The Moley Prophet

LKY has revealed in a dialogue that the government would very much like to implement a system of free childcare and paternity leave to boost the declining birth rate. This system would create more harm than good for Singaporeans. First, we have to look at how this system could be supported. By deducting the salary of Ministers? Surely they wouldn’t be so patriotic to sacrifice their salaries. They are in fact, mere workers who try to match what they earn with what those in the corporate sector earn.

So, the money could only come from tax payers. Which would be us. The people who slog it out there with our brains trying to make more money. And we had to pay tax to support the sows who just keep giving birth.

In Singapore, people who have several children are either doing relatively well or on the other end of the income scale - poor. Yet, they do not manage their finances properly and continue having more children they could not feed, more children than they could house, more children than they could take in hand and educate properly. What happens to these children? They grow up affecting the society as a whole and take in resources meant for the well being of those whom these resources are taken from.

We are already providing tons of resources for these poor families, including fee textbooks, free education, bursary money. Yet, what have they contributed? More McDonald’s deliveryman maybe? These leechers use the money given to them on nonsense! Cigarettes, PSP, Nintendo DS, et cetera. Why then are we providing them with the money? They deserve to be in the state they are in!

The Swede system would only increase the number of such families. Plentiful of children at home to be McDonald’s deliveryman in the future. Having children is not just providing them with food and education. Beyond those, there are issues of taking care of the baby at night and educating them with proper values. These are things busy parents who are making money do not want. On top of it, companies may not be able to accept the more paternity leave idea. The people who have the ability to raise the children are not doing it and those who don’t will do it even more, I wonder how would Singapore look like in 15 years time.

Certain systems may work in a place, but not in the others. Take China for example, I believe China’s One-Child policy works perfectly there. It restricts those who are not able to support their children to have lesser babies and those who are able to afford to have the number they desire.