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little faith
20th August 2008, 10:20 AM
what do you guys think of the National Day Rally Speech. i watched part of it. PM Lee is quite a humourous guy.

i think the upcoming plans govt has to encourage couples to have more kids are fantastic.

never would i thought they are willing to fork out money for IVF ( In Vitro Fertilisation ) - that is a lot of money.

the plan to increase 3 mths of paid maternity to 4 mths is great. something that many mothers have been complaining about.

govt really do listen to its people.

onion
20th August 2008, 11:26 AM
ya... with govt like that, who needs parents?

happylalapo
20th August 2008, 06:35 PM
I am a little disappointed though with the parents incentive given.

I personally think more bonus should be given out in monetary wise that will assist new parents - rather than giving just more time off.

Example : first child on top of having all those PM mentioned and whatever, tax rebates etc., how about giving $10k cash and 2nd child top it up with another $10K and third child a good $50K - I bet this will work .... Ha! Ha!

don enemy
20th August 2008, 06:52 PM
happylapopo,

this is Singapore we are talking about, not UAE ( united arab emirates ).

we ain't that rich hor !:mad:

precious
20th August 2008, 11:03 PM
sigh... not benefiting me... oredi #2 in 2007
Definitely NO #3 liao... touchwood
$$ or incentive? me no feeling :(

precious
20th August 2008, 11:04 PM
:rolleyes: but if more subsidies in childcare,
more childcare leave, more tax rebate... wah... I like:D

duffyduck
21st August 2008, 10:09 AM
Personally I think shouldn't give too much "ang pao" for child birth... wat if there're irresponsible parents who just want to get the $$ and give birth but nv use the $ on the child? Happens in some western countries.

I support more subsidies in childcare, tax rebate, education or even medical bills. more leaves good too cause we should encourage parents to spend more time with their kids. I just feel sad when I hear pp putting their children at their parent's place and only fetch them back during wkend. That's not the way!

cookies
22nd August 2008, 08:45 AM
for me, none of these benefits me. me not married, no child. i would be interested if we can have more old age parents rebate.

Curry Chicken
22nd August 2008, 07:03 PM
Duffy, sounds like you are into politics! The rally speech did not leave much of an impression as none of the perks apply to me :(

duffyduck
25th August 2008, 11:23 AM
Yup...Think our govt's message is very clear - "Get Married and Make more BABIES, folks!!!"

But really Singapore is such a pressure-cooker, it's not easy to have a family here. Many of my friends are planning to move to Australia coz the quality of life is better there (at least that's what they are saying).

Does that mean S'pore is deemed to hv a change of blood - more immigrants from developing countries while the locals migrating out?

lion
25th August 2008, 05:10 PM
heu duffy,

talking about change of blood. i came across an article i believed is the new paper on saturday 23 august. in the article, they were saying that 57% of babies here are actually from mixed parentage. this means only one of the parent is singaporean. it's either singaporean with australian and other other countries.

i was really shock with this report. it makes ponder, why do singaporeans want to marry foreigners? are there problems with locally produced. this is a very serious social issue. sooner all later, you won't find 'pure' made in singapore babies.

what is wrong with us singaporeans or what is good about us that foreigners want to marry us. are we good or bad.... this is something worth pondering about.

the lion is thinking hard......

cookies
26th August 2008, 10:41 AM
recently, almost everyday, we saw article about singles and match making after the national day rally speech. i did not know that in asia, there are so many people still single between the age of 21 to 35 years old. i'm one of those. it seems like every one around me is attached or married. well, i think marriage is something which we cannot rush. i believed that marraige is make by heaven. should i be destined by god to stay single let it be. we should remain happy in what ever situation we are, getting married and staying married might not neccessary be a happy thing. i see an equal divorce rate. recently heard a friend just got divorce but i just attended their wedding dinner last decemeber, it's not even a year and mind you this is his 2nd marriage liao.

next we talk about babies, yes after marriage, naturally the next step is baby. there is a rising concerns that couples do not want to have babies. a good example near me is my brother and sis-in-law. they have been married for 6 years but do not wish to have kids. it's not that they can't afford, both of them their combined income is close to $10k. it's just that they do not wish to change their current life style. they enjoy a few holidays a year, no commitment do what they like.

i believed that even with the government increasing the baby bonus and maternity leave, it will not help much. i read a recently article that employers are thinking of hiring more males instead so as to avoid having to give the a maternity leave of up to 4 months.

for employers, these are not just monetery along but the work scope and the people that will be affected. i spoke to my brother about the extra perks that the goverment is giving. to him, these does not entice that to give birth.

what else can the government do, to a society that they have raised to be like that?

duffyduck
26th August 2008, 02:12 PM
heu duffy,

talking about change of blood. i came across an article i believed is the new paper on saturday 23 august. in the article, they were saying that 57% of babies here are actually from mixed parentage. this means only one of the parent is singaporean. it's either singaporean with australian and other other countries.

i was really shock with this report. it makes ponder, why do singaporeans want to marry foreigners? are there problems with locally produced. this is a very serious social issue. sooner all later, you won't find 'pure' made in singapore babies.

what is wrong with us singaporeans or what is good about us that foreigners want to marry us. are we good or bad.... this is something worth pondering about.

the lion is thinking hard......

heh heh... i wont call any of us "pure" singaporean as well... many of us have parents or parent who were malaysians just 40 over years ago. Anyway most of us are "pure" for 2 generations only - most of our grandparents are immigrants from china, malaysia & india. Guess that's what S'pore will always be - a nation built by immigrants. Just like a busy port, pp come...serve our purpose, fulfill our agenda...then move on???

duffyduck
26th August 2008, 02:23 PM
hi cookies... I agree with you that part of the dip in birth rates & marriages is becoz of changing mindset. The traditional thinking of get a career and settle down for family has become old fashioned.

I guess sometimes pp just prefer to enjoy carefree adulthood. To have a family means to sacrifice their time, energy and resources. Everytime they want to do something, they have to consider for their partners or children. I think family values has dropped, and in replace of it is individualism. It's ME, I, MINE all the time. May be that's why divorce rate are high, pp dun want to compromise or lack of patience to work things out, they look at how the relationship can satisfy them but forget to give & take... Being a single, I'm pretty confused and discouraged at times for friends' broken marriages too.

I can't say I've none of it (catering for self)... after all i'm still living in this society, just that sometime I cant help but wonder....where will all these lead to?

lion
27th August 2008, 08:51 AM
heh heh... i wont call any of us "pure" singaporean as well... many of us have parents or parent who were malaysians just 40 over years ago. Anyway most of us are "pure" for 2 generations only - most of our grandparents are immigrants from china, malaysia & india. Guess that's what S'pore will always be - a nation built by immigrants. Just like a busy port, pp come...serve our purpose, fulfill our agenda...then move on???

morning duffy,

yar you are true to say how many of us are 'pure' singaporean. my grandpa is from china. what i'm saying now is pure for at least our generation. i like the way you describe singapore as a busy port. i think it really fits our current suitation.

lion... the labourer for this port