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
34
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
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
A、Thetwentieth.B、Thenineteenth.C、Theeighteenth.D、Thetwenty-first.C
TheWelshlanguagehasalwaysbeentheultimatemarkerofWelshidentity,butagenerationagoitlookedasifWelshwouldgoth
IntheartoftheMiddleAges,weneverencounterthepersonalityoftheartistasanindividual;ratheritisdiffusedthrough
Onecriticismlevelledatsuchstudiesisthatitisdifficulttotellifmobilephonesarepromotinggrowth,orgrowthispromo
A、Havinglittleeducation.B、Comingfromarichfamily.C、Havingvision.D、Beingafraidoftakingrisks.C
A、Tolookforadifferentlifestyle.B、Toenjoythemselves.C、Foradventure.D、Foreducation.D
Forcenturies,explorershaveriskedtheirlivesventuringintotheunknownforreasonsthatweretovaryingdegreeseconomican
Studentsshouldbehelpedbyacoursethatconsidersthecomputer’svariousimpactsoncommerce,economy,science,technology,c
Whenyoungcollegegraduatesdecidewheretomove,theyarenotjustlookingattheusualsuspects,likeNewYork,Washingtonan
随机试题
依据我国劳动法的规定,能够引起劳动法律关系产生、变更和消灭的法律事实是多种多样的,按照它们的发生是否以行为人的意志为转移,可以分为行为和事件两大类。下列属于事件的有()
A.脑血管意外B.心肌梗死C.心力衰竭D.尿毒症E.休克我国高血压病死因多为
患儿,女,3岁。因发热3天,咳嗽2日伴腹痛而来诊。查体:T40℃,神志清,扁桃体Ⅱ度肿大,颈软,颈部可及黄豆大淋巴结3~4枚,活动,有压痛,心肺(一),腹稍胀,质软,满腹痛,以脐周为主,无腹肌紧张和固定压痛点,血象Hb128g/L,WN28.9×109/L
患者,女性,37岁。干咳无痰,咽干鼻燥,伴恶寒发热,头痛无汗,苔薄白而干,此时治疗宜选用
水被粪便污染的主要指标是
关于招标控制价,下列说法中正确的是()。
注册会汁师及其所在的会计事务所依法承办的会计咨询、服务业务包括()。
土地增值税清算核算的主要方法有()。
人际关系的三维理论的三维指的是()。
(1)制订计划(2)接到任务(3)组织实施(4)完成任务(5)阶段小结
最新回复
(
0
)