'We could probably make a case to upgrade some of our assistance schemes to arrive at what might seem a more optimal position, but the optimal position is unlikely to be a stable one. The optimal position may be on the slope, and it's going to be very difficult to stand on the slope.'
TRADE AND INDUSTRY SECOND PERMANENT SECRETARY RAVI MENON, who said the Government errs on the side of caution in social provision because it fears sliding down the slippery slope towards ever-more subsidies and entitlements, as countries in the West have

'As families grow smaller, and as longevity increases the number of four-generation families, the stresses on this source of assistance are at risk of becoming unbearable.'
NUS SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT SENIOR FELLOW ANN WEE, who said that it might become increasingly unsustainable for families to step in to provide for the elderly poor

'We could easily institute a minimum standard-of-living condition and it wouldn't bankrupt us.'
SOCIOLOGIST CHUA BENG HUAT, who said the problem of poverty here was not one of money, but 'entirely ideological'