INCOME INEQUALITY AND SUPPORTING VULNERABLE GROUPS
In his speech, Mr Wong addressed income inequality in Singapore and the importance of uplifting lower-income households.
Income inequality in Singapore, as measured by the Gini coefficient, has been coming down, he noted.
“It’s because of all our efforts to uplift incomes at the lower end, and make sure that lower-income households enjoy good income growth. And that’s very important for Singapore’s cohesion, that everyone continues to have this chance of moving forward together,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
“How do we sustain this, is the question?”
Even as Singapore continues to grow as a global city, the country must ensure that everyone “progresses and moves forward together”, he added.
“One important strategy is to make sure that we continue to have a fair and progressive tax and transfer system,” he continued.
The Government will continue to maintain a progressive system that is fair, and “will tilt in favour” of the vulnerable and lower-income groups in Singapore.
These families need support from agencies, as well as interventions and solutions to help them overcome the obstacles that they face in life, said Mr Wong.
“This is extremely resource intensive,” he said, adding that each family needs social workers, counsellors and other people coming together to help them.
“And this is why it’s also very important for us to understand that making this work, it’s not going to be possible just through the Government’s efforts alone,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
“Because in order to enable these sorts of solutions, we need everyone to come alongside. (We need) everyone to do their part.”