2/21/2006

desperate and neglected housewives

the most mistaken and underrated group of working people, the housewives or homemaker or whatever. they are the general manager of the home. but no one would accept that they are working. and no value has been attached to their contribution to the economy or at least to the homes. and many now added the responsibility of looking after grandchildren. the grandmother's home is the best nursery. any commercial value? would these unemployed housewives or homemakers be given due recognition for their valuable contribution to home and society, providing the anchor and support, and an environment for children to grow up safely? so far nothing heard from the govt or anyone, even the aware or woman's rights groups are quiet about this issue.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

haiz...dont the government understand that even when a human is unemployed, they still need to eat? dont those degree holders understand the basic economics?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

but the housewives work more hours than the men who were doing full time jobs. in terms of economic value, they are worth at least 100 times more than a maid.

though this is a bad example for comparison, the value of a housemaker is definitely worth much more but paid much less.

Anonymous said...

ya lor. like my mum who's a homemaker, she does soooo much but isnt even adknowledged by the govt.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

a lady wrote a long article in the straits times forum. i also posted in ypap. hope they will work out something or they will offend half the population who are mothers, wives of grandmothers and their male members who will be affected by this.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

You all forget one thing:

They CHOSE it.

Some women choose career and single-hood. some choose a mixture of motherhood and professional career, or motherhood and workforce.

It's an individual thing. anyway the state should stay well out of this and allow couples to work it out between themselves.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

matilah,

i think you miss the point. you must look at the workfare package and the reasonings to pay workfare bonus. what they said is simply, go and get a job. get working and we will pay you something extra. but if you are unemployed, it means that you are lazy or unproductive or refuse to work. in that case, we will not give you anything.

now the housewives now comes into this category. but they are so wronged as they are working very hard for the family and also for the nation, producing national servicemen.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

no man, the govt has repeatedly said that we are not a welfare state. this payout is only due to a surplus in our investment. it is not to be taken for granted.

we can only hope the govt does well in their investment and share the profits with the poepl.

see, not welfare. profit driven.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

In that case,

.. hand out the loot to those suffering mums! (and homemaker dads)

You said the magic word: PROFIT :-)

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hey, you don't seem to believe that we made a lot of profits do you?

we are not the same as third world countries that practise pork barrel politics. we are different. we are rewarding the citizens with profits from our investment of national assets.

this is uniquely singapore.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Of course. The sg.gov and its companies are good at profit making.

I'm always believed that it is the citizens who should hold the wealth. Not the govt.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

the thinking is that though it is the people's money that the govt takes, it is the govt that is clever enough to invest it. so the govt can decide what it wants to do with it, like it belongs to the govt. just like our cpf.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Actually, once the money leaves your possession and control it is "sunk money". You may or may not get your 'expectation' - that what you expected in exchage for your dough.

CPF is also dead money. It is your money in name only. It is a tax. Once a tax is paid, it goes into the common pool.

And now the pool is coming bigger: there is more and more restriction on drawing "your" money. Why? Because it's not "your" money anymore.

Unless you trade in your citizenship.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

and they don't know why people are leaving? everyone wants to take hold of their money. and you got it right, trade in your citizenship for your cpf. and you instantly become cash rich.

now you need answer for the missing thousands?