The General Household Survey has clear evidence of the increasing income gap in Singapore. As you may already have read in today's ST or TODAY, household income has gone up on the whole but the 'bottom third' has actually seen theirs go down.
The Dept of Stats attributes this trend to the increasing number of retirees (ageing population effect), higher unemployment and smaller wages. The top 10% were the ones who benefited the most, something which is inevitable, I think, according to economic theory (if I remember correctly).
It is interesting that the ST report said that 'the gap between rich and poor, which has preoccupied policymakers, continued to widen.' I'm afraid I didn't realise people are 'preoccupied' with this issue, based on what I get from the media. I have the impression it is something that is not discussed as much as it should be.
Northwest CDC Mayor Teo Ho Pin was quoted in the ST saying: 'One area we must focus on is children and education, as they are the ones who can lift the families from the lowest 20 per cent.'
I cannot agree more. School is supposed to be one great leveller, offering equal opportunities to all, etc. However, the reality is that while there are many children from the 'lowest 20%', or even the lowest 1%, who have made good, gone on to win scholarships and all, there are still many crying out for help. School is not levelling or equalling enough for those who continue to struggle with English, and therefore also most other subjects, cannot afford the tons of books, VCDs, DVDs, CD-ROMS, etc, that other children are exposed to, cannot afford tuition and 'enrichment' classes, somehow fall through the holes of school remedial programmes, etc.
A girl I knew, now an undergrad, once told me that she would have had to drop out of school years ago if not for the various bursaries she received each year. But monetary help is one thing. There were other factors that helped this girl move onto uni education, such as some amount of self-motivation, interest in learning, family encouragement, teachers' encouragement, etc. (Similary, the Progress Package, Workfare Bonus or whatever will not help the poor in the long run if other factors do not change)
What about the children who have the monetary support but somehow lack the other motivating factors? Are we as a community/society doing enough to identify and help such children? Not every child can, on his or her own, 'rise above' their situation and push themselves. It's hard if you are going to school or going to sleep on an empty stomach (and not because you are trying to lose weight or anything) and when you and your family are worrying about whether the electricity is going to get cut off at the end of the month.
There was this documentary made a few years ago (and some of you will know which one I mean ;-)) about young, poor post-apartheid South Africans struggling to improve their lot. There was this girl who lived in a broken-down shanty home who walked miles (was it miles, friends?) to school each day because of the hope it held for a better life. Such an inspiring and yet sad show. The thing is not everyone is like her and the other people featured there.
I also read this article in which this guy argued that the answer to the AIDS problem is not (just) advocating safe sex. Instead, we should focus on dealing with poverty because it is the root cause of a life without enough meaning, so much so that people fall to injecting themselves with needles, selling their children to brothels, etc. He said that societies must create opportunities, make sure people are employable and have meaningful existences (does this word have a plural form?). By the way, this article looks at AIDS as a global problem. I don't think that Singapore's AIDS problem is that much a poverty problem (it is to some extent only) but the point is that poverty is at the heart of many of life's problems.
The point I am rambling to is that it is therefore the responsiblity of the community or society to help the less able and less fortunate. And the problem is that, unfortunately, society is made up of many people like myself who have so much to say and yet don't do anything to help.
I do feel bad, I assure you.
The stats and other info from the survey are available from the links here.
Also, a Nat Geo feature on post-apartheid South Africa. Check out the pictures.
The Dept of Stats attributes this trend to the increasing number of retirees (ageing population effect), higher unemployment and smaller wages. The top 10% were the ones who benefited the most, something which is inevitable, I think, according to economic theory (if I remember correctly).
It is interesting that the ST report said that 'the gap between rich and poor, which has preoccupied policymakers, continued to widen.' I'm afraid I didn't realise people are 'preoccupied' with this issue, based on what I get from the media. I have the impression it is something that is not discussed as much as it should be.
Northwest CDC Mayor Teo Ho Pin was quoted in the ST saying: 'One area we must focus on is children and education, as they are the ones who can lift the families from the lowest 20 per cent.'
I cannot agree more. School is supposed to be one great leveller, offering equal opportunities to all, etc. However, the reality is that while there are many children from the 'lowest 20%', or even the lowest 1%, who have made good, gone on to win scholarships and all, there are still many crying out for help. School is not levelling or equalling enough for those who continue to struggle with English, and therefore also most other subjects, cannot afford the tons of books, VCDs, DVDs, CD-ROMS, etc, that other children are exposed to, cannot afford tuition and 'enrichment' classes, somehow fall through the holes of school remedial programmes, etc.
A girl I knew, now an undergrad, once told me that she would have had to drop out of school years ago if not for the various bursaries she received each year. But monetary help is one thing. There were other factors that helped this girl move onto uni education, such as some amount of self-motivation, interest in learning, family encouragement, teachers' encouragement, etc. (Similary, the Progress Package, Workfare Bonus or whatever will not help the poor in the long run if other factors do not change)
What about the children who have the monetary support but somehow lack the other motivating factors? Are we as a community/society doing enough to identify and help such children? Not every child can, on his or her own, 'rise above' their situation and push themselves. It's hard if you are going to school or going to sleep on an empty stomach (and not because you are trying to lose weight or anything) and when you and your family are worrying about whether the electricity is going to get cut off at the end of the month.
There was this documentary made a few years ago (and some of you will know which one I mean ;-)) about young, poor post-apartheid South Africans struggling to improve their lot. There was this girl who lived in a broken-down shanty home who walked miles (was it miles, friends?) to school each day because of the hope it held for a better life. Such an inspiring and yet sad show. The thing is not everyone is like her and the other people featured there.
I also read this article in which this guy argued that the answer to the AIDS problem is not (just) advocating safe sex. Instead, we should focus on dealing with poverty because it is the root cause of a life without enough meaning, so much so that people fall to injecting themselves with needles, selling their children to brothels, etc. He said that societies must create opportunities, make sure people are employable and have meaningful existences (does this word have a plural form?). By the way, this article looks at AIDS as a global problem. I don't think that Singapore's AIDS problem is that much a poverty problem (it is to some extent only) but the point is that poverty is at the heart of many of life's problems.
The point I am rambling to is that it is therefore the responsiblity of the community or society to help the less able and less fortunate. And the problem is that, unfortunately, society is made up of many people like myself who have so much to say and yet don't do anything to help.
I do feel bad, I assure you.
The stats and other info from the survey are available from the links here.
Also, a Nat Geo feature on post-apartheid South Africa. Check out the pictures.
Comments
dee
It is indeed good that some rich people donate some of their money to the poor, even if it's from their 'excess'. I know that locally there are also rich tai-tais, for example, who do charity work and stuff.
Well, for those of us who aren't rolling in wealth, I guess donating is better than nothing, although I always feel I should do something more than just donate money.
Money, as we and Jack Neo know, is definitely not enough. All sorts of other factors are important, too. E.g. a letter in TODAY said that 'meat consumption also contributes to starvation in the Third World.' (I have to think about that further. My slow-working brain is trying to make the links.)
Dee, the only one I can think of is the World Vision adopt-a-child programme. Your donation goes into helping a particular community but you are linked directly to a child. You get regular updates on the child's progress, and you can even exchange letters with him/her.