The Shifting Goalposts
The government in Singapore has been going on and on that the local population should be more open to foreign workers due to the nation's falling fertility rate.
Since Singaporeans are not reproducing themselves, they posit that we need a constant influx of foreigners to keep the local economy going. The constant granting of new citizenship would help stabilize the population distribution.
Perhaps they forget that once foreigners assimilate, their fertility rate also falls correspondingly, further escalating the problems. The only ones who continue to reproduce are those who retain their old psyche and do not assimilate. Do we really want more of them, considering they will continue to be distinct from the local population and exert pressure on inter-racial cohesion?
System dynamics poses a view that perhaps the solution lies in creating a new variable. In investing in automation and various labour-saving processes, many developed countries have helped to halt the impact of an aging population. Yet, we continue to insist on the easy way out, which creates more problems for ourselves in the long run.
Yes, transient workers are an attractive and easy option too, but there is little security. These people owe no loyalty to us, and flock to wherever offers a better deal.
The sad thing is few people see this coming, and the few that do flee the country for its policies that do little to encourage innovation. So is this the land of the damned? The greatest inefficiency does not lie with SMEs, but in the bloated civil service and the GLCs/TLCs. All of us tax-payers are truly subsidizing the system at large.
We may not see it yet, but when will the proverbial hair that breaks the camel's back finally land?
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