Immigration contributes 20,000-25,000 new citizens per year, while citizen births average 32,200 per year over the past decade. With the aging population and declining birth rate, as our former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said, our choice is to welcome immigrants. The Population White Paper, a controversial document published by the Singapore government in 2013, states that the projected population could grow to 6.9 million Singapore citizens and permanent residents in 2030. There are two main aspects of the reasons why Singapore there should continue to be openness to immigrants for population growth – politically and economically. Immigrants will support the People's Action Party (PAP) if they can apply for a Singapore citizen and can help improve productivity and expand our workforce. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe Singapore government incentivizes non-residents with work visas and progressively persuades them to become permanent residents. In order for immigrants to eventually choose to become Singapore citizens, our government heavily subsidizes citizens in healthcare and housing. They will also be able to pay less taxes and benefit from more general welfare schemes. This way, the PAP will gain more support from these immigrants and continue to govern the country. Singaporeans have a very low total fertility rate of 1.2, meaning there is only an average of 1.2 children per woman. This is far from the replacement rate of 2.1 despite government programs to encourage parenthood such as offering incentives. Even if replacement were miraculously achieved, there would be no economic growth with the same amount of labor. Compounding the plight of our dwindling workforce, baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 are causing the population to age. The proportion of elderly Singaporeans aged 65 and above is expected to double to 27% by 2030, while the proportion of young people aged 15 and below will decline to 10.8%. There have been suggestions that older workers should be given more job opportunities. However, productivity will decrease and is not an effective solution. Based on the city's current population growth, economic growth is expected to be less than half the average rate of 8% over the past 50 years. Therefore, immigration is necessary to have a larger workforce in Singapore with better productivity. Furthermore, increasing gross domestic product per capita can enhance the competitiveness of our economy and a broadening of the tax base can be used. Our government looks at both quantity and quality, which means it will attract the best foreign talent to drive our economy. The Population White Paper predicts that around two in three residents will be professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs). However, Singapore does not have enough people in some areas such as IT, so we need the support of foreign talent. This can help boost Singapore's economy by making use of these highly skilled migrants. The greater availability of workers allows companies to obtain higher returns on capital and increase investments. Therefore, new businesses emerge and existing ones expand, contributing to greater job creation and greater economic growth. Singapore can also leverage the knowledge and connections of the.
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