[h=1]AGEING POPULATION HAS BEEN OVER-HYPED IN SINGAPORE[/h]
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11 Nov 2014 - 12:37am
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Like many unsubstantiated scare tactics the PAP used in the past, the ageing population excuse has been over-used to justify too many ill-planned policies. Here're a few facts to vanquish the lies surrounding ageing population in Singapore:
1) Falling resident old-age support ratio is real, increasing taxes is not
Unlike developed countries, Singapore do not have a pension system. Singaporeans rely on their own CPF for retirement, and those who couldn't afford to retire, the PAP simply raised the retirement age and encourage more elderly workers to continue working. For the worst off, they are simply found touting tissue papers or begging on the streets. The fact is the PAP is heartless enough to make sure there is not a single cent of tax paid by Singaporeans to fund any pension handout and this goes the same as healthcare where Medisave and Medishield are funded by citizens' salaries, not taxes. How would a rise in number of elderly in Singapore affect taxes then? Singaporeans are self-sustainable in retirement and healthcare, and yet the PAP have the cheek to tell us that an ageing population will require more taxes.
2) More babies is the real solution, more adults is not
The main reason how Singapore's population aged so fast is because of low birth rate. Currently our birth rate is at 1.19 in 2013, in order to reach the replacement rate of 2.1, we need some 35,000 one-year-old babies in 2014 to make up that number. If we import 35,000 thirty-year-old adults, they are effectively replacing the birth rate of 1984 at 1.62, which will only end up worsening the aged population by 2030. A successful sustainable population policy ensures replacement at no cost of increase in population (ideally, birth rate = death rate). Singapore's population jumped from 4 million to 5.5 million in the mere 12 years Lee Hsien Loong has been Prime Minister and yet birth rate continues to fall under his policies. In a land-scare and small country like Singapore, an increase in population is unsustainable in the long term. The sad joke we call Prime Minister however does not care.
3) Employment is not a problem, under-employment and low wages is
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Old people in Singapore are not picky at work. They are in fact so "un-picky" they command wages as low as $800 a month working manual labour jobs like cleaning and security. Singapore have also a fleet of taxi drivers who are the highest educated in the world. It is not common to see a very experienced former manager in a MNC to not even able to find an "administrative assistant" job even in the Civil Service. Although the PAP government constantly harps on the re-hiring and employment of elderly workers, the Civil Service themselves discretely discriminates against elderly applicants despite their qualifications and experience. Even for those "lucky" to be under-employed, wages is pathetic and working conditions is terrible. As the Ministry of Manpower close an eye while NTUC closes the other, employers are free to exploit their elderly workers with no regards for Minimum Wage or benefits. Under-employed elderly often have to compete with work permit holders who often earn less than $1000. As wages are so low the elderly could barely survive month-to-month, they have no savings and ended up working to their death.
4) Ageing population is not the real issue, CPF is the problem
If CPF payout is sufficient, why isn't there anyone retiring solely living off their CPF? Never mind that Singaporeans are already the highest savers in the world, retirement is near-impossible. This only goes to explain the country's retirement scheme is a complete flop. It's low interests compared to other national retirement schemes is evident, there is no way how the PAP can explain their way out of this.
Alex Tan
TRS Contributor
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11 Nov 2014 - 12:37am
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Like many unsubstantiated scare tactics the PAP used in the past, the ageing population excuse has been over-used to justify too many ill-planned policies. Here're a few facts to vanquish the lies surrounding ageing population in Singapore:
1) Falling resident old-age support ratio is real, increasing taxes is not
Unlike developed countries, Singapore do not have a pension system. Singaporeans rely on their own CPF for retirement, and those who couldn't afford to retire, the PAP simply raised the retirement age and encourage more elderly workers to continue working. For the worst off, they are simply found touting tissue papers or begging on the streets. The fact is the PAP is heartless enough to make sure there is not a single cent of tax paid by Singaporeans to fund any pension handout and this goes the same as healthcare where Medisave and Medishield are funded by citizens' salaries, not taxes. How would a rise in number of elderly in Singapore affect taxes then? Singaporeans are self-sustainable in retirement and healthcare, and yet the PAP have the cheek to tell us that an ageing population will require more taxes.
2) More babies is the real solution, more adults is not
The main reason how Singapore's population aged so fast is because of low birth rate. Currently our birth rate is at 1.19 in 2013, in order to reach the replacement rate of 2.1, we need some 35,000 one-year-old babies in 2014 to make up that number. If we import 35,000 thirty-year-old adults, they are effectively replacing the birth rate of 1984 at 1.62, which will only end up worsening the aged population by 2030. A successful sustainable population policy ensures replacement at no cost of increase in population (ideally, birth rate = death rate). Singapore's population jumped from 4 million to 5.5 million in the mere 12 years Lee Hsien Loong has been Prime Minister and yet birth rate continues to fall under his policies. In a land-scare and small country like Singapore, an increase in population is unsustainable in the long term. The sad joke we call Prime Minister however does not care.
3) Employment is not a problem, under-employment and low wages is
<ins id="aswift_1_expand" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_1" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_1" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
Old people in Singapore are not picky at work. They are in fact so "un-picky" they command wages as low as $800 a month working manual labour jobs like cleaning and security. Singapore have also a fleet of taxi drivers who are the highest educated in the world. It is not common to see a very experienced former manager in a MNC to not even able to find an "administrative assistant" job even in the Civil Service. Although the PAP government constantly harps on the re-hiring and employment of elderly workers, the Civil Service themselves discretely discriminates against elderly applicants despite their qualifications and experience. Even for those "lucky" to be under-employed, wages is pathetic and working conditions is terrible. As the Ministry of Manpower close an eye while NTUC closes the other, employers are free to exploit their elderly workers with no regards for Minimum Wage or benefits. Under-employed elderly often have to compete with work permit holders who often earn less than $1000. As wages are so low the elderly could barely survive month-to-month, they have no savings and ended up working to their death.
4) Ageing population is not the real issue, CPF is the problem
If CPF payout is sufficient, why isn't there anyone retiring solely living off their CPF? Never mind that Singaporeans are already the highest savers in the world, retirement is near-impossible. This only goes to explain the country's retirement scheme is a complete flop. It's low interests compared to other national retirement schemes is evident, there is no way how the PAP can explain their way out of this.
Alex Tan
TRS Contributor
