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The Poor in Singapore
- Thread starter shOUTloud
- Start date
Examining Our Attitudes Toward the Economically Disadvantaged
Examining Our Attitudes Toward the Economically Disadvantaged
1. Why do these people have such big families if they are poor? They deserve this.
They may not have achieved high educational levels. There could be lack of awareness of the importance of family planning. There may also be cultural norms that influence their life choices. Think back on choices you have made which may have brought you struggle and difficulty; you were also influenced by certain pressures or did not have the benefit of certain information. We invite you to have compassion for others who may be in the same situation.
2. If they had studied hard, they wouldn't have ended up like this. It's their fault.
Not everyone has a home environment conducive to study effectively. The parents themselves may not be educated enough to coach the child or have the time to. Some may not value education highly because they are struggling with major problems such as addictions or criminal tendencies.
The child may also have difficulty adapting to certain teaching styles or approaches in his/her school.
Examining Our Attitudes Toward the Economically Disadvantaged
1. Why do these people have such big families if they are poor? They deserve this.
They may not have achieved high educational levels. There could be lack of awareness of the importance of family planning. There may also be cultural norms that influence their life choices. Think back on choices you have made which may have brought you struggle and difficulty; you were also influenced by certain pressures or did not have the benefit of certain information. We invite you to have compassion for others who may be in the same situation.
2. If they had studied hard, they wouldn't have ended up like this. It's their fault.
Not everyone has a home environment conducive to study effectively. The parents themselves may not be educated enough to coach the child or have the time to. Some may not value education highly because they are struggling with major problems such as addictions or criminal tendencies.
The child may also have difficulty adapting to certain teaching styles or approaches in his/her school.
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3. Maybe some of these elderly weren't good to their children and have thus been abandoned. They deserve it.
The first part may definitely be true. But we all make mistakes. Just as we seek to be forgiven, we ask that we forgive people for their mistakes. And focus on how we can compassionately address their problems now.
4. Who are the poor economically? Is it just a salary definition or is there a better way of seeing from a standard of living or deprivation of basic needs?
Economically, the poor in Singapore’s domestic population (excluding foreign workers) are those Singapore citizens and residents whose monthly family or household income falls below a minimum absolute level or “poverty line” deemed to be necessary for adequate provision of the most basic needs. The family or household rather than individual is chosen as the basic unit as persons in the same household are assumed to share resources and have some common expenditures (eg. housing and utilities).
The first part may definitely be true. But we all make mistakes. Just as we seek to be forgiven, we ask that we forgive people for their mistakes. And focus on how we can compassionately address their problems now.
4. Who are the poor economically? Is it just a salary definition or is there a better way of seeing from a standard of living or deprivation of basic needs?
Economically, the poor in Singapore’s domestic population (excluding foreign workers) are those Singapore citizens and residents whose monthly family or household income falls below a minimum absolute level or “poverty line” deemed to be necessary for adequate provision of the most basic needs. The family or household rather than individual is chosen as the basic unit as persons in the same household are assumed to share resources and have some common expenditures (eg. housing and utilities).
5. How badly are the poor struggling with access to health food and transport?
The most basic measure of basic needs is the AHEBN or Average Household Expenditure on Basic Needs Measure used by the Department of Statistics (DOS). This was measured for a 4 person household living in a 1-2 room rental flat and only constituted expenditure on food, clothing and shelter multiplied by a small factor for other basic expenditures. Using their methodology, this “poverty line” was estimated at $1040 a month (pm) for a 4 person household in 2002. Assuming an inflation rate of around 2-3% for basic items since then, this would come up to around $1250 pm in 2010.
However, this measure underestimates poverty in that it omits key basic expenditures like health and transport, both of which tend to have a higher rate of cost inflation and a greater impact on well being than average.
The most basic measure of basic needs is the AHEBN or Average Household Expenditure on Basic Needs Measure used by the Department of Statistics (DOS). This was measured for a 4 person household living in a 1-2 room rental flat and only constituted expenditure on food, clothing and shelter multiplied by a small factor for other basic expenditures. Using their methodology, this “poverty line” was estimated at $1040 a month (pm) for a 4 person household in 2002. Assuming an inflation rate of around 2-3% for basic items since then, this would come up to around $1250 pm in 2010.
However, this measure underestimates poverty in that it omits key basic expenditures like health and transport, both of which tend to have a higher rate of cost inflation and a greater impact on well being than average.
6. Why is it so hard for them to get out of the poverty trap and is it a simple solution of getting a job?
It has been increasingly recognized by policy makers that the AHEBN also omits expenditures on key services needed for true social inclusion like investment in training, tuition or basic computer services, which are needed to lift the family out of a low income poverty trap.
MCYS social workers thus use a rough guideline of around $1500 pm for a 4 person family to gauge where absolute poverty exists and government support might thus be needed. Rough calculations show that the basic amount needed is probably closer to $1800-$1900 pm for food, utilities and rent, transport and medical expenses and may approach $2600-3000 pm if computer services, education and training were to be included.
Using these rough benchmarks, the bottom 10% of all resident working age families (some 90,000to 100,000 households) are in clear absolute poverty or hardship. They earn incomes that do not, without public assistance, enable them to meet even the minimum $1250 a month – the updated” poverty lines” lowest measure of basic needs. In 2006, a 4 person family in the lowest 10% of income earning households earned on average only $640 a month although by now this has probably risen to around $800-900 a month.
This is partly because this bottom 10% of all working age households (data only available till 2006) includes non working households who are not able to find full time employment for at least one household member. Nevertheless, even taking only households where at least one member was fully employed, the bottom 10% of such families households earned on average around $1310 in 2008, barely above the updated AHEBN poverty line and significantly below the $1500pm MCYS poverty guideline and $1900pm estimated needed to cover basic needs including medical and transport expenditures adequately.
It has been increasingly recognized by policy makers that the AHEBN also omits expenditures on key services needed for true social inclusion like investment in training, tuition or basic computer services, which are needed to lift the family out of a low income poverty trap.
MCYS social workers thus use a rough guideline of around $1500 pm for a 4 person family to gauge where absolute poverty exists and government support might thus be needed. Rough calculations show that the basic amount needed is probably closer to $1800-$1900 pm for food, utilities and rent, transport and medical expenses and may approach $2600-3000 pm if computer services, education and training were to be included.
Using these rough benchmarks, the bottom 10% of all resident working age families (some 90,000to 100,000 households) are in clear absolute poverty or hardship. They earn incomes that do not, without public assistance, enable them to meet even the minimum $1250 a month – the updated” poverty lines” lowest measure of basic needs. In 2006, a 4 person family in the lowest 10% of income earning households earned on average only $640 a month although by now this has probably risen to around $800-900 a month.
This is partly because this bottom 10% of all working age households (data only available till 2006) includes non working households who are not able to find full time employment for at least one household member. Nevertheless, even taking only households where at least one member was fully employed, the bottom 10% of such families households earned on average around $1310 in 2008, barely above the updated AHEBN poverty line and significantly below the $1500pm MCYS poverty guideline and $1900pm estimated needed to cover basic needs including medical and transport expenditures adequately.
7. How fast are the “new poor” (families with income above $1500 but still insufficient income) growing?
However, the next highest 10% of working age families earned around $1880 a month in 2006 (probably around $2000 today) and may thus have enough in basic needs in terms of food, housing, utilities, transport and medical expenses. However, they probably do not have enough to spend on training, tuition or human capital investment to lift their families further out of the struggle of just making ends meet.
Even taking only households who managed to find full time jobs earn around $2480 in this second decile, probably just enough for basic tuition expenses with very little savings left over. This makes them financially vulnerable to unemployment, illness etc. We could call this second decile of families the “new poor”. They are not is absolute hardship but are just getting by and are always financially vulnerable.
For these as well as the bottom 10% families in outright hardship , it is not so simple as “just getting a job” as the wages of the bottom 20-50% of workers have tended to stagnate or even fall in real terms over the last 10-12 years. Those in the bottom 10% in particular tend to have low levels of education (often below secondary level) and are dependent on unskilled often contract labour jobs that are particularly hard hit by recessions which have also become more frequent (Singapore has suffered 4 serious recessions in the last 12 years!).
The main reason that median wages have stagnated and low income wages have fallen are many. First competition with vast low wage labour pools in India and China have dampened wages. Second, Information technology is also automating and eliminating many low wage jobs. These trends are global trends affecting not just Singapore but all developed economies as well .
However in terms of domestic factors, large scale import of unskilled and semi- skilled labour in Singapore’s growth strategy has led to wage erosion and dampening especially for lower wage deciles. Finally Singapore has a bulge of 300-500,000 poorly educated baby boomers (age 40 and above) who more directly face this foreign wage competition and thus experience much higher structural unemployment, wage stagnation and erosion.
However, the next highest 10% of working age families earned around $1880 a month in 2006 (probably around $2000 today) and may thus have enough in basic needs in terms of food, housing, utilities, transport and medical expenses. However, they probably do not have enough to spend on training, tuition or human capital investment to lift their families further out of the struggle of just making ends meet.
Even taking only households who managed to find full time jobs earn around $2480 in this second decile, probably just enough for basic tuition expenses with very little savings left over. This makes them financially vulnerable to unemployment, illness etc. We could call this second decile of families the “new poor”. They are not is absolute hardship but are just getting by and are always financially vulnerable.
For these as well as the bottom 10% families in outright hardship , it is not so simple as “just getting a job” as the wages of the bottom 20-50% of workers have tended to stagnate or even fall in real terms over the last 10-12 years. Those in the bottom 10% in particular tend to have low levels of education (often below secondary level) and are dependent on unskilled often contract labour jobs that are particularly hard hit by recessions which have also become more frequent (Singapore has suffered 4 serious recessions in the last 12 years!).
The main reason that median wages have stagnated and low income wages have fallen are many. First competition with vast low wage labour pools in India and China have dampened wages. Second, Information technology is also automating and eliminating many low wage jobs. These trends are global trends affecting not just Singapore but all developed economies as well .
However in terms of domestic factors, large scale import of unskilled and semi- skilled labour in Singapore’s growth strategy has led to wage erosion and dampening especially for lower wage deciles. Finally Singapore has a bulge of 300-500,000 poorly educated baby boomers (age 40 and above) who more directly face this foreign wage competition and thus experience much higher structural unemployment, wage stagnation and erosion.
8. Why is it so hard for these new poor to cope economically?
For such workers, “just getting a job” often means facing a drastic pay cut or at best finding a job with equally low pay which does not afford the means to invest in human capital via training or tuition to raise the family out of poverty. Such low skill often contract jobs are also usually the first to go in a downturn, subjecting them to much economic volatility and vulnerability.
Finally, we have here only discussed the problems of the working poor or households with working age members. Poverty among elderly households who include semi-retired or retired people would be even more acute given their relatively lower educational qualifications and lack of employability. At the same time their needs will increasingly centre around inadequate savings for retirement and inability to meet rising medical expenses.
More work needs to be done to outline both the size of the problem of the aged poor. What we can say though is that they will be a large and growing problem for the next few decades as the working poorly educated baby boomers (those currently in their 40s and 50s) age.
These are the “pioneers” of modern Singapore who have in the course of their careers and struggles in often humble and difficult jobs, made Singapore what it is today. We therefore need, in turn, to be concerned about their economic well being as they face the twin pressures of globalization and immigration that tend to keep them in poverty in their twilight years. It is both a question of compassion and social justice.
For such workers, “just getting a job” often means facing a drastic pay cut or at best finding a job with equally low pay which does not afford the means to invest in human capital via training or tuition to raise the family out of poverty. Such low skill often contract jobs are also usually the first to go in a downturn, subjecting them to much economic volatility and vulnerability.
Finally, we have here only discussed the problems of the working poor or households with working age members. Poverty among elderly households who include semi-retired or retired people would be even more acute given their relatively lower educational qualifications and lack of employability. At the same time their needs will increasingly centre around inadequate savings for retirement and inability to meet rising medical expenses.
More work needs to be done to outline both the size of the problem of the aged poor. What we can say though is that they will be a large and growing problem for the next few decades as the working poorly educated baby boomers (those currently in their 40s and 50s) age.
These are the “pioneers” of modern Singapore who have in the course of their careers and struggles in often humble and difficult jobs, made Singapore what it is today. We therefore need, in turn, to be concerned about their economic well being as they face the twin pressures of globalization and immigration that tend to keep them in poverty in their twilight years. It is both a question of compassion and social justice.
9. What can I do? I’m just one person.
• What attitudes do you hold about the economically disadvantaged in our society? Do they need re-examining?
• Learn more. One way is by connecting with groups working on this issue.
• Share what you learn with your contacts.
• Volunteer with organisations whose work inspires you. Be patient to see results. Change takes time.
• Donate to the Evercare Welfare Centre’s Emergency Fund that is set up to provide funds to families in desperate financial situations.
• What attitudes do you hold about the economically disadvantaged in our society? Do they need re-examining?
• Learn more. One way is by connecting with groups working on this issue.
• Share what you learn with your contacts.
• Volunteer with organisations whose work inspires you. Be patient to see results. Change takes time.
• Donate to the Evercare Welfare Centre’s Emergency Fund that is set up to provide funds to families in desperate financial situations.
Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock versus Beethoven Concerto
MM LKY: If you give welfare, people gets lazy, don't work and depend on state.
President Nathan (Star Charity): Please call and donate more to charity. There're people out there who need your help and generosity. (Presumably because government refused to help them ungenerously if you reconcile his line to LKY's).
MM LKY (when PM): ...a casino in Singapore over my dead body.
PM LHL: There shall be two casinos...
MM LKY: If you give welfare, people gets lazy, don't work and depend on state.
President Nathan (Star Charity): Please call and donate more to charity. There're people out there who need your help and generosity. (Presumably because government refused to help them ungenerously if you reconcile his line to LKY's).
MM LKY (when PM): ...a casino in Singapore over my dead body.
PM LHL: There shall be two casinos...
The key out of poverty is education.
The ugly truth -
MOM allow schools to lower the neighborhood school's (esp. secondary level) average exam results so that young ones inevitably thought they are useless and lost confidence in themselves not knowing that MOM manipulated them.
Blatantly allow gangsterism into school culture and promote strange policies like some ECAs are more important than studying time.
Conduct PE lessons in the morning and dont allow students to take showers because normally neighborhood schools are too poor to have showers. The whole day is wasted as you feel sticky and can't concentrate.
etc, etc.
The rich uses BIG words like the above TS and confuse the poor. Thats one method. Me I just talk plainly.
The only way to be rich for a poor man is to find a rich girl. Either that or you have to be very lucky in the tertiary course and skill set you have chosen.
The rich dont need it. In fact, they can be the dumbest kids and still get big jobs. Just at our leaders.....not heart or brain. Being mean is the prerequisite.
The ugly truth -
MOM allow schools to lower the neighborhood school's (esp. secondary level) average exam results so that young ones inevitably thought they are useless and lost confidence in themselves not knowing that MOM manipulated them.
Blatantly allow gangsterism into school culture and promote strange policies like some ECAs are more important than studying time.
Conduct PE lessons in the morning and dont allow students to take showers because normally neighborhood schools are too poor to have showers. The whole day is wasted as you feel sticky and can't concentrate.
etc, etc.
The rich uses BIG words like the above TS and confuse the poor. Thats one method. Me I just talk plainly.
The only way to be rich for a poor man is to find a rich girl. Either that or you have to be very lucky in the tertiary course and skill set you have chosen.
The rich dont need it. In fact, they can be the dumbest kids and still get big jobs. Just at our leaders.....not heart or brain. Being mean is the prerequisite.
Sounds like there is going to be a prediction...
i. from the above... I think when the Casinos opened this year, some one will die TWO TIMES......
Well said.
I think KY JELLO would have someone record each and every statement, and minuted them...
so, when his son says " Daddy, daddy, I want to open a Casino ! "
KY JELLO " WTF for? "
SON " To recover my HC bitch wife's debts incurred for SGP accounts "
KY JELLO " But daddy told the public years ago that a Casino in SGP, over my dead body lah! "
SON " But when you open two, the above statement will be okay right? "
KY JELLO " Yes, my son, you are such a genius... you are right, when you tell the public that you are opening two casinos, then it'll not be over my dead body anymore... hahaha!!!!"
Maybe a casino over dead body, but two casinos are OK. That's why have two - Ramseth
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