CPF and public assistance are not the same.

Reader says...
do u remember what the PAP garment says about targeted help? 

Can remember right? 

Basically it means when it comes to helping the poor, must have targeted help, thats why cannot set poverty line blah blah. :)




so applying the garment's logic (not my logic hor) which u so happily agrees with, when it comes to the CPF the garment should also intervene in a targeted manner only on those individuals who cannot (in your words) act responsibly. Correct?

So why all a sudden when it comes to the people's CPF instead of targeted intervention, the garment now intervenes in a blanket manner on everyone?

so do u see the double standards and failed logic that the garment and u hold? :D

.....
AK says...
The CPF is about helping us in saving for retirement. 

The CPF Life is, in essence, an annuity but better. 

We are not asking for financial aid here. 

It is different from the poor requesting for help.

However, more importantly, how can we determine if someone is able to act in a financially responsible manner? 

This is a difficult thing to determine which is why a minimum universal safety net that covers everyone works.

(Ironically, it is probably the people who are financially more responsible who might not need this safety net but they want it whereas people who need a safety net the most might clamor for earlier release of their CPF money.)




We must bear in mind that in helping the poor and the needy, we are talking about providing aid using public resources. 

There is very little or almost no emphasis on self-reliance.

When using public resources to help individuals, I appreciate the targeted efforts the government make to ensure the best use of taxpayers' money.




You might think that there are double standards here. 

However, I think you have misused the phrase "double standards".

If there are two sets of standards applied to the matter of the CPF, one set for the rich and one set for the poor, then, I would say that double standards existed.




However, helping us to save money to ensure retirement adequacy is a different matter compared to helping the poor and the needy using public resources. 

The approaches have to be different because these are two separate and very different issues.




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