Singaporean Government on Birthrate
Couples Having Children without First Having a Flat in Singapore
The analysis of the three articles brings the housing policy in Singapore into limelight. The argument of which should come first between a baby and the flat seems to receive divergent views from the concerned stakeholders. Besides, Josephine Teoās statement on āSomeone donāt need much space to have sexā seems not to go well with the majority of the Singaporeans (Tai, 2016). The issue of prioritizing between a house and a baby which should come first has been a subject of different of debate for many years. This has not only happened in Singapore but also in other many Western nations. However, in West acquiring a flat before a baby is not a government policy but an individual choice.The difference between Singapore and other nations is that in Singapore the flats are subsidized by the government and one condition to be able to access the same is to motivate people to give birth to more children. The Singaporean government is using this approach to counteract the declining population in the country were the population is dominated by the senior citizensĀ (Chen, 2016). This government strategy seems to attract a lot criticisms of the Singaporean people who are the major stakeholdersĀ (Yap, 2008). Therefore, it is the right time for the Singaporean government to review its policy and come up with a more friendly approach which will not make the private lives of the Singaporean people uncomfortable. For example, in one of the articles a citizen explains how the life was unbearable when he managed to have two kids while still living under his parentsā roofĀ (Zannia, 2016). He goes further to illustrate how it was difficult for eight people to share four room flat. This illustration represents the problems and challenges that majority of the Singaporeans go through in the efforts of conforming to the government policy of having a baby in order to qualify for a flat.
Josephine Teoās remarks seems to lack the support of many Singaporeans. Despite the issue of having a baby first before a house being a government policy, Teo should have won a human face and discuss the issue from the majority affected Singaporeans point of view. This paper neither supports nor disputes Teoās remarks as every situation is completely different as well as everyone is different. However, the paper opine that the issue under discussion should not be a government policy but rather it should be personal decision as it is in many of the Western countries. This is an individual decision and the Singaporeans should be left to make it by themselvesĀ (Thang, 2005). This is because there are various issues to put into consideration before deciding it is either a baby or a house which should come first. In the following paragraph, this paper discusses the critical questions that one should ask before making a decision.
The first question should be whether relationship between the couples is solid. This is because those who in relationship or married can decide to have a baby first. However, things may change and end up filing for a divorce. The question raises who will qualify for the flat, father or mother? The second questions highlights the issue of the age. There are people who may opt to wait a bit longer before having a baby. It should either because of the studies or other personal reasonsĀ (Chan, 2007). This paper offers a suggestion that these people should be allowed to acquire a flat first before having a baby. However, the challenges come in whether they will be able to have a baby in future. To address, the government should undertake all the Singaporeans who wish to acquire a house before a baby through fertility test. The last question goes to the Singaporean government and seeks to ask how someone will be able to offer a comfortable accommodation to his or her family without a house. Even though the family is founded on love but not housing, a proper housing will be an influencer of the happy family.
The Singaporean government policy brings it clear that it has not understood the social problems facing the people of Singapore. This paper recommends that the adoption of the Grand theory will help the government understand the social processes and the social difficulties facing people in terms of concepts and ideas instead of a specific case evidence. The adoption of this theory will help the government understand social exchange among the people, societal interaction as well as how society functions and how to solve conflicts within the society. The appreciation of the Grand theory by the Singaporean government will facilitate to a greater change of its approach on encouraging people to have babies through unimpressive approach.Ā The decision whether to have a baby before having a flat should be strictly a personal and individual affair but not a government hidden coercive approach.
How Religious Groups View the Notion of sex Before Marriage
Various religious groups have different perceptions about the notion of sex before marriageĀ (Baker, 2010). For example, each group has established more codes that governs the issues of ethics, morality and sexuality. Bearing this is sensitive topic it may be difficult for the various religious group to discuss it freely. Therefore, a researcher will be required to device appropriate methods that will ensure that the intended information for the study is obtained. Methods of collecting differ and vary under different disputes. However, the researcher will go for the approach which suits his or her context best. This paper choses questionnaire as the best approach of obtaining perceptions on notion of sex before marriage from different religious groups. The questionnaire should be designed in a manner that it resembles the normal religious teachings. This will enable targeted group to offer their notions freely. However, just like any other data collection technique, this technique will have the following strengths and weaknessesĀ (Finn & Jacobson, 2008).Strengths
- It will be easy and cheap to gather data from large numbers of people.
- People will feel more comfortable when expressing their perceptions through questionnaire rather than interviews.
- Minimizes the biasness of the researcher.
- Many people may be familiar with questionnaires.
Weaknesses
- The respondents may not complete the survey.
- Words may have different meanings from respondentsā point of view.
- It is difficult to know who completed the survey due to lack of contact with the respondent.
- It may be difficult to design a good questionnaire.