首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the main
This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the main
admin
2013-05-29
26
问题
This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents. Called the maintenance of Parents Bill, it received the backing of the Singapore Government.
That does not mean it hasn’t generated discussion. Several members of the Parliament opposed the measure as un-Asian. Others who acknowledged the problem of the elderly poor believed it a disproportionate response. Still others believe it will subvert relations within the family: cynics dubbed it the "Sue Your Son" law.
Those who say that the bill does not promote filial responsibility, of course, are right. It has nothing to do with filial responsibility. It kicks in where filial responsibility fails. The law cannot legislate filial responsibility any more than it can legislate love. All the law can do is to provide a safety net where this morality proves insufficient. Singapore needs this bill not to replace morality, but to provide incentives to shore it up.
Like many other developed nations, Singapore faces the problems of an increasing proportion of people over 60 years of age. Demography is inexorable. In 1980, 7.2% of the population was in this bracket. By the turn of the century, that figure will grow to 11%. By 2030, the proportion is projected to be 26%. The problem is not old age per se. It is that the ration of economically active people to economically inactive people will decline.
But no amount of government exhortation or paternalism will completely eliminate the problem of old people who have insufficient means to make ends meet. Some people will fall through the holes in any safety net.
Traditionally, a person’s insurance against poverty in his old age was his family. This is not a revolutionary concept. Nor is it uniquely Asian. Care and support for one’s parents is a universal value shared by all civilized societies.
The problem in Singapore is that the moral obligation to look after one’s parents is unenforceable. A father can be compelled by law to maintain his children. A husband can be forced to support his wife. But, until now, a son or daughter had no legal obligation to support his or her parents.
In 1989, an Advisory Council was set up to look into the problems of the aged. Its report stated with a tinge of complacency that 95% of those who did not have their own income were receiving cash contributions from relations. But what about the 5% who aren’t getting relatives’ support? They have several options:
(a) get a job and work until they die;
(b) apply for public assistance (you have to be destitute to apply); or
(c) starve quietly. None of these options is socially acceptable. And what if this 5% figure grows, as it is likely to do, as society ages?
The Maintenance of Parents Bill was put forth to encourage the traditional virtues that have so far kept Asian nations from some of the breakdowns encountered in other affluent societies. This legislation will allow a person to apply to the court for maintenance from any or all of his children. The court would have the discretion to refuse to make an order if it is unjust.
Those who deride the proposal for opening up the courts to family lawsuits miss the point. Only in extreme cases would any parent take his child to court. If it does indeed become law, the bill’s effect would be far more subtle.
First, it will reaffirm the notion that it is each individual’s—not society’s—responsibility to look after his parents. Singapore is still conservative enough that most people will not object to his idea. It reinforces the traditional values and it doesn’t hurt a society now and then to remind itself of its core values.
Second, and more important, it will make those who are inclined to shirk their responsibilities think twice. Until now, if a person asked family elders, clergymen or the Ministry of Community Development to help get financial support from his children, the most they could do was to mediate. But mediators have no teeth, and a child could simply ignore their pleas.
But to be sued by one’s parents would be a massive loss of face. It would be a public disgrace. Few people would be so thick-skinned as to say: "Sue and be damned." The hand of the conciliator would be immeasurably strengthened. It is far more likely that some sort of amicable settlement would be reached if the recalcitrant son or daughter knows that the alternative is a public trial.
It would be nice to think that Singapore doesn’t need this kind of law. But that belief ignores the clear demographic trends and the effect of affluence itself on traditional bonds. Those of us who pushed for the bill will consider ourselves most successful if it acts as an incentive not to have it invoked in the first place.
By quoting the growing percentage points of the aged in the population, the author seems to imply that ______.
选项
A、the country will face mounting problems of the old in future
B、the social welfare system would be under great pressure
C、young people should be given more moral education.
D、the old should be provided with means of livelihood
答案
A
解析
文章的第四段中:“…Singapore faces the problems of an increasing proportion of people over 60 years of age.”并通过数字证明确实存在老龄人口比例增大的问题,由此而产生的问题是:“It is that the ratio of economically active people to economically inactive people will be decline.”从而暗示了国家所要面临的严重问题,因此选A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/grSYFFFM
0
研究生英语学位课统考(GET)
相关试题推荐
HumanCloningTheapplicationsofcloningasweenvisionarenotnightmarishandinhumane,butwillimprovetheoverallqual
Averyimportantworldproblemistheincreasingnumberofpeoplewhoactuallyinhabitthisplanet.Thelimitedamountoflanda
Averyimportantworldproblemistheincreasingnumberofpeoplewhoactuallyinhabitthisplanet.Thelimitedamountoflanda
Itisallverywelltoblametrafficjams,thecostofpetrolandthequickpaceofmodernlife,butmannersontheroadsarebe
Agreatdealofattentionisbeingpaidtodaytotheso-calleddigitaldivide—thedivisionoftheworldintotheinfo(informatio
Thingshavereallychanged.Notonlyisthemilitarystandingtallagain,itisstagingaremarkablecomebackinthequantityan
Personalityistoalargeextentinherent—A-typeparentsusuallybringaboutA-typeoffspring.Buttheenvironmentmustalsoh
Asresearcherslearnmoreabouthowchildren’sintelligencedevelops,theyareincreasinglysurprisedbythepowerofparents.T
Asresearcherslearnmoreabouthowchildren’sintelligencedevelops,theyareincreasinglysurprisedbythepowerofparents.T
Thereareincreasinglyfraughtrelationshipsthatadultsarehavingwithchildren—inallwalksoflife,fromthepoliceandpoli
随机试题
关于磺脲类降糖药的错误叙述是
关于TIA,下列说法不正确的是
一般来说,有害气体的着陆点距烟囱的距离是有效排出高度的
竹茹治呕吐最宜者为
中国如意公司向美国维珍公司出口一批服装,CFR价格条件(2010术语)、货装船后,维珍公司因始终未收到如意公司的装船通知,未办理保险一部分货物在途中国海上暴毁损根据《海牙规则》、2010年术语,下列哪项是止确的?()
股东大会会议由董事会召集,董事长主持。董事长不能履行职务时,由副董事长主持;副董事长不能履行职务或不履行职务的,由半数以上董事共同推举一名董事主持。()
某派出所在法治宣传中,结合农村实际情况,创新推出“法治小喇叭”。依托移动短信平台,定期向群众手机推送涉及法律政策、预警提示、便民服务等方面内容的“可以听的短信”10万余条,真正实现防范宣传到户到人,提升了法治建设的群众满意度。为了使“法治小喇叭”覆盖到
现在中央对校园安全很重视,最近,有的地方出现在校学生遭遇不法分子伤害的事件。作为一名人民警察,你认为应怎样防患、消除校园暴力事件?
下列关于《诗经》的说法正确的是()。
Windows2003系统中创建Web站点时需配置该网站的访问权限,不属于网站访问权限的选项是()。
最新回复
(
0
)