• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Minister Desmond Lee refutes the claim that Singapore isn’t doing enough to reduce inequality

by kathleen
10/10/2018
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

Social & Family Development Minister Desmond Lee responded to the recently released ‘Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2018’ released by Oxfam that ranked Singapore 149 out of 157 countries around the world in terms of efforts to reduce inequality, placing it below countries like Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.

Mr Lee strongly refutes the claim that Singapore is among the worst countries in the world in its commitment to reduce inequality, saying that it is more important to also look at the outcomes Singapore has achieved, something that the Oxfam report fails to take into consideration.

According to the Index, the main reason Singapore ranked so poorly was due to its abysmal ranking on tax policies. Oxfam had indicated that Singapore has a number of harmful tax practices and personal income tax for the highest earners remain very low at only 22%. This, combined with the country’s low level of social public spending, is what contributed to Singapore slipping down the ranks.

Mr Max Lawson, Oxfam’s head of policy on inequality, said “The index measures policies in place to reduce inequality. So if a poor country is nevertheless taking clear steps to reduce inequality, they are rewarded in this index. Equally, if a rich country, like Singapore, has poor policies in place, they will be marked down. These policies include spending, tax, and labour rights.”

However, Mr Lee noted that though almost half the population does not pay income tax, Singaporeans benefit from a high quality of infrastructure and social support provided by the state. Mr Lee pointed out that Singapore had been ranked second by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sixth by the World Health Organisation in health outcomes globally and that the country’s residents have a higher life expectancy compared to the US and among the lowest infant mortality rates in the world.

“The report assumes that high taxation and high public expenditure reflects commitment to combatting inequality. We think it is more important to look at the outcomes achieved, instead. The report itself recognises this limitation.”

The Oxfam report had also criticised the absence of a minimum wage in Singapore. To this, Mr Lee said that Singapore has in place income support for low-income workers and various schemes in place for worker upskilling and a progressive wage model for certain low-wage jobs. He added that both lower-income and median households in Singapore have experience faster income growth over the last decade than most countries.

Adding to his litany of Singapore’s achievements, Mr Lee also pointed out that no other country comes close to the Lion City in terms of home ownership, with 90% of Singaporeans owning homes. And even for the poorest 10% of households, about 84% own their own homes.

He said, “That we achieved all of this with lower taxes and lower spending than most countries is to Singapore’s credit rather than discredit.”

“We set out to achieve real outcomes for our people — good health, education, jobs and housing — rather than satisfy a collection of ideologically driven indicators,” he added.

Though Oxfam has acknowledge the limitations the analysis, specifically stating that there’s no substitute for context-specific knowledge, it also still iterates that the index provides a strong foundation to gauge a government’s commitment to tackle inequality.

However, Mr Lee said that the index was not well-suited for the challenges faced in Singapore and ultimately, “doesn’t produce a measure that correlates well with the living reality of Singaporeans, who know that inequality is a problem here, but is not characterised by the poverty and absolute deprivation seen in many countries of similar ‘rank'”.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

AFP

India’s Modi hits back at opposition after Adani furore

08/02/2023
Pritam Singh’s speech on HDB affordability and accessibility
Politics

Pritam Singh’s speech on HDB affordability and accessibility

08/02/2023
Taiwan 34th Lantern Festival celebration signifies return to pre-pandemic normalcy
Arts & Culture

Taiwan 34th Lantern Festival celebration signifies return to pre-pandemic normalcy

08/02/2023
Six dead and eight injured in accident at Genting Highlands
Malaysia

Six dead and eight injured in accident at Genting Highlands

08/02/2023
Labour

Close to 70% of working Singaporeans above age of 65 earns less than S$2,500 a month

08/02/2023
Minister K Shanmugam appears to lack understanding of case where judge found bodycam footage debunked police officers’ sworn affidavits
Politics

Police investigations into conduct of WP’s Pritam Singh and Faisal Manap still ongoing: K Shanmugam

08/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

India’s Modi hits back at opposition after Adani furore

08/02/2023
Pritam Singh’s speech on HDB affordability and accessibility

Pritam Singh’s speech on HDB affordability and accessibility

08/02/2023
Taiwan 34th Lantern Festival celebration signifies return to pre-pandemic normalcy

Taiwan 34th Lantern Festival celebration signifies return to pre-pandemic normalcy

08/02/2023
Six dead and eight injured in accident at Genting Highlands

Six dead and eight injured in accident at Genting Highlands

08/02/2023

Close to 70% of working Singaporeans above age of 65 earns less than S$2,500 a month

08/02/2023
Minister K Shanmugam appears to lack understanding of case where judge found bodycam footage debunked police officers’ sworn affidavits

Police investigations into conduct of WP’s Pritam Singh and Faisal Manap still ongoing: K Shanmugam

08/02/2023
Malaysia’s seven-time Asean Para Games champion seen selling tissues at Bukit Bintang

Malaysia’s seven-time Asean Para Games champion seen selling tissues at Bukit Bintang

08/02/2023
53-year-old Singaporean worker dies after glass doors topple on him, fourth workplace fatality in 2023

53-year-old Singaporean worker dies after glass doors topple on him, fourth workplace fatality in 2023

08/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
113

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
13

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

Japanese-Canadian junior high school girl breaks national record with 3km in 9:02 mins

“I want my normal life back,” Sherry Drury withdraws from National Junior High School Tournament due to overheated public attention

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
4

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
48

...

19-year-old delivery rider in China covers 5km in 22 minutes to deliver antivenom to woman who had bitten by snake

19-year-old delivery rider in China covers 5km in 22 minutes to deliver antivenom to woman who had bitten by snake

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
5

...

October 2018
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Sep   Nov »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz