Re: Income gap is widening ....and social mobility


Let them widen it all the more it will destroy them.

"Bad boy" <badboy_sinland@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:42f46cb2$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Students are concern about the widening income
> gap and the loss of social mobility that could follow.
>
> The MPs told the students that...it is a global
> phenomenon and in other countries (like India and China)
> the gaps are wider than Singapore.
>
> This is a very dishonest answer. It is nonsense
> to make such comparison. Until recently, most third
> word countries do not have a middle class. They had
> only the rich and the very poor. Their income gaps was
> very high and they have little social mobility.
>
> Singapore had a different scenario in the past.
> The were few rich, a relatively large middle income
> group and a large low income group, not very much different
> from the USA or UK.
> Now the income gap between the middle income and
> the low income is very much wider now... and Singapore
> income gap is getting large every year and soon we will be
> like in India and China, having only the rich and the poor.
>
> The wage policy and the performance of the economy
> have contributed to this widdening of the income gap.
>
> Obviously, the MPs were talking ***...their knowledge
> on the subject is laughable and it follows ....that nothing
> will be done to resolve the problem because of their
> ignorance.
>
> Bad boy.
>
> kilometric" <katami@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:dd0vf2$r9n$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/views/story/0,4574,165240,00.html?
> >
> > More young people seem to believe so - and that's a development that
> > policy-makers should watch
> >
> > By UMA SHANKARI
> >
> >
> > AT A STUDENT symposium I attended recently, a session was devoted to the
> > widening income gap in Singapore and whether it is cause for concern.
> >
> >
> > The session, organised by the Singapore International Foundation, gave
> > students a chance to talk to labour MP Halimah Yacob and West Coast GRC
MP
> > Choo Ho Geok about the growing income gap revealed by the recent
Household
> > Expenditure Survey.
> >
> > Mdm Halimah and Mdm Ho said the government is doing all it can to reduce
> > the
> > income gap. But some students said they are worried. They believe the
gap,
> > besides making it difficult for those at the bottom to live, is reducing
> > social mobility.
> >
> > The Household Expenditure Survey, which tracked income changes between
> > 1998
> > and 2003, found the average monthly household income of the lower 40 per
> > cent of Singaporeans remained unchanged or declined. At the same time,
the
> > household income of the top 20 per cent increased almost 12 per cent.
> >
> > Mdm Halimah and Mdm Ho pointed out that income gaps are a global
> > phenomenon.
> > And they noted that Singapore, with its high home ownership rate, is
> > better
> > off than many countries, where the income gap is much wider. Also, they
> > said, the authorities are trying to help.
> >
> > Acknowledging that there are some who need help, the government recently
> > launched the $500 million ComCare Fund, aimed at levelling the playing
> > field
> > for children from needy families.
> >
> > But in a way, the students - and the authorities - may be missing the
> > point.
> > The way some students see things, it's not that Singapore isn't better
off
> > than other countries or that the government isn't doing enough to help;
> > rather, their concern is that Singapore is not as committed to
meritocracy
> > as it once was. As one student put it: 'We are not as meritorious as we
> > were.'
> >
> > This should worry policy makers. Since independence in 1965, Singapore
has
> > proudly promoted meritocracy and rapid social mobility. And the fact
that
> > some younger people are beginning to doubt whether this system still
> > exists
> > in totality shows that something is wrong somewhere.
> >
> > Students at the symposium seem to believe that this 'somewhere' is the
> > education system. Some popular schools here give admission preference to
> > applicants whose parents studied at the school. Agreed, it makes sense
to
> > let siblings attend the same school. But the reason for giving
preference
> > to
> > the children of alumni - who may well be higher income people - escapes
> > me.
> >
> > Another concern raised at the discussion - by panelist Soon Sze Meng,
who
> > has been vocal recently on whether the education system may be
> > increasingly
> > benefiting the better-off - is that property around the more popular
> > schools
> > is highly sought after and becoming increasingly expensive, giving the
> > children of wealthier Singaporeans a better chance of attending these
> > schools.
> >
> > Recent ministerial speeches, including those by Prime Minister Lee Hsien
> > Loong, suggest the government is watching the income gap closely. But
the
> > belief of some younger people is that it needs to work fast to convince
> > the
> > next generation that social mobility is still very much possible.
> >
> >
>
>


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