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15 Apr 2012, 10.39AM

6 comments & replies |by REACH Administrator | Our Common Space

Citing findings from a poll in the United States which found that only 47% of the 2,000 Americans surveyed felt that their children would have a higher standard of living than them, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said Singapore must not allow such a similar situation and urged Singaporeans to work together to keep social mobility going.

Speaking at a forum to mark Malay self-help group Mendaki’s 30th anniversary celebration, DPM Tharman shared that there is a ‘good chance’ of achieving ‘a significant lift in living standards for Singaporeans’ in the next decade, and spelt out three strategies to maintain social mobility:

- Giving children a good early start to build their confidence. This includes giving help to those with learning difficulties, and not putting every child through the regular classroom style or ‘traditional methods of learning’.

- Defining meritocracy more broadly through a ‘flexible and fluid’ education system that allows talents, not just exam results, to be recognise as ‘merits’.

- Working together as a community to build an inclusive society, with volunteers taking responsibility for their community’s well-being.

What are your thoughts on the strategies to keep social mobility going?

Read the ST article ‘Maintain social mobility: Tharman’.

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Guest

15 Apr 2012, 11.30AM

"DPM Tharman shared that there is a ‘good chance’ of achieving ‘a significant lift in living standards for Singaporeans’ in the next decade"

Why is there only a "good chance" when it is their task to ensure that it happens? Are they so lack of confidence that they are now gambling on their jobs? Or is it not their intention to do so in the first place?

Far MaMa

Guest

15 Apr 2012, 11.44AM

But CDC does not support my idea of work Mobility leh. With 140K of citizens jobless, of course we would like to venture out instead of dying here.

Can PAP stop slapping yourself eveytime like boo-boos? Talk is cheap if you are not sincere.

Guest

15 Apr 2012, 1.30PM

Standard of Living is not a metric in the mind, or is it?

Any logical person will tell you population explosion without "proportional productivity increase" will result in a lower standard of living?

The only way to lift that measure is by self-psyching "what a beautiful bubble I'm living in, this pigeon hole of mine..."?

And all that said, we still don't get social mobility.

Social mobility comes with you giving way for me to take over the reins.

(Guru)

Only Talk No Walk

16 Apr 2012, 8.35AM

"Singapore must not allow such a similar situation and urged Singaporeans to work together to keep social mobility going..." I really who is Singapore now? The government? Or the people? If it's the government then there are indeed lots of thing for them to do in order not to allow the situation to arise....and by just urging the people???? What do you think about the two-way process again?

Guest

16 Apr 2012, 11.37AM

Pui. Our mind and body are tired.

Guest

17 Apr 2012, 10.43AM

To maintain social mobility, I hope our DPM would Indirectly support Prof Lim "Wage Therapy for Low-Income" by using the "Foreign Levy" mechanism to encourage the Businesses to help to raise the wage of the low-income so that the children of this group of poor hardworking family has a good chance to enjoy social mobility in the future.

Why Foreign Levy? Because most businessmen by nature are greedy and will not want to willingly raise the wages of the low-income group. They will complain and give many excuses of overhead. In fact, if you look the balance sheet operating expenses wrt to wages, you would notice that wages of employees probably only made up only 25% of cost, based on headcount. Most of the cost is in other area - "entertainment expense", "person transport expense - car, 1st/business class air ticket", "shareholder dividends", and "properties rental". Look at monthly CPF contribution, MOF will know the percentage of a company expense is on wages.

This will help to lessen the any wide Income GAP of Rich-Poor Divide.
Inflation is good if it is less than wage growth of poor.
Then the rich will have to spend more on the Daily Basics (Food & Services) rather than on the Properties & Car which will not help the poor. The poor is not in Properties or Car - wealth chain, the poor gains more from the service sectors.

Higher long-term GST 10% (together with Perpetual Annual GST rebates, CPF full health insurance for citizens) is also good because it taxes all including the foreigners & tourists and Rich.

This is more Sensible and Singaporeans will be more Secure while keeping social mobility going.

Cheers!
Gen-XY.