Singapore is past the point where a poverty line is useful, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong indicated yesterday, as its groups of needy now take shifting and multi-faceted form
Hence, the Government's "kueh lapis" approach to social assistance, he said, summoning a metaphor that Minister of Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing used to describe the multi-layered help it provides to those in need.
Speaking to reporters after a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, Mr Lee weighed in for the first time on recent calls to establish a poverty line in Singapore, after Hong Kong did so in September.
He said that a poverty line like the World Bank's measure of $1.50 a day was irrelevant in Singapore as there are no "dead poor" here, by which he means those who are starving and unsheltered.
related: Singapore's needy have diverse needs that call for multi-layered help
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Lee: ‘Poverty line’ is obsolete
“To say as an ideological matter that ‘I must have a proper definition, and I want to reduce this group to zero’ – I think we have moved beyond that point and I don’t think that a definition will help us to improve our schemes,” he said.
Lee also dismissed suggestions that a poverty line would help “focus minds” on the issue of the poor in Singapore.
“What is important to us is not about whether we can find a definition with which we can focus minds on the problem, because our minds are focused on the problem,” he said.
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Poverty line not useful for Singapore, says PM Lee: reports
Reuters/REUTERS - Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (L) poses
for a photo with Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa during a
banquet dinner for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reportedly indicated on
Saturday that Singapore is past the point of where a poverty line would
be useful, adding that the groups of needy now take shifting and
multi-faceted forms.
Lee, who was speaking to reporters after a
Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, seemed to agree with the government’s
“kueh lapis” or multi-layered approach to social assistance, reported The Straits Times’ report
The prime minister’s comments come after the Lien Centre for Social Innovation and SMU School of Social Sciences issued a report on Monday which called for an official definition of poverty and one that didn’t base it solely on monetary terms.
The Case For A Singapore Poverty Line
Minister Chan Chun Sing prefers to use a "kueh lapis" approach to deal with poverty in Singapore
Why a Poverty Line is Useful - A poverty line is useful and can be partnered along with our so-called “kueh lapis” solution. In economics term, both the poverty line and the “kueh lapis” are “complements” rather than “substitutes” for one another. We can, and should have both of them, rather than be debating about which one is better.
Having no poverty line set in place is akin to having examinations with no “passing marks”. Without these guidelines, educators are left to their own judgments or discretion on whether their students have truly met the minimum standards required. Some may think their students are doing okay when they are not actually performing well.
What a Poverty Line is Not - A call for a poverty line should never be mistaken to be a call for a welfare state. Those who claim so are simply trying to leverage on Singaporeans’ biasness towards a “welfare state” and conveniently utilising it as an argument against a “poverty line”, irresponsibly.
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Different layers of aid for S'poreans, based on needs: Shanmugam
He said this at a "Ready for School" event to provide students with bursary and reading workshops on Sunday morning
Some 400 kindergarten students from needy families in Nee Soon GRC attended the "WeCare@Nee Soon - Ready for School" event.
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Focus on helping those with varying needs: PM Lee
Given the different circumstances of those who may need social assistance, what is crucial is not how poverty is defined, but having in place various schemes to help those in need and for able people to assess cases for those who may fall through the cracks
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made these points yesterday (Nov 16), as he spoke to reporters from Singapore on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Mr Lee also revealed that the Parliament prologue, a mid-electoral point at which Parliament breaks to take stock and conduct a review, will take place most likely in April after the budget. Parliament will re-open in May.
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Debunking the welfare myth
IT
WOULD have jolted its citizens to hear from a minister this week that
possibly
no nation is more "welfarist" than Singapore, familiar
as they are with official discourse over the years refuting the
Western welfare model. The rhetorical assertion by Foreign and Law
Minister K. Shanmugam at a civil society forum was to underscore the
extent to which "every aspect of a citizen's life" is
currently subsidised by the Government.
From the poorest, help has
progressively been extended to the elderly, the young, low-income job
holders and even middle-income earners. Singapore's social assistance
model now covers housing, health care, early childhood care,
education and training, among others.
related: PM: We don't need poverty line to help the poor
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387,187 IN POVERTY?
I refer to the article “Median household income rose to $7,870 last year, inequality down” (Straits Times, Feb 18).
Real median household income rose 1.6% - It states that “Median household income rose to $7,870 last year, 4 per cent up from 2012, according to a Department of Statistics releaseon Tuesday. After accounting for inflation, the rise was 1.6 per cent from 2012.” According to the Key Household Income Trends 2013 report released today – the Median Household Income from Work Per Household Member only increased in real terms by 1.9% per annum, from 2008 to 2013, lower than the 3.2% per annum from 2003 to 2008.
Income per household member of the 3 lowest deciles? - Average Monthly Household Income from Work Per Household Member Among Resident Employed Households by Deciles – 1st to 10th, 11th to 20th and 21st to 3oth deciles were only $463, $896 and $1,268, respectively last year.
Measuring poverty in Singapore
Singapore
does not have an official poverty line. should there be one? and what
are the frameworks that have been used or could be adopted for the
measurement of poverty in this country? the lien centre for social
innovation and smu school of social sciences report on their
investigation into the complex issue of domestic poverty.
Over
the past ten years, Singapore has registered robust economic growth
and consistently ranked amongst countries with the highest GDP per
capita in the world. Over the same period, inequality has risen
sharply. Singapore does not have an official poverty line. However,
the living conditions and incomes of the poorest amongst the
Singapore resident population, while not reaching the level of
destitution experienced in developing countries, nonetheless suggest
that Singapore needs to reassess the way in which poverty is
acknowledged, defined and addressed.
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Growing calls for PAP to stop hiding its Poor from the World
“The living conditions and incomes of the poorest amongst the singapore resident population nonetheless suggest that Singapore needs to reassess the Way in Which poverty is acknoWledged, defined and addressed.” Lien Foundation SMU
The growing presence of poor people in the wealthy city state is becoming more and more obvious despite begging carries heavy fines or even imprisonment. There are calls for Singapore to acknowledge rapidly rising income inequality by setting an official poverty line. Hong Kong’s recent decision to set a poverty line as a way to better identify and assist its poor has prompted a similar debate in Singapore’s parliament.
A report released on November 11 says Singaporeans are not aware of the scale and depth of poverty. Meanwhile, a new public awareness campaign challenges citizens to try living on $5 for a day in a nation with one of the highest costs of living in the world.
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In Singapore, Calls for Poverty Line Amid Rising Inequality
A worker cuts tiles as he puts finishing touches on the common area of a newly completed condominium project in Singapore on Oct. 24. A group of researchers is calling for a poverty line to be implemented in the city-state to better account for a widening wealth gap
As Singapore’s decades-long rise in prosperity increasingly shows a widening wealth gap, this affluent city-state must do more to face up to the plight of its poor, a group of leading poverty researchers say.
Already, the government is stepping up social spending to help low-income citizens squeezed by stagnant wages and rising costs. But policy makers should go further, the researchers say, and better define what it means to be poor in one of Asia’s leading financial centers.
“Singapore does not have an official poverty line … Most Singaporeans are not aware of the scale and depth of poverty in Singapore,” the Singapore Management University’s Lien Center for Social Innovation said in a report published Monday. “It is time for Singapore to join comparably developed nations in officially defining and measuring poverty.”
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Singapore poverty in the spotlight
Poverty in Singapore affects an unknown number of families [Xu Yuan Duan/Growing Up with Less]
Begging is illegal here, under the island-nation's Destitute Persons Act, carrying a fine of up to $3,000 or imprisonment for up to two years for repeat offenders
But Singapore's poor still can be found, often selling packets of tissues outside food centres. Or spending the night on benches near their jobs to save the transport fare home - they are commonly called "sleepers". Or collecting empty soft drink cans out of trash bins.
The poor have no place in Singapore's vaunted success story, but there are growing calls for one of the wealthiest countries in the world to acknowledge rapidly rising income inequality by setting an official poverty line. Hong Kong's recent decision to set a poverty line as a way to better identify and assist its poor has prompted a similar debate in Singapore's parliament.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore has moved beyond the point of "extreme poverty", defined by the United Nations as living with less than US$1.50 per day.
First, this is a red herring. No one is calling for the official poverty line to be set at US$1.50 per day. The call is for the Government to set an official poverty line.
Second, is there really no citizen living with less than US$1.50 per day?
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20% of families on ComCare assistance saw incomes rise beyond eligibility criteria
A screen capture of the ComCare.sg website
About three in four unemployed Singaporeans under ComCare's Short
Term Assistance from 2008 to 2012 were placed in jobs either during
their term of assistance or upon graduating from the scheme
During
the same period, about 20 per cent of families on ComCare assistance,
who received case management support, saw their incomes rising beyond
the eligibility criteria for assistance.
Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing said this in a written reply to a parliamentary question by MP for Aljunied GRC, Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap.
Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing said this in a written reply to a parliamentary question by MP for Aljunied GRC, Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap.
A report by SMU’s Lien Centre for Social Innovation has called upon the Singapore government to officially define poverty. It was released at an SMU forum today (11 Nov).
The report, “Measuring Poverty in Singapore: Frameworks for Consideration”, said that most Singaporeans are not aware of the country’s scale of poverty due to lack of information. Hence, being able to measure poverty could lead to greater public support to address the needs of the vulnerable communities.
Officially defining and measuring poverty will help to identify at-risk households and to measure the performance of efforts to lift people out of poverty, it said.
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Increasing Calls for Poverty Line Amid Rising Inequality - Chun Han Wong
WSJ Blog, 11 Nov 2013
As Singapore’s decades-long rise in prosperity increasingly shows a widening wealth gap, this affluent city-state must do more to face up to the plight of its poor, a group of leading poverty researchers say.
Already, the government is stepping up social spending to help low-income citizens squeezed by stagnant wages and rising costs. But policy makers should go further, the researchers say, and better define what it means to be poor in one of Asia’s leading financial centers.
“Singapore does not have an official poverty line … Most Singaporeans are not aware of the scale and depth of poverty in Singapore,” the Singapore Management University’s Lien Center for Social Innovation said in a report published Monday. “It is time for Singapore to join comparably developed nations in officially defining and measuring poverty.” Full story
Related: Why setting a poverty line may not be helpful: Chan Chun Sing - Singapolitics.sg
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Help schemes flexible enough for those who don’t meet criteria: Minister Chan
Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing
Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing has given the assurance that there is enough flexibility within the country's help system to cater to those who may not meet the criteria, but who are genuinely in need.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Chan said the government's strategy is to have multiple lines of assistance to help Singaporeans with differing needs.
Last year, more than 1,500 households who did not meet the income criteria were helped under ComCare, which provides both short and longer term help to families in need.
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S'pore is committed to help elderly, vulnerable: Chan Chun Sing
Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing has given the assurance that there is enough flexibility within the country's help system to cater to those who may not meet the criteria, but who are genuinely in need.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Chan said the government's strategy is to have multiple lines of assistance to help Singaporeans with differing needs.
Last year, more than 1,500 households who did not meet the income criteria were helped under ComCare, which provides both short and longer term help to families in need.
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S'pore is committed to help elderly, vulnerable: Chan Chun Sing
Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing addressing Parliament on Singapore's social safety nets to help needy Singaporeans
Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing stressed that the government is committed to do as much as it can, in partnership with the community, to take care of the elderly and vulnerable.
Parliament on Monday heard an impassioned speech from Dr Intan, who spoke about the need to enhance the country's policies against the backdrop of a widening income gap.
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Government 'will look out for asset-rich, cash-poor' older Singaporeans
The Government's move towards a more progressive tax system will help address the concerns of asset-rich, cash-poor older Singaporeans, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong said yesterday
In designing its tax system, the Government is "very mindful of this particular group of sandwiched Singaporeans", he said in response to concerns raised by residents of Joo Chiat in a dialogue
For instance, it has moved away from using Housing Board flat type as the qualifying criteria for Budget surplus sharing schemes, he said.
These schemes now use the annual value of property, which Mr Wong said is a "fairer system" because owners of lower-end private property can also benefit
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WHY THE MINIMUM WAGE SYSTEM IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR SINGAPORE
Singapore's leaders had long justified their high salaries by insisting they were necessary to attract the best managerial and leadership talent to public service. They insisted that it is probably a bad idea to expect that enough good politicians and civil servants will fill these positions even though they can make a lot more money doing something else.
So why are the top earners in the private sector earning so much money? Since Gintai is quoting everyday items, I shall do the same. Let's imagine the amount of wealth generated each year as full pizza, shared among 10 people. The first man sliced the pizza into 4 quarters, gingerly place one quarter of it on a plate, smile at the 9 men and then walks away with the rest of the pizza, still warm and tucked safely in his pizza box. The remaining 9 men were left looking at each other, wondering how to divide the remaining quarter among themselves. That represents how wealth is divided in Singapore.
The above example illustrated that the only way to ensure remaining men gets a guaranteed (however thin) slice of pizza instead of fighting among one another feeding off scraps is to have the first man taking less and leave more behind for the rest. The PAP government's solutions are based on creating a bigger pizza or even a second pizza but only to see the same situation happening each time - the majority of the men left with little to share,
In terms of their possessions, the average billionaire owns four homes, with each worth nearly US$20 million. The most common luxury holding among the ultra-rich is yachts, followed by private jets and art.
The US tops the list with 515 billionaires having an eye popping net worth of US$2,064 billion. As much as 66% of the world’s billionaires are in the following top ten countries
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More On Affordability
It boils down to this: will you buy a used car from this guy? Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew pledged before the House that the discounts given will more than offset any fare increase in the next fare review exercise. Maintaining the same poker face, he segued on to the part about fares not being less affordable for the average commuter, and more affordable for the low income and disadvantaged groups.
Everbody else pays more. The perverted Pareto principle states that 80% of the effects (increases) come from 20% of the causes (rebates). Not in this Singapore version of Tricky Dick's vocabulary is the option of reducing fares by maximising cost efficiencies and higher productivity.
Big deal, transport firms will give part of extra revenue creamed from rise of fares to enhance travel vouchers to the poor. Lest we forget, only half of 200,000 vouchers were taken up in 2011. What was not collected, was siphoned back into the stash fund of the greedy buggers.
Hope for resettled homeless through Project 4650
Tents at East Coast Park beach
A project to get the East Coast Park homeless resettled has garnered positive results. Project 4650, started in 2010, has helped about 230 families so far.
A project to get the East Coast Park homeless resettled has garnered positive results. Project 4650, started in 2010, has helped about 230 families so far.
The multi-agency effort arose from the emergence
of a large number of people living in tents, along the East Coast Park
beach, a few years ago.
The problem of families found living in public parks and beaches peaked in 2009, at the height of the Asian financial crisis
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How do Singapore's poor families get by?
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UNDERSTANDING POVERTY IN SINGAPORE: A REALITY CHECK
A lot has been said about helping the poor in Singapore, and while it’s heartening to see the leadership coming out to encourage people to help the less fortunate, I’m actually skeptical that such appeals to the general public would hold any clout and actually make life better for the poor.
For one, Singaporeans are not known for their spirit of volunteerism. I’m not saying we’re a nation of heartless and inhumane citizens, but let’s do a reality check: how many people actually come forward to volunteer their time and effort on a sustained basis for the benefit of the destitute in Singapore? Most people would probably think it’s a lot easier to simply donate money, and then get on with their lives.
That is if they bother with donations in the first place. I always believed that in addressing poverty issues, one has to take a very realistic approach, instead of the conventional way that seeks to tug at heartstrings– at the end of the day, what the destitute and underprivileged need are not your emphaties (or is it really sympathies?), but rather real solutions that provide for a roof over their heads and putting food on the table.
Poverty in Singapore
There are various categories of being poor in Singapore. (No official line yet, but some are calling for an official poverty line to be defined [t1])
Some could be the old and frail – these are the elderly living on their own, either with no children or children who have abandoned them. They have no means to work and more so if they are sick, they may not be mobile and hence are dependent on others.
We could also have parents not earning enough to make ends meet – partly because they have quite a number of children, in addition to elderly parents so they are the sandwiched generation.
How do Singapore's poor families get by?
Nurhaida, 29, who is unemployed with six children in Singapore, says it is difficult to make ends meet
Nurhaida Binte Jantan is making dinner. She is roasting otah-otah, a Malay dish of fish paste wrapped in banana leaves, over a portable stove.
She is a 29-year-old unemployed single mother with six children from five to 13 years old. She lives in a tiny flat, just 30 square metres, with little furnishing.
There is no dining table, so the children eat their otah-otah with rice and chillies crouched on the floor.
related:
related:
The Surprising Truth About The Homeless In Singapore
Tent Village: Singapore’s nomad families
Why do people hate Singapore?
The Surprising Truth About The Homeless In Singapore
Tent Village: Singapore’s nomad families
Why do people hate Singapore?
Singapore: Best Place to Live and Work
Plight Of The Tissue Peddlers
Have you ever Spoken to a Cardboard Uncle or Aunty?
Singapore’s Story: What comes next
Singapore at 50: From swamp to skyscrapers
Singapore Good Old Times
The Poor & Homeless in Singapore
Support for the Needy and Elderly
The Singapore Story
Other Side of The Singapore Story
ChasingThe Singapore Dream
To Be Or Not To Be Singaporeans
Longing for the good old days
Singapore: A Sampan or a Cruise ship?
Singapore at 50: From swamp to skyscrapers
Singapore is ‘World’s Costliest City To Live In’
Coping with Inflation & Cost Of Living
COL goes Up, Up, Up!
Singapore “Swiss” Standard of Living
Tackling poverty the 'kuih lapis' way
Callings for a Poverty Line
Setting a poverty line may not be helpful
A minimum wage for Singapore?
No homeless,destitute starving people in S'pore:Poverty has been eradicated
Growing Up With Less
Plight Of The Tissue Peddlers
Have you ever Spoken to a Cardboard Uncle or Aunty?
Singapore’s Story: What comes next
Singapore at 50: From swamp to skyscrapers
Singapore Good Old Times
The Poor & Homeless in Singapore
Support for the Needy and Elderly
The Singapore Story
Other Side of The Singapore Story
ChasingThe Singapore Dream
To Be Or Not To Be Singaporeans
Longing for the good old days
Singapore: A Sampan or a Cruise ship?
Singapore at 50: From swamp to skyscrapers
Singapore is ‘World’s Costliest City To Live In’
Coping with Inflation & Cost Of Living
COL goes Up, Up, Up!
Singapore “Swiss” Standard of Living
Tackling poverty the 'kuih lapis' way
Callings for a Poverty Line
Setting a poverty line may not be helpful
A minimum wage for Singapore?
No homeless,destitute starving people in S'pore:Poverty has been eradicated
Growing Up With Less
