LOOKING at the experience of some Western countries, you might think single
mums deserve support as they are contributing to the effort of producing more
babies for a greying nation.
A rather sneering commentary in the International Herald Tribune last month by
Philip Bowring, for example, suggests how Asians can solve their problem of
falling birth rates.
We should, he advised, look West. Western Governments support families with
babies ? without any moral strings.
"There is a dumb arrogance in East Asia's approach," he argued. We spend our
money on unnecessary infrastructure and squirrel it away as savings, when we
should instead, be spending it on social subsidies to jack up our "abysmal
fertility rates".
In Europe, there is a baby boom, with the highest rates being in Scandinavian
countries. France has rates which are close to replacement levels, and Britain
and Holland are not far behind.
"The most obvious features of these countries, the Nordic ones in particular,
are very high levels of welfare support for children, and child and maternal
health, and generous parental leave ? for fathers and mothers," he wrote.
These countries also have very high rates of female workforce participation and
gender income equality.
HIGH TAX RATES
What he does not mention, of course, is the corresponding high tax rates to
fund such welfare.
"Finally, and most shocking to the Asian values brigade, all these countries
have high rates of births outside wedlock, even though abortion is readily
available," he said.
But is Singapore ready for such radical thinking?
Last week, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said that while the West was
encouraging single parents to boost birth rates, Singapore was not ready for
that.
He told reporters, while travelling in Tatarstan, Russia, that by educating
women and giving them a fair chance at top jobs, Singapore had inadvertently
created the issue of capable women staying single, and not having children.
With Asian men generally shunning women who make more money or who have higher
career positions than themselves, "our best educated, intelligent women ended
up not getting married.
It is probably true that the "values brigade" in Singapore is not ready for
policies that promote the proliferation of single mums.
But I wonder if we can take a more liberal approach with helping families in
general. This includes everyone with kids ? single parents and low-income
families in particular.
Can we (dare we?) extend to them all the benefits that "normal" families have?
For single parents, mainly unwed mothers, this means the chance to buy a
Housing Board flat from the Government.
Certainly, this goes against the grain of our housing policy, where a
subsidised flat is given only to married couples or singles above 35.
And yes, in Britain, where public housing is given to unwed mothers, the
problem of young women getting ?knocked up? for the sake of a council flat did
arise.
But I feel that because of the social pressures here, very few women would
become single mothers for the sake of a flat.
Rather, it is because they are already single mothers, and often in financial
hardship, that they need a flat even more. This is a matter of providing a roof
over the heads of a vulnerable group.
Then there is the Hope scheme, which is designed to help small low-income
families. It stands for "Home Ownership Plus Education". What it means is that
if you are a couple, younger than 35, and have two children or fewer, you can
get up to $100,000 in benefits if you agree not to have any more children.
TIME FOR A RE-THINK?
You must also have no higher than O levels and the household income must also
be less than $1,500.
Is it time for a re-think? First, lift the cap on children. If your income is
less than $1,500 and you have more than two children, you would need more help,
not less.
Why is Hope denied to those who need it even more?
Second, I think we can explore the idea of a child allowance.
For example, if your household income is less than $1,500, you could get a
monthly allowance of $400 per child to help you.
Giving state subsidy for raising kids is not unheard of in Singapore.
Foster parents who take care of children under the Ministry of Community
Development, Youth and Sports scheme get about $650 each month.
Helping poor families does not send a signal that we are a licentious society
of unwed mothers. Neither does it condone irresponsible parenting by poor
couples.
Rather, it signals that we care about all families ? whatever their
circumstances.
