. Highly paid but absolutely useless
They won’t notice it until they voted 🗳️ out but that’s does not means they relies they r in the wrong, is all down to status, power, ego n most important upbringing n never forget ur roots & humble character
We only have good infrastructure, support for economy. But look at our infrastructure/cost for infants and children as well as inclusivity for Special needs. It's below enough. Hence this results. Please appoint someone who go through a complete journey of child birth
Money can buy fertility and happiness?
Some comments are disheartening. Why would a woman who does not have a child automatically considered not the right person to talk about this topic? She will also have a POV into the conversation, it could be a choice, it could be genetics etc.. Doesn't seem to have listened to the whole podcast and see how everyone's inputs are valuable to the conversation from what Government has been trying to do and some personal experiences.
You deleted my post, this is actually why you have problem😅
I want have 3 kids but with same earnings man and growth mind.. hard to find.. cost of raising kids expensive😢
Support newly born kids till PR 6 . Thats good enough ..can??
Be happy, this only means you have smart people.
Too bad no screening for potential narcissistic and avoidance parenting. The parenting style and type of attachment. Emotional immature and toxic parenting are well studied. Even emotional abuse in childhood and adolescent years in the name of tough love can result can resulted in trauma in later life. Well the saying goes that every child needs nuturing parents for guidance, but not every parent deserves to have children.
Pura-pura tidak tahu setiap tahun ada ribuan orang asing yang menjadi warga negara Singapura
What was the median basic salary of production operators in the semiconductor industry 25 years ago?
What was the median gross salary of production operators in the semiconductor industry 25 years ago?
What is the median basic salary of production operators in the semiconductor industry today?
What is the median gross salary of production operators in the semiconductor industry today?
Yeah, advanced manufacturing?!
Do you want the Great Asia to ask the same questions for the rest of the other industries?
Yeah, so you think you can solve the low birthrate problem?
Ha ha ha!
May we know what was your age 25 years ago? Also please ask your parents what was their remuneration 25 years ago. It really is useful knowledge. Thank you.
The lady MP is mother already?
Step 1: Mandatory child care leave,
Step 2: Prevent leave policies from being used as hostages by firms.
Step 3: Stop the bullshit about wanting to continue to work after a child; we do not have a choice, recognise it, and work to deal with it.
cheaper COEs for families will help alot
How about self employed parents who have kids. They don’t get the benefits of maternity or paternity. Gov needs to addres this
Its about the prosperity of a country, the wealthier a nation gets, the more options a couple has in all aspects of life. Time is another cost, not just monetary costs. We only have 24 hours a day
True. There are other goals in life and options.
Funny how a "Ms" IR can be called an expert on this topic and providing her views.
Trying to stop the decline or to reverse it?
It's just half way down only.
Ha ha ha!
Is unstoppable trend by human nature. I think is OK. Just fill the numbers needed.
Higher birth rates usually observed with lower educational attainment.
do not feel like spend all my hardearn money for kid ... i am selfish ya ... let millionaire have more kids
What are YOU doing about it? Why must the government be responsible? STOP it! WE are the government. Don't blame ME. I've had as many babies as I can physically. What? Why dont YOU help fix it?
Politically correct dialogue, as good as nothing being said
Many europe countries tax singles and couples without children higher
Import more ready made citizens into the state..
siao liao. so many excuses given for the low birth rate instead of focus on how to improve it. lack of excitement and feel of resentment on the downward trend. and u even talked about the past. omg. doubt they have any solution to it.
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
Adrenaline level is different now.😂
Can can have kids if you one of the Cabinet relatives..hahha
by law men can have 4 official wives
Our birth rate has steadily dropped for the last 20 years. Yet, our population has increased by 40% in the same 20 years. So, what is the problem then? Other countries with declining birth rates like Japan, Korea, even China have seen their population numbers actually decrease. Yet, our population is increasing despite the low birth rate. So, clearly there is no need to have kids.
SORAI.....WRONG PERSON🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
LKY.....STOP AT 2🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
NOW.....$$$$$$EDUSAVE.....MATERNITY LEAVE.....CHILD SUBSIDIES🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣CHILDCARE🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Need a spared worker per 10 workers to cover those on leave!
Than don’t start a business if you cannot afford it! The country NEEDS to increase it’s birth rate!
"Have sex" - Shinzo Abe
Abe was childless
It's a global problem.
Easy! Just give free citizenship to Indians and PRC!
Family coe pls
S'poreans are very rich nowadays, and they want to spend time travelling and splurging on expensive items. Many thanks to the PAP govt for bringing them wealth by means of stable and high-paying jobs in a safe environment. ❤❤
What you need to do, is play more Barry White at public spaces.
It's scientifically proven to increase fertility rate.
(It's a joke FFS).
it wont work. wasting time. just let it be
of course...see the number of typist here using their fingers on kb iso somewhere...
In my case, Money alone will fix all of my problem, no enough Money no Kids for me
Singapore has 92% mRNA vaccination rate.🤣🤣🤣