[Term 3] Immigrants - Boon or Bane?

In an increasingly globalized society, one can hardly avoid interacting with immigrants in their life. For me, I have known many since young, from a Chinese immigrant during my kindergarten days to my non-native friends in RI. However, is this trend a boon or a bane? In my opinion, this is actually a good sign.

Immigrants, or what most like to term as foreigners, do constitute a significant percentage of Singapore's population, and in turn our labor force. And it is still increasing, from 248,000 foreigners in 1990 to 670,000 in 2006, showing the increasingly crucial role they play in contributing to Singapore's economy. Most immigrants are foreign workers, semi-skilled workers who work in Singapore's primary industries, such as construction and domestic maids. Others are expatriates, foreign talent brought into Singapore to sustain Singapore's skilled workforce, often offering new ideas and perspectives, creative thoughts that are integral in providing Singapore an edge to its competitors. Foreign talent are also a boon to Singapore in other ways, such as the recently concluded Beijing Olympics, where our Women's Table Tennis team consisted of only China-born players.

Immigrants also contribute to Singapore's melting pot of cultures, with fragments of their culture often being absorbed into Singaporean culture as they assimilate into Singaporean society. This can only be a good thing, as it diversifies our multicultural society, something unique to Singapore and also encouraged by the government. I must stress that the cultural differences between immigrants and Singaporeans will not be a problem to Singapore’s society, as one of the most fundamental tenets of the Singaporean society is the tolerance, sensitivity and willingness to accept others’ cultures, allowing all Singaporeans to integrate seamlessly, instead of causing irreconcilable differences.

With Singapore's falling birth rates, immigrants also serve to replenish our ageing population with young and fit individuals, who can contribute to Singapore's birth rate. Without these immigrants, Singapore would quickly be a replica of Japan - an ageing population, with a shrinking workforce supporting an expanding group of elderly. Replenishing our workforce, they also ensure that our economy is not affected, another boon for Singapore.

But most importantly, Singapore is inherently an immigrant society, mostly made up of immigrants or their descendants. Before the 17th century, Singapore was a small Malay fishing village, nearly uninhabited. Without immigrants to develop Singapore, it would not be what it is today - A thriving metropolis with a significant population. More importantly, Singapore's founder, Sir Stanford Raffles, was an immigrant himself, and without him, would Singapore be what is is today?

Thus, it is clear that immigrants are a boon to Singapore, and we must encourage this trend to continue.

{Word Count: 441}

[Term 2] Democracy Creates Stability in a Society

I believe that Democracy creates stability to a certain extent, but first, let us define Democracy. Democracy is a system of governance, whereby the power to select the government rests with the people of the society. The ‘Majority Rule’ is practiced in a Democracy, in that the majority is taken to be correct.

Democracy can create social stability in a society, as due to the Majority Rule, the government would need to maintain the support of the majority of people so as to retain its position in the next election. Thus, the government would make decisions with the people in mind, pleasing the majority, leading to social stability.

However, protests are allowed in a Democracy, as all members of a democratic society enjoy universally recognized freedom and liberties, such as the freedom of speech. The flaw of the Majority Rule is that the minority is often ignored, and they may protest, possibly degenerating into riots. For example, during the Civil Rights Movement, it was due to the implementation of pro-white laws that marginalized the black minority, leading to protests and subsequently riots, which caused instability. Social stability then leads to economic instability, due to reduced investor confidence in the nation.

Democracy may also lead to economical instability in a society, due to the people electing an incumbent government. An example would be the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Due to many incumbent democratically elected Asian governments, the fiscal policies of many Asian countries were mismanaged, which exacerbated the economic crisis rather than to resolve it, causing widespread economic instability in Asia. If the voters did not make an incorrect choice, this may not have happened.

Democracy can also breed political instability, due to incumbent politicians are elected into government, or when a political deadlock is created due to politicians having differing views and ideals. For example, the 80th United States Congress in 1947-1949 was nicknamed the “Do Nothing Congress”, as the Republican Congress opposed many of the bills passed by the Democrat President. This political deadlock resolved nothing, and was a cause of political instability during that time due to the indecisiveness of the government.

The underlying factor to whether Democracy can create stability in a society is actually the people that make up the society, as in a Democracy, the power to decide the government rests with the people. Thus, the people are actually the ones who determine whether a society is stable or not, as instability would be created if the people incorrectly decide to elect an incumbent government.

However, the fundamental assumption of democracy that the majority is always right is incorrect, as seen from the examples above. Factors such as the people’s educational level and their standard of living influence the decision of the people, and incorrect choices may be made due to that. Thus, I believe Democracy can create stability in a society to a certain extent, because stability can only occur if the people make the right decisions in choosing who makes up the government.

{Word Count: 500}

Social Studies Assignment: Democracy

Topic/Question: "Democracy creates stability in a society"

Comment here (Click comments at the bottom of this post)

[Term 1] Teenage and Social Issues: Trust Fund for Disabled

Title: 1,000 families likely to sign up for trust fund to support their disabled children
Author: Theresa Tan
Publisher: The Straits Times Singapore
Date: February 24th, 2008

This article talks about a new Trust Fund that is set up to support disabled children when their parents die. A Trust company will be set up to handle the funds, and the money will be held by the Public Trustee's office. This is to address the concerns of parents with disabled children, as they are worried as to who will provide for their disabled children when they leave this world.

In my opinion, this Trust Fund is a very good idea, as it alleviates the worries of many parents with disabled children, especially those in low and middle class income groups. This is due to the fact that disabled (or, should I say, handicapped) children can hardly provide for themselves when they grow up, due to their handicaps. Thus, they will need some form of monetary help to eke out a living, and this help will likely come from their parents.

However, do note that there are many exceptions to this, as I've seen many people with handicaps being successful in life. An example would be Dr William Tan, a neurosurgeon and a athlete.

Let's get back to the topic: what happens when their parents die? Their fortunes will, of course, be willed to the child, but especially for those in low to middle class income groups, this will likely not be enough to sustain the handicapped person for their whole life. Also, since handicapped people generally need significantly more money than normal people to sustain themselves (due to purchasing of items/services that are specifically suited for their handicaps), the money will definitely not last long.

But with this Trust Fund, these handicapped people will have a reliable source of income for them to survive on, and even though it may not be much, they can supplement it with their own income, which may not be enough on its own. With this, they can go on with their lives, and will not depend on others to fund their daily needs. In my opinion, this has a great impact on these handicapped people, as being independent will boost their dignities.

Thus, I think that this Trust Fund is a great idea, and I applaud the government for this. However, I believe the government can do more for these people by encouraging more employers to hire handicapped workers, maybe through some benefits like tax rebates, etc. With this, more handicapped people will be able to find jobs, and thus will be able to support themselves

{Word Count: 414}