Parents abandoned over money

Money – It is the thing in our society today, it seems. We cannot doubt its importance in our lives, but is its importance so great that we abandon our principles, ethics, virtues and even – our parents?

This appears to be a new “trend” in the society today as more and more children are leaving their parents in their homes, old folks’ homes or hospitals. Although some children are truly busy working and do not have time to visit their parents, some unfilial children are able to help but plainly refuse to.

Worse still, it seems that children these days are not content with just leaving their parents alone, they try to get money from their parents. According to the president of the Singapore Buddhist Lodge Mr Lee Bock Guan, he knew of a woman whose eight children forced her to sell her flat so that they could distribute the money amongst themselves. Moreover, when she was hospitalized later, none of them were willing to pay for the hospital bills.

I must, in the strongest manner possible, condemn and criticize the actions of the people who do not take care of their parents. I have two reasons for this view.

Firstly, our parents have spent so much time and money to bring us up, and it is thus natural that we repay them when we have the ability to. According to a report by the US Department of Agriculture, parents pay approximately US$221,000(S$320,000) to raise a child to 17 years old. Assuming similar living costs in Singapore, this is definitely a substantial amount. When we think of how much our parents have sacrificed for us, can we bear to see them being helpless and lonely in their own homes? Even an animal, after you care for it, would not come back to bite you. If a person can bear to do that to his parents, then the money that his parents have spent on him has been totally wasted.

Secondly, our parents do not have the ability to support themselves due to their age. Their physical condition makes it difficult if not impossible for them to continue working to earn money, so if their children will not support them, then who will? Is it the government? We must keep in mind that there is an ever-increasing percentage makeup of senior citizens in our country’s population. According to statistics from the National Population Secretariat, the percentage of Singaporeans aged 65 years old and above grew from 6.8 % in 1998 to 8.7 % last year. As this percentage grows higher and higher, it becomes virtually impossible for the government to pay for everyone’s parents’ living costs. Thus, those who do not take care of their parents are putting a strain on the society, and are being irresponsible by making innocent people pay for them.

Some people may say, why is it impossible for Singapore to support her senior citizens when other countries such as Sweden or Norway are able to? This is because Singapore is a small country and lacks the economic power to sustain this support. Moreover, taxes are often high in welfare states, with a 48% tax in Sweden, and this is much higher than the current 20%.

In conclusion, our parents are the ones that have brought us to this world, and it is only obvious that we take care of them, not least due to the reasons above. I sincerely hope that those people who currently have left their parents in hospitals or old folks’ home seriously reconsider their actions, and hopefully, start taking care of their parents!

Article:

"They throw parents out over money"

The New Paper
18th August 2009
Pages: 2-3