Complex problem of low birth rate requires more than just throwing money at it

Sgpolitics.net, 21 Aug 2008, by Ng E-Jay

In his National Day Rally speech on 17 Aug, PM Lee spent a considerable amount of time addressing the issue of Singapore’s low birth rate and the measures proposed to alleviate the problem.

As is becoming the usual PAP practice, PM Lee proposed to throw money at the problem — $1.6 billion spent a year or 0.6% of GDP, to be more precise. This includes the $700 million per year required to fund two new initiatives mentioned during the Rally itself: providing financial support to lower the cost of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), and extending most of the incentives like tax reliefs, childcare subsidies, and so on, to the fifth and the subsequent child.

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