Making with the Babies
If only some other countries/continents had this problem, like oh, say impoverished parts of Africa or poor people in the US who just don't know when to stop.
Pushing for babies: Singapore fights fertility decline
My favorite line: "The city-state ranked 40th out of 41 countries in a survey on how frequently people have sex, according to the Durex Global Sex Survey published in December."
People either have a lot more self control, work so damn hard they're too tired or never see each other, or are lying!
Pushing for babies: Singapore fights fertility decline
Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:55 AM ET
By Sara Webb
SINGAPORE
(Reuters) - When Clara Chng graduated from university, the Singapore
government's matchmaking agency offered her a two-year free trial to
find a husband.
Young, well-educated, and ethnic Chinese, Chng
was a prime candidate for the Orwellian-sounding Social Development
Unit, or SDU, set up in 1984 to help graduates find suitable spouses
and reverse an alarming slump in city-state's fertility rate.
"I
didn't meet anyone through work, and you never know if someone is
married or single, and if he is hiding something from you," said Chng,
37. "But at SDU, the men are serious, they are not just fishing around."
Even
so, she found the experience "stressful." As she approached 30, her
counselor urged her to hurry up because her chances of finding a
husband would soon fade.
Some might find such government
involvement in their marital prospects intrusive, but Singapore's
ruling People's Action Party has often used financial incentives and
other methods to influence its citizens' behavior -- from who they
marry and when, to how many children they have, and where they live.
For
example, about 84 percent of Singaporeans live in apartments built by
the government's public housing agency, which sells its properties
according to strict race quotas.
The quotas --reflecting the
overall population mix of 76 percent Chinese, 14 percent Malay, 9
percent Indian, and 1 percent Eurasian -- are meant to prevent ghettos.
It
was only recently that the agency relaxed its rules, in the face of a
housing glut and complaints from singles, to allow unmarried
Singaporeans to buy subsidized public housing.
EUGENICS
But it's the ruling PAP's policies on marriage and babies, with their whiff of eugenics, that have proved most controversial.
Former
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, a firm believer in the inheritance of
intelligence, sparked a furor in the early 1980s when he urged women
graduates to marry graduate men and have more babies to boost
Singapore's talent pool.
"Our brightest women were not marrying
and would not be represented in the next generation. The implications
were grave," Lee said in his memoirs.
With just 4.4 million
people, Singapore cannot afford to see its population shrink as that
could affect its labor market and talent pool, as well as the more
sensitive issue of racial mix.
Like many developed countries,
Singapore saw its birth rate decline as contraception and abortion
became widely available, as more women entered the workforce, and
following the success of an earlier PAP campaign that urged parents,
particularly those with low incomes, to "Stop at Two."
The fertility rate, which was as high as six in the late 1950s, fell to 1.83 in 1990, and as low as 1.24 in 2004.
But
broken down by race, the figures show the Chinese have the lowest
fertility rate, at 1.07, while the Malays have the highest, at 2.1 ---
implying that the proportion of Chinese and Malay could change.
Lee
Kuan Yew's solution in the 1980s was to set up the SDU, and give
graduate women with three children priority in securing places at the
top nursery schools, an advantage in helping children get ahead at
school, university and in the workplace.
BREEDING FOR SINGAPORE
The
policies proved extremely unpopular. Women resented being urged to
"breed" for Singapore, while the incentives were seen as favoring the
majority Chinese -- who tended to be better educated with fewer
children -- and discriminating against Malays, who had larger families
and less educated women.
Lee was forced to scrap the priority
schooling offer but the SDU -- which many Singaporeans jokingly say
stands for "Single, Desperate and Ugly," -- became a mainstay of
government efforts to encourage graduates to marry and start a family.
Once
famous for offering its graduates Club Med-style "love cruises," the
SDU has turned to speed-dating and online services including an agony
aunt called Dr Love ("Dear Dr Love, how do I know if a guy is
interested in me ... Confused.).
Its website,
www.lovebyte.org.sg, showcases bachelors and their interests with a
personality of the week. "I am optimistic, outgoing and love sports ...
I don't really like clubbing," said a recent hopeful.
"Meeting
people and getting to know them takes time. This is like shopping for a
partner," said Arthur Lim, who runs a hairdressing salon. One of 10
siblings, he is in no rush to have children.
"It's up to you how many children you choose to have."
Alarmed
by the still-plunging fertility rate, the PAP has increased its
financial incentives to encourage bigger families, amounting to cash
gifts of 3,000 Singapore dollars ($1,889) for the first child and
savings of up to S$18,000 each for the third and fourth child.
But
even with an arsenal of rewards -- ranging from generous tax rebates,
grants for each child, maid levy cuts, childcare benefits, as well as
flextime and other maternity perks in the civil service -- getting
people to breed on request isn't easy.
The city-state ranked 40th
out of 41 countries in a survey on how frequently people have sex,
according to the Durex Global Sex Survey published in December.
Chng,
who met her husband Vincent Chien through the SDU and now has two
children, says although money is an issue, it's not the only
consideration.
"To me, that amount is not enough to raise a third
kid. You already have to save a lot for their education, and if you
want them to excel, there are extra costs," she said.
"Most of us work long hours. Those who go for a third or fourth must really love children."
Pushing for babies: Singapore fights fertility decline
My favorite line: "The city-state ranked 40th out of 41 countries in a survey on how frequently people have sex, according to the Durex Global Sex Survey published in December."
People either have a lot more self control, work so damn hard they're too tired or never see each other, or are lying!
Pushing for babies: Singapore fights fertility decline
Thu Apr 27, 2006 7:55 AM ET
By Sara Webb
SINGAPORE
(Reuters) - When Clara Chng graduated from university, the Singapore
government's matchmaking agency offered her a two-year free trial to
find a husband.
Young, well-educated, and ethnic Chinese, Chng
was a prime candidate for the Orwellian-sounding Social Development
Unit, or SDU, set up in 1984 to help graduates find suitable spouses
and reverse an alarming slump in city-state's fertility rate.
"I
didn't meet anyone through work, and you never know if someone is
married or single, and if he is hiding something from you," said Chng,
37. "But at SDU, the men are serious, they are not just fishing around."
Even
so, she found the experience "stressful." As she approached 30, her
counselor urged her to hurry up because her chances of finding a
husband would soon fade.
Some might find such government
involvement in their marital prospects intrusive, but Singapore's
ruling People's Action Party has often used financial incentives and
other methods to influence its citizens' behavior -- from who they
marry and when, to how many children they have, and where they live.
For
example, about 84 percent of Singaporeans live in apartments built by
the government's public housing agency, which sells its properties
according to strict race quotas.
The quotas --reflecting the
overall population mix of 76 percent Chinese, 14 percent Malay, 9
percent Indian, and 1 percent Eurasian -- are meant to prevent ghettos.
It
was only recently that the agency relaxed its rules, in the face of a
housing glut and complaints from singles, to allow unmarried
Singaporeans to buy subsidized public housing.
EUGENICS
But it's the ruling PAP's policies on marriage and babies, with their whiff of eugenics, that have proved most controversial.
Former
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, a firm believer in the inheritance of
intelligence, sparked a furor in the early 1980s when he urged women
graduates to marry graduate men and have more babies to boost
Singapore's talent pool.
"Our brightest women were not marrying
and would not be represented in the next generation. The implications
were grave," Lee said in his memoirs.
With just 4.4 million
people, Singapore cannot afford to see its population shrink as that
could affect its labor market and talent pool, as well as the more
sensitive issue of racial mix.
Like many developed countries,
Singapore saw its birth rate decline as contraception and abortion
became widely available, as more women entered the workforce, and
following the success of an earlier PAP campaign that urged parents,
particularly those with low incomes, to "Stop at Two."
The fertility rate, which was as high as six in the late 1950s, fell to 1.83 in 1990, and as low as 1.24 in 2004.
But
broken down by race, the figures show the Chinese have the lowest
fertility rate, at 1.07, while the Malays have the highest, at 2.1 ---
implying that the proportion of Chinese and Malay could change.
Lee
Kuan Yew's solution in the 1980s was to set up the SDU, and give
graduate women with three children priority in securing places at the
top nursery schools, an advantage in helping children get ahead at
school, university and in the workplace.
BREEDING FOR SINGAPORE
The
policies proved extremely unpopular. Women resented being urged to
"breed" for Singapore, while the incentives were seen as favoring the
majority Chinese -- who tended to be better educated with fewer
children -- and discriminating against Malays, who had larger families
and less educated women.
Lee was forced to scrap the priority
schooling offer but the SDU -- which many Singaporeans jokingly say
stands for "Single, Desperate and Ugly," -- became a mainstay of
government efforts to encourage graduates to marry and start a family.
Once
famous for offering its graduates Club Med-style "love cruises," the
SDU has turned to speed-dating and online services including an agony
aunt called Dr Love ("Dear Dr Love, how do I know if a guy is
interested in me ... Confused.).
Its website,
www.lovebyte.org.sg, showcases bachelors and their interests with a
personality of the week. "I am optimistic, outgoing and love sports ...
I don't really like clubbing," said a recent hopeful.
"Meeting
people and getting to know them takes time. This is like shopping for a
partner," said Arthur Lim, who runs a hairdressing salon. One of 10
siblings, he is in no rush to have children.
"It's up to you how many children you choose to have."
Alarmed
by the still-plunging fertility rate, the PAP has increased its
financial incentives to encourage bigger families, amounting to cash
gifts of 3,000 Singapore dollars ($1,889) for the first child and
savings of up to S$18,000 each for the third and fourth child.
But
even with an arsenal of rewards -- ranging from generous tax rebates,
grants for each child, maid levy cuts, childcare benefits, as well as
flextime and other maternity perks in the civil service -- getting
people to breed on request isn't easy.
The city-state ranked 40th
out of 41 countries in a survey on how frequently people have sex,
according to the Durex Global Sex Survey published in December.
Chng,
who met her husband Vincent Chien through the SDU and now has two
children, says although money is an issue, it's not the only
consideration.
"To me, that amount is not enough to raise a third
kid. You already have to save a lot for their education, and if you
want them to excel, there are extra costs," she said.
"Most of us work long hours. Those who go for a third or fourth must really love children."