POVERTY IN SINGAPORE

Source: therealsingapore.com

      Surely you've watched charity programmes broadcasted on television, featuring teeny tiny apartments in shambles, and an elderly couple living in these worn down apartments. Or you came across the man living under your HDB blocks, his bed made up of newspapers and the creepy-crawlies as his companions. And one line we've definitely heard at least once in our life, ' karung guni, poh zhua gu sa kor, pai leh-lio, dian si ki...'. The neighborhood karang-guni, or the modern rag and bone men.

     These are all just the examples of relative poverty in singapore. Relative poverty is more common in singapore than acute poverty, the latter meaning absolutely no ability to sustain life. Relative poverty refers to having ability to sustain life to a certain extent. Here in singapore, it refers to families or people living under the poverty line.

    Now you ask, what is the poverty line in singapore? 

    Before I did research for this blog topic, I too had no idea of the exact poverty line in singapore. Internet searches and news reports turned up many shocking results.

Source: thehearttruths.com

 This pie chart was came up with in 2011.  If Singapore's poverty rate increases 1% average annually, (and this is a big if), it should be safe to assume singapore's poverty rate, now in 2014, is 29%. That's well over a quarter! Now, look at this,

Source: straits times

    Stastistically, Singaporeans have enough money to get by, but not enough for personal luxuries that cost more , eg, a car. (Considering COE rates now). Ok, we got through that. Now let's compare poverty rate in singapore to poverty rate in other countries.

Source: again, from thehearttruths.com

      Thses graphs compared the poverty rate in singapore to asian countries and the rest of the world. Undoubtedly, singapore is a wealthy country but it's income inequality is larger than other countries. But well, that makes sense, does it not? As a richer country, people who are not as financially able will increase the income gap. 

     An article on The Economist, titled The stingy nanny, discusses the situation of poverty in singapore. A passage from the article reads,

'The government does run a handful of schemes directed at some of the needy, from low-income students to the unassisted elderly. But these benefits are rigorously means-tested and granted only sparingly. The most destitute citizens' families may apply for public assistance; only 3,000 currently qualify. Laid-off workers receive no automatic benefits. Instead they are sorted into “workfare” and training schemes.'

    People would ask why isn't the government doing more for the poverty in singapore? But let us see this in a another light.

   In layman terms, 'gini coefficient' simply means the distribution of income in citizens, or the income inequality. The government stance is for the needy to be self-reliant, but will still run welfare programmes to aid them through. And a thing to note is that the low income rate of foreign workers also contribute to the rising income inequality. 

      

        Shocked, eh? Now close that gaping mouth and read on. This is the estimated gini-coefficient pie chart in 2025. By then, the poverty class in singapore would have increased to 40%. 

      More on the face of poverty in singapore

Source: Jeremy-chen.org

The bottom line is, poverty in singapore is becoming more common in our rapidly aging society. A question to ponder over, with the rising poverty line, will you fall under the poverty class too?

How will this affect singapore's economy?