A curious timing of this ABC News report, just days after Pres. Obama gave his interview to an Arab network to try to put US-Muslim relations on better footing. This alleged rape of Arab women by a US Muslim convert working for the CIA will certainly reverse any goodwill from the Obama interview.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=6750266&page=1
The timing is too curious for me, and the evidence sketchy, for me to believe it just yet.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sweden, Singapore pay moms to have babies
Seeing a trend here?
REVIEW: Singapore to go the Swedish Way, will it Work?
Beautiful Beauty by ~jayesposito from deviantArt
SINGAPORE is revamping its procreation policies and could be going the Swedish way, giving free childcare and paternity leave in a bid to get couples to have more babies.
The first hint of possible policy changes to prop up fertility rates was given by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew at a dialogue yesterday.
‘If we don’t reproduce ourselves to 2.1, we are in trouble,’ said Mr Lee, referring to the natural replacement rate of 2.1, which Singapore’s fertility rate of 1.29 falls short of.
‘So we are going to revamp. We’ve studied what the Swedes have done, what the French have done.
‘The Swedes have completely changed their system. Support paternity leave, women get their children into creches, into nursery schools, all paid by the state. Very heavy expenses but Sweden can afford it.
‘We are looking at our budget, can we afford it? But we’ve got to go because these are proven ways.’
His remarks on Singapore were in response to a question on Japan.
A Japanese participant at the Nomura Asia Equity Forum had asked Mr Lee what he would do, if he were Japan’s prime minister, to stimulate the country’s lacklustre economy.
Qualifying that his being PM of Japan was ‘a fantasy’ he found hard to imagine, Mr Lee zeroed in on Japan’s population problems due to a rapidly greying generation and low birth rate.
Despite this, Japan remains reluctant to top its population up with immigrants, he noted.
Like Japan, Mr Lee said that Singapore also had a birth dearth, a trend it was trying to reverse by supporting working mothers with creches in offices and help with preschool.
‘We are a small country, we can take immigrants…and there are many bright Chinese and bright Indians who are joining us,’ he said.
‘But if we have more immigrants than genuine Singaporeans, you become a different people.’
Hence, the need for Singaporeans to replace themselves.
‘We must have that core, at least 65 per cent of people born and bred who understand this place, who are part of this society and who know how we got here and why we must do these things,’ said Mr Lee.
Still, he urged Japan to open its doors to immigrants in this globalised world.
Using Singapore as an example, he said: ‘We see our future as a cosmopolitan society, more cosmopolitan than we were in the past.
‘Before, we were just an Asian society, with Chinese, Malays, Indians. Now we’ve got a real rainbow spread. You can travel on the MRT…or go on a bus or go to a hawker centre, you can see a completely different Singapore.’
He cited how a few Eastern Europeans have settled here. The Defence Minister ‘was very surprised one day to see a golden-haired boy doing national service’. The boy is Ukrainian; his parents live here and he is becoming a Singapore citizen.
‘If Japan wants to be part of this globalised world, Japan will have to accept these changes,’ he said. ‘There’s no way you can remain…in a group where you can speak to each other not in words but in grunts.’
But change is already happening, with over one million Japanese living and working abroad, he noted.
‘When they go back to Japan, already they are not quite the same as the Japanese. So it is part of a globalised process which you must accept,’ he said.
from Straits Times, excerpts from MM Lee]
So, are we really focusing on procreation the Swedish way or are getting more immigrants to top up the population?
I’m rather disillusioned by this article although it speaks of new policies which might change the population deficit in Singapore. This is due to it changing totally to the topic of immigrants in our country rather than the topic on procreation which it was supposed to focus on.
Anyway, here are my views on the immigrant issue as well as procreation in Singapore.
Having at least 65% of the population who are true Singaporeans is rather, jaw dropping. It really mean that more than 1/4 of our population(that’s over a million!) ain’t Singaporeans but people from China, India and other countries which we might be able to leech from.
So this also means that roughly 35% or more of our economy will be under immigrants, and this isn’t really a good sign.(Many of us would know that the immigrants that are coming into Singapore are mostly talents, and not just anyone from any countries, thus the claim on the percentage on the economy that might be under immigrants) Moreover, i personally think that they are more loyal and patriotic to their own motherland than Singapore, which might just be a stepping stone for them to wealth and fortune. This is really due to their families, relatives and friends which are mostly located in their motherland.
So, another question came to my mind.
Are we supposed to serve our National Service and will be expected to protect the immigrants and a cosmopolitan Singapore which potentially might not have it’s own true identity in the future?
What do we true Singaporeans do?
Of course, we are not going to get left out in our own motherland. However, giving such a strong forecast of 65% of the population that will be true Singaporeans is rather grim. The talented immigrants will be fighting with our future generations in the workforce, in school and stuffs. I can safely say that we are already feeling the heats now from the talented immigrants.
How would future parents be encouraged to procreate if such a competitive and potentially stressful environment is going to be there for their child?
A potentially negative feedback to the “Swedish Way”, no?
Back to square one i’ll say.
Here’s a comparatively better article on the Swedish system of procreation, and the potential issues Singapore might face if we adopt it.
Experts share views on Swedish procreation model
SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew recently commented that Singapore is looking at Swedish family policies to improve the birth rate in the Republic.
Sweden’s Ambassador to Singapore, Par Ahlberger, said that childcare in his country is kept affordable though it is not free.
Sweden is also the first country in the world to introduce paternal leave, back in 1974.
“A Swedish family can take 480 days of parental leave for the first child, and that is a lot. Out of these, some 60 days are earmarked for the father and he has to take them,” said Mr Ahlberger.
The Swedish workplace also offers family—friendly policies.
“One concept in Sweden which has helped the workforce spend more time with their children and family is called flexi—time. This is where the workers are able to negotiate their working hours with their employers so that more time can be set aside for the family,” said the ambassador.
“When I was posted to Stockholm, I took parental leave and I made a deal with the Minister for Trade that I would leave the office at 3 o’clock every day to pick up my kids from the kindergarten,” he added.
But all these measures come at a cost.
Associate Professor Paulin Straughan, a sociologist, said: “The Swedish way is very expensive because at the end of the day, personally, I wouldn’t want to see my taxes go up to support this. The Swedish model will be important for those who are planning to get married and have kids.
“It will certainly be welcomed by a large segment of those who are in the process of making important decisions and they are likely to welcome this and have more children.”
But younger Singaporeans face other contesting issues.
“They also articulate that if you want to start a family, if you want to marry and have children, you have to first be financially secure,” said
Associate Professor Straughan.
Some experts say much will depend on mindsets at home and at the workplace.
Women feel that husbands must accept that investment in nurturing children is just as important as investing in their careers, said sociologists.
With the hint that the government is reviewing its procreation policies, some Singaporeans are hoping for more pro—baby incentives.
In 2004, a comprehensive pro—family package included the baby bonus and new paternal leave for fathers.
Sharon Tan, a mother, said: “Infrastructure—wise, we need a lot more support for childcare to induce people who are working to have more kids, because I think it’s quite difficult when you have to rely on maids and relatives.”
“Kindergartens… because most of them are privately run. I just feel that maybe, yes, it would help if there are more subsidies,” said Penny Lim, another mother.
[from Channelnewsasia via Yahoo]
So, it’s might not really be about the Swedish Way, but the mindsets and infrastructure in our culture and society that we need to improve on, right?
REVIEW: Singapore to go the Swedish Way, will it Work?
Beautiful Beauty by ~jayesposito from deviantArt
SINGAPORE is revamping its procreation policies and could be going the Swedish way, giving free childcare and paternity leave in a bid to get couples to have more babies.
The first hint of possible policy changes to prop up fertility rates was given by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew at a dialogue yesterday.
‘If we don’t reproduce ourselves to 2.1, we are in trouble,’ said Mr Lee, referring to the natural replacement rate of 2.1, which Singapore’s fertility rate of 1.29 falls short of.
‘So we are going to revamp. We’ve studied what the Swedes have done, what the French have done.
‘The Swedes have completely changed their system. Support paternity leave, women get their children into creches, into nursery schools, all paid by the state. Very heavy expenses but Sweden can afford it.
‘We are looking at our budget, can we afford it? But we’ve got to go because these are proven ways.’
His remarks on Singapore were in response to a question on Japan.
A Japanese participant at the Nomura Asia Equity Forum had asked Mr Lee what he would do, if he were Japan’s prime minister, to stimulate the country’s lacklustre economy.
Qualifying that his being PM of Japan was ‘a fantasy’ he found hard to imagine, Mr Lee zeroed in on Japan’s population problems due to a rapidly greying generation and low birth rate.
Despite this, Japan remains reluctant to top its population up with immigrants, he noted.
Like Japan, Mr Lee said that Singapore also had a birth dearth, a trend it was trying to reverse by supporting working mothers with creches in offices and help with preschool.
‘We are a small country, we can take immigrants…and there are many bright Chinese and bright Indians who are joining us,’ he said.
‘But if we have more immigrants than genuine Singaporeans, you become a different people.’
Hence, the need for Singaporeans to replace themselves.
‘We must have that core, at least 65 per cent of people born and bred who understand this place, who are part of this society and who know how we got here and why we must do these things,’ said Mr Lee.
Still, he urged Japan to open its doors to immigrants in this globalised world.
Using Singapore as an example, he said: ‘We see our future as a cosmopolitan society, more cosmopolitan than we were in the past.
‘Before, we were just an Asian society, with Chinese, Malays, Indians. Now we’ve got a real rainbow spread. You can travel on the MRT…or go on a bus or go to a hawker centre, you can see a completely different Singapore.’
He cited how a few Eastern Europeans have settled here. The Defence Minister ‘was very surprised one day to see a golden-haired boy doing national service’. The boy is Ukrainian; his parents live here and he is becoming a Singapore citizen.
‘If Japan wants to be part of this globalised world, Japan will have to accept these changes,’ he said. ‘There’s no way you can remain…in a group where you can speak to each other not in words but in grunts.’
But change is already happening, with over one million Japanese living and working abroad, he noted.
‘When they go back to Japan, already they are not quite the same as the Japanese. So it is part of a globalised process which you must accept,’ he said.
from Straits Times, excerpts from MM Lee]
So, are we really focusing on procreation the Swedish way or are getting more immigrants to top up the population?
I’m rather disillusioned by this article although it speaks of new policies which might change the population deficit in Singapore. This is due to it changing totally to the topic of immigrants in our country rather than the topic on procreation which it was supposed to focus on.
Anyway, here are my views on the immigrant issue as well as procreation in Singapore.
Having at least 65% of the population who are true Singaporeans is rather, jaw dropping. It really mean that more than 1/4 of our population(that’s over a million!) ain’t Singaporeans but people from China, India and other countries which we might be able to leech from.
So this also means that roughly 35% or more of our economy will be under immigrants, and this isn’t really a good sign.(Many of us would know that the immigrants that are coming into Singapore are mostly talents, and not just anyone from any countries, thus the claim on the percentage on the economy that might be under immigrants) Moreover, i personally think that they are more loyal and patriotic to their own motherland than Singapore, which might just be a stepping stone for them to wealth and fortune. This is really due to their families, relatives and friends which are mostly located in their motherland.
So, another question came to my mind.
Are we supposed to serve our National Service and will be expected to protect the immigrants and a cosmopolitan Singapore which potentially might not have it’s own true identity in the future?
What do we true Singaporeans do?
Of course, we are not going to get left out in our own motherland. However, giving such a strong forecast of 65% of the population that will be true Singaporeans is rather grim. The talented immigrants will be fighting with our future generations in the workforce, in school and stuffs. I can safely say that we are already feeling the heats now from the talented immigrants.
How would future parents be encouraged to procreate if such a competitive and potentially stressful environment is going to be there for their child?
A potentially negative feedback to the “Swedish Way”, no?
Back to square one i’ll say.
Here’s a comparatively better article on the Swedish system of procreation, and the potential issues Singapore might face if we adopt it.
Experts share views on Swedish procreation model
SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew recently commented that Singapore is looking at Swedish family policies to improve the birth rate in the Republic.
Sweden’s Ambassador to Singapore, Par Ahlberger, said that childcare in his country is kept affordable though it is not free.
Sweden is also the first country in the world to introduce paternal leave, back in 1974.
“A Swedish family can take 480 days of parental leave for the first child, and that is a lot. Out of these, some 60 days are earmarked for the father and he has to take them,” said Mr Ahlberger.
The Swedish workplace also offers family—friendly policies.
“One concept in Sweden which has helped the workforce spend more time with their children and family is called flexi—time. This is where the workers are able to negotiate their working hours with their employers so that more time can be set aside for the family,” said the ambassador.
“When I was posted to Stockholm, I took parental leave and I made a deal with the Minister for Trade that I would leave the office at 3 o’clock every day to pick up my kids from the kindergarten,” he added.
But all these measures come at a cost.
Associate Professor Paulin Straughan, a sociologist, said: “The Swedish way is very expensive because at the end of the day, personally, I wouldn’t want to see my taxes go up to support this. The Swedish model will be important for those who are planning to get married and have kids.
“It will certainly be welcomed by a large segment of those who are in the process of making important decisions and they are likely to welcome this and have more children.”
But younger Singaporeans face other contesting issues.
“They also articulate that if you want to start a family, if you want to marry and have children, you have to first be financially secure,” said
Associate Professor Straughan.
Some experts say much will depend on mindsets at home and at the workplace.
Women feel that husbands must accept that investment in nurturing children is just as important as investing in their careers, said sociologists.
With the hint that the government is reviewing its procreation policies, some Singaporeans are hoping for more pro—baby incentives.
In 2004, a comprehensive pro—family package included the baby bonus and new paternal leave for fathers.
Sharon Tan, a mother, said: “Infrastructure—wise, we need a lot more support for childcare to induce people who are working to have more kids, because I think it’s quite difficult when you have to rely on maids and relatives.”
“Kindergartens… because most of them are privately run. I just feel that maybe, yes, it would help if there are more subsidies,” said Penny Lim, another mother.
[from Channelnewsasia via Yahoo]
So, it’s might not really be about the Swedish Way, but the mindsets and infrastructure in our culture and society that we need to improve on, right?
Russians given prizes to procreate
In the country where the average woman has nine abortions...
Russians offered day off, prizes to procreate
Officials hope ‘Day of Conception’ will help turn around declining birthrate
The Kartuzov family, shown in June 2007, drive away in their new UAZ-Patriot SUV, which they won as a grand prize in a regional contest titled "Give Birth to a Patriot on Russia's Independance Day."
AP
Russians more concerned with ruble than Obama
Putin's drop kick adds to 'tough guy' image
In Russia, Obama beats McCain
Interactive: Forgotten conflicts
Learn about some of the oft-forgotten clashes simmering across the globe.
Most popular
• Most viewed • Top rated • Most e-mailed
'Stewmaker' stirs horror in Mexico
Resolve to eat better? Avoid these 20 foods
Some new relief as Americans file 2008 taxes
Bachelor walks his way to 229-pound loss
Obama gives first interview to Arabic network
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Afghan girls return to school after acid attacks
Man freezes to death after city limits electricity
Wall Street's entitlement culture hard to shake
Hudson River pilot receives hero's welcome
5 more stranded whales die in Australia
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Some new relief as Americans file 2008 taxes
Obama gives first interview to Arabic network
Man freezes to death after city limits electricity
Rise in infant suffocation tied to bed-sharing
Albrecht to stay in induced coma until lungs heal
Most viewed on msnbc.com
updated 5:24 p.m. CT, Tues., Aug. 14, 2007
MOSCOW - A Russian region best known as the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin has found a novel way to fight the nation’s birthrate crisis: It has declared Sept. 12 the Day of Conception and for the third year running is giving couples time off from work to procreate.
The hope is for a brood of babies exactly nine months later on Russia’s national day. Couples who “give birth to a patriot” during the June 12 festivities win money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.
Ulyanovsk, a region on the Volga River about 550 miles east of Moscow, has held similar contests since 2005. Since then, the number of competitors, and the number of babies born to them, has been on the rise.
Story continues below ↓
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
advertisement | your ad here
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alexei Bezrukov and his wife, Yulia, won a 250,000 ruble prize — equivalent to $10,000 — in June after she gave birth to a baby boy, Andrei. Bezrukov said patriotism wasn’t their motive for having a child, their third, although the money was welcome.
“It was a patriotic atmosphere, you know when everyone around is celebrating, but I wasn’t thinking of anything but my son,” he said. “The whole thing is great, it’s great to get 250,000 rubles when you have a new baby to take care of.”
Sparsely populated country
Russia, with one-seventh of the Earth’s land surface, has just 141.4 million citizens, making it one of the most sparsely settled countries in the world. With a low birthrate and very high death rate, the population has been shrinking since the early 1990s.
It is now falling by almost half a percent each year. Demographic experts expect the decline to accelerate, estimating that Russia’s population could fall below 100 million by 2050.
In his state of the nation address last year, President Vladimir Putin called the demographic crisis the most acute problem facing Russia and announced a broad effort to boost Russia’s birthrate, including cash incentives to families to have more than one child.
Click for related content
Russia opens terror probe into train derailment
Ulyanovsk Governor Sergei Morozov has added an element of fun to the national campaign.
When he held the first competition in 2005, 311 women signed up to take part — and qualify for a half-day off from work. In June 2006, 46 more babies were born in Ulyanovsk’s 25 hospitals than in June of the previous year, including 28 born on June 12, officials in the governor’s office said.
More than 500 women signed up for the second contest on Sept. 12, 2006. Exactly nine months later, 78 babies, triple the region’s daily average, were born. They were welcomed into the world as Russia’s national anthem was played, the officials said.
Steadily rising birthrate
Since the campaign began, the birthrate in the region has risen steadily and is up 4.5 percent so far this year over the same period in 2006, according to the regional administration’s Web site.
Everyone who has a baby in an Ulyanovsk hospital on Russia Day gets some kind of prize. But the grand prize winners are couples judged to be the fittest parents by a committee that deliberates for two weeks over the selection.
The 2007 grand prize went to Irina and Andrei Kartuzov, who received a UAZ-Patriot, an SUV made in Ulyanovsk. They told reporters they were planning to have another child anyway when they heard about the contest.
Irina Kartuzova had to have a Caesarian section to deliver the baby and it was scheduled for June 12.
The selection committee chose the Kartuzovs from among the 78 couples because of their “respectability” and “commendable parenting” of their two older children, a spokesman for the governor said.
Other contestants won video cameras, TVs, refrigerators and washing machines.
Under the federal program, women who give birth to a second or subsequent child are to receive certificates worth $10,000, which can be used to pay for education or to improve the family’s living conditions.
Monthly support payments were raised this year to $60 from $28.
Russians offered day off, prizes to procreate
Officials hope ‘Day of Conception’ will help turn around declining birthrate
The Kartuzov family, shown in June 2007, drive away in their new UAZ-Patriot SUV, which they won as a grand prize in a regional contest titled "Give Birth to a Patriot on Russia's Independance Day."
AP
Russians more concerned with ruble than Obama
Putin's drop kick adds to 'tough guy' image
In Russia, Obama beats McCain
Interactive: Forgotten conflicts
Learn about some of the oft-forgotten clashes simmering across the globe.
Most popular
• Most viewed • Top rated • Most e-mailed
'Stewmaker' stirs horror in Mexico
Resolve to eat better? Avoid these 20 foods
Some new relief as Americans file 2008 taxes
Bachelor walks his way to 229-pound loss
Obama gives first interview to Arabic network
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Afghan girls return to school after acid attacks
Man freezes to death after city limits electricity
Wall Street's entitlement culture hard to shake
Hudson River pilot receives hero's welcome
5 more stranded whales die in Australia
Most viewed on msnbc.com
Some new relief as Americans file 2008 taxes
Obama gives first interview to Arabic network
Man freezes to death after city limits electricity
Rise in infant suffocation tied to bed-sharing
Albrecht to stay in induced coma until lungs heal
Most viewed on msnbc.com
updated 5:24 p.m. CT, Tues., Aug. 14, 2007
MOSCOW - A Russian region best known as the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin has found a novel way to fight the nation’s birthrate crisis: It has declared Sept. 12 the Day of Conception and for the third year running is giving couples time off from work to procreate.
The hope is for a brood of babies exactly nine months later on Russia’s national day. Couples who “give birth to a patriot” during the June 12 festivities win money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.
Ulyanovsk, a region on the Volga River about 550 miles east of Moscow, has held similar contests since 2005. Since then, the number of competitors, and the number of babies born to them, has been on the rise.
Story continues below ↓
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
advertisement | your ad here
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alexei Bezrukov and his wife, Yulia, won a 250,000 ruble prize — equivalent to $10,000 — in June after she gave birth to a baby boy, Andrei. Bezrukov said patriotism wasn’t their motive for having a child, their third, although the money was welcome.
“It was a patriotic atmosphere, you know when everyone around is celebrating, but I wasn’t thinking of anything but my son,” he said. “The whole thing is great, it’s great to get 250,000 rubles when you have a new baby to take care of.”
Sparsely populated country
Russia, with one-seventh of the Earth’s land surface, has just 141.4 million citizens, making it one of the most sparsely settled countries in the world. With a low birthrate and very high death rate, the population has been shrinking since the early 1990s.
It is now falling by almost half a percent each year. Demographic experts expect the decline to accelerate, estimating that Russia’s population could fall below 100 million by 2050.
In his state of the nation address last year, President Vladimir Putin called the demographic crisis the most acute problem facing Russia and announced a broad effort to boost Russia’s birthrate, including cash incentives to families to have more than one child.
Click for related content
Russia opens terror probe into train derailment
Ulyanovsk Governor Sergei Morozov has added an element of fun to the national campaign.
When he held the first competition in 2005, 311 women signed up to take part — and qualify for a half-day off from work. In June 2006, 46 more babies were born in Ulyanovsk’s 25 hospitals than in June of the previous year, including 28 born on June 12, officials in the governor’s office said.
More than 500 women signed up for the second contest on Sept. 12, 2006. Exactly nine months later, 78 babies, triple the region’s daily average, were born. They were welcomed into the world as Russia’s national anthem was played, the officials said.
Steadily rising birthrate
Since the campaign began, the birthrate in the region has risen steadily and is up 4.5 percent so far this year over the same period in 2006, according to the regional administration’s Web site.
Everyone who has a baby in an Ulyanovsk hospital on Russia Day gets some kind of prize. But the grand prize winners are couples judged to be the fittest parents by a committee that deliberates for two weeks over the selection.
The 2007 grand prize went to Irina and Andrei Kartuzov, who received a UAZ-Patriot, an SUV made in Ulyanovsk. They told reporters they were planning to have another child anyway when they heard about the contest.
Irina Kartuzova had to have a Caesarian section to deliver the baby and it was scheduled for June 12.
The selection committee chose the Kartuzovs from among the 78 couples because of their “respectability” and “commendable parenting” of their two older children, a spokesman for the governor said.
Other contestants won video cameras, TVs, refrigerators and washing machines.
Under the federal program, women who give birth to a second or subsequent child are to receive certificates worth $10,000, which can be used to pay for education or to improve the family’s living conditions.
Monthly support payments were raised this year to $60 from $28.
Japanese firms urge workers to procreate
Have one for the team...
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Even before one reaches the front door of Canon's headquarters in Tokyo, one can sense the virtual stampede of employees pouring out of the building exactly at 5:30 p.m.
Japan's birth rate of 1.34 is below the level needed to maintain the country's population.
In a country where 12-hour workdays are common, the electronics giant has taken to letting its employees leave early twice a week for a rather unusual reason: to encourage them to have more babies.
Japan is in the midst of an unprecedented recession, so corporations are being asked to work toward fixing another major problem: the country's low birthrate. Tell us what you think
At 1.34, the birthrate is well below the 2.0 needed to maintain Japan's population, according to the country's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Keidanren, Japan's largest business group, with 1,300 major international corporations as members, has issued a plea to its members to let workers go home early to spend time with their families and help Japan with its pressing social problem. Watch more on this story
One reason for the low birth rate is the 12-hour workday. But there are several other factors compounding the problem -- among them, the high cost of living, and social rigidity toward women and parenting.
In addition, Japan's population is aging at a faster pace than any other country in the world.
Analysts say the world's second-largest economy faces its greatest threat from its own social problems, rather than outside forces. And the country desperately needs to make some fixes to its current social and work structures, sociologists say.
The 5:30 p.m. lights-out program is one simple step toward helping address the population problem. It also has an added benefit: Amid the global economic downturn the company can slash overtime across the board twice a week.
"It's great that we can go home early and not feel ashamed," said employee Miwa Iwasaki.
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Even before one reaches the front door of Canon's headquarters in Tokyo, one can sense the virtual stampede of employees pouring out of the building exactly at 5:30 p.m.
Japan's birth rate of 1.34 is below the level needed to maintain the country's population.
In a country where 12-hour workdays are common, the electronics giant has taken to letting its employees leave early twice a week for a rather unusual reason: to encourage them to have more babies.
Japan is in the midst of an unprecedented recession, so corporations are being asked to work toward fixing another major problem: the country's low birthrate. Tell us what you think
At 1.34, the birthrate is well below the 2.0 needed to maintain Japan's population, according to the country's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Keidanren, Japan's largest business group, with 1,300 major international corporations as members, has issued a plea to its members to let workers go home early to spend time with their families and help Japan with its pressing social problem. Watch more on this story
One reason for the low birth rate is the 12-hour workday. But there are several other factors compounding the problem -- among them, the high cost of living, and social rigidity toward women and parenting.
In addition, Japan's population is aging at a faster pace than any other country in the world.
Analysts say the world's second-largest economy faces its greatest threat from its own social problems, rather than outside forces. And the country desperately needs to make some fixes to its current social and work structures, sociologists say.
The 5:30 p.m. lights-out program is one simple step toward helping address the population problem. It also has an added benefit: Amid the global economic downturn the company can slash overtime across the board twice a week.
"It's great that we can go home early and not feel ashamed," said employee Miwa Iwasaki.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Malthusian Pelosi
So went the exchange this Sunday from the Catholic mother of five:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?
PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?
PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?
PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?
PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Assisted reproduction
I was talking with a coworker today. For the first time we spoke about things that matter. Erstwhile Catholic, now nothing really. Said his wife has only been with five guys over her life, pretty good relatively speaking he said. But this and some other health situations has made them concerned about conceiving naturally. They're worried about birth defects. So, they're starting to play the odds. Here we go.
Barack: "Arrogance" of power
VATICAN CITY – Vatican officials said Saturday they were disappointed by President Barack Obama's decision to end a ban on federal funding for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on them.
Monsignor Rino Fisichella, who heads the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, urged Obama to listen to all voices in America without "the arrogance of those who, being in power, believe they can decide of life and death."
Fisichella said in an interview published Saturday in Corriere della Sera that "if this is one of President Obama's first acts, I have to say, in all due respect, that we're heading quickly toward disappointment."
Obama signed an executive order that ended the ban on Friday, reversing the policy of the Bush administration.
"This deals a harsh blow not only to us Catholics but to all the people across the world who fight against the slaughter of innocents that is carried out with the abortion," another top official with the Academy for Life, Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, told the ANSA news agency.
"Among the many good things that he could have done, Barack Obama instead chose the worst," he was quoted as saying Saturday.
Officials at the academy could not be reached Saturday.
Monsignor Rino Fisichella, who heads the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, urged Obama to listen to all voices in America without "the arrogance of those who, being in power, believe they can decide of life and death."
Fisichella said in an interview published Saturday in Corriere della Sera that "if this is one of President Obama's first acts, I have to say, in all due respect, that we're heading quickly toward disappointment."
Obama signed an executive order that ended the ban on Friday, reversing the policy of the Bush administration.
"This deals a harsh blow not only to us Catholics but to all the people across the world who fight against the slaughter of innocents that is carried out with the abortion," another top official with the Academy for Life, Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, told the ANSA news agency.
"Among the many good things that he could have done, Barack Obama instead chose the worst," he was quoted as saying Saturday.
Officials at the academy could not be reached Saturday.
Obama moderate? Progressive? Or idealogue?
I was talking with a liberal friend from Washington State who knows of my pro-life mindset. I was telling him about my concerns about Obama. He was trying to assure me that Obama is no radical. He's a pragmatist. Don't worry.
Now we have a track record to start to look at. His entire cabinet is pro-abortion. The Catholics in his circle -- Biden, Panetta, Pelosi -- pro-abortion. His first week on the job, he reverses the Mexico City policy.
If he backs FOCA, then we know the truth. He's no moderate. He's not even a "good liberal". He's a radical idealogue.
Now we have a track record to start to look at. His entire cabinet is pro-abortion. The Catholics in his circle -- Biden, Panetta, Pelosi -- pro-abortion. His first week on the job, he reverses the Mexico City policy.
If he backs FOCA, then we know the truth. He's no moderate. He's not even a "good liberal". He's a radical idealogue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
