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
2010-02-20
59
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 proponents say that the bill does not promote 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 end of the 20th century that figure grew to 11%. By 2030, the proportion is projected to be 26~. The problem is not old age per se. It is that the ratio 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, life 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 1980, 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 this 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 eiders, 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 parent 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 Singapore doesn’t need this kind of law. But that belief ignores the clear demographic trends and the effect of affluence itself on traditional bends. 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. (804)
The Maintenance of Parents Bill _____.
选项
A、received unanimous support in the Singapore Parliament
B、was believed to solve all the problems of the elderly poor
C、was intended to substitute for traditional values in Singapore
D、was passed to make the young more responsible to the old
答案
D
解析
事实细节题。根据本文第一句This month Singapore passed a bill that would give legal teeth to the moral obligation to support one’s parents.可知D为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/qavO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
AnewcatastrophefacesAfghanistan.TheAmericanbombingcampaignisconspiringwithyearsofcivilconflictanddroughttocre
如今,人们出行并不是一种需求,而是一种体验,一种享受新事物的目的。现在旅行也成为一个高度组织性的行业。汽车,一流的道路,特快,大型游船,喷气式飞机,所有的一切为我们提供了舒适安全的旅行。科学家们还发明了能将我们带到外太空的机器。最终我们可以到月球作便宜的旅
IntheartoftheMiddleAges,weneverencounterthepersonalityoftheartistasanindividual;ratheritisdiffusedthrough
ItissaidthatinEnglanddeathispressing,inCanadainevitableandinCaliforniaoptionalSmallwonder.Americans’lifeexpe
ItissaidthatinEnglanddeathispressing,inCanadainevitableandinCaliforniaoptionalSmallwonder.Americans’lifeexpe
A、Inthebeautycontest,agirlcalledJaguarbecamethebeautyqueen.B、Jaguarisaveryeye-catchingcar.C、Thecrownhasbeen
A、Justifytheclaimstheymake.B、Appearincourt.C、Getawaywiththeirproducts.D、Alwaysbehonestintheads.A
ThenumberofpeopleemigratingfromIrelandiscurrentlyestimatedat30,000annually.Thereisnodoubtthatthebulkofyoung
Theterms"resume"and"curriculumvitae"(CV)generallymean【C1】______:aoneortwo-pagedocumentdescribingone’s【C2】______and
Chomskydefines______astheidealuser’sknowledgeoftherulesofhislanguage.
随机试题
中国共产党第一次明确提出建立无产阶级专政是在()
下列关于丘脑髓板内核群的描述,正确的是
椎基底动脉系统的TIA的表现包括()
喹诺酮类药物不宜应用于
当被资质认定评审组认定评审结果为不符合时,被评审机构必须在3个月内完成整改。()
设备监理规划是在()基本内容的基础上进行细化编制的。
A公司收益性资产预计未来5年收益额分别为12万元、15万元、13万元、11万元、14万元。假定从第6年开始,以后各年收益均为14万元,确定的折现率和资本化率均为10%。根据上述资料,回答下列问题:以下属于应用收益法的基本步骤的有()。
企业以盈余公积向投资者分配现金股利,不会引起留存收益总额的变动。()
Let’sfaceit.Gardeningfanaticslikenothingbetterthantohavetheirhandsstuckinthesoilortobetrimming,pruning,or
在考生文件夹下打开工作簿Excel.xlsx,按照要求完成下列操作并以该文件名(Excel.xlsx)保存工作簿。某公司拟对其产品季度销售情况进行统计,打开“Excel.xlsx”文件,按以下要求操作:选择“产品销售汇总图表”内A1
最新回复
(
0
)