Potential problems
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1) The future scene states that those aged 80 and above are considered elderly, but this does not account for those under 80 who are also nearing the end of their lives. According to research, there is a significant difference in percentage between those aged 80 and above and those aged 60-79. 2) It is stated that elderly accused persons cannot be sentenced to imprisonment due to their age and can only receive fines at half the typical punishment. However, this could lead to more crime from the elderly taking advantage of lighter sentences. Research shows that repeat offenders typically receive less leniency. 3) Retirement housing with medical care prohibits vehicles, so emergency transport may not be readily available, potentially leading to higher death rates
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Potential problems
- 1. 16 Potential Problems Part 1: A FACT that can be derived from the scenario. authoritative / credible sources (e.g. universities, government organisations, international non-profit organisations, reputable newspapp Part 2: WHY this fact could pose a problem within the scenario (this is the problem that you infer here). Better teams go on to mention the LARGER CONSEQUENCE too. Part 3: RESEARCH to support why you believe this could be a problem. Your research may be based on formal academic papers / journals, opinions from 1) The future scene states that those people who are 80 years and beyond are formally elderly in this country.This could be a problem as this rule does not cater to a lot of people only to those 80 and above. How about a man who is 40 years old and is also in his final years? Doesnt he fall under the same criteria as those elderly, According to research, via this website singstat.com.sg they show that there is a much bigger diffenence in percentage comparing those 80 years and beyond and 60 years.
- 2. 2)According to the future scene all elderly accused persons brought before a court of law in Singapore cannot be sentenced to any form of imprisonment due to their advanced age. The only legitimate sentence for them would be by way of fines. Even so, it is also mandated that they should receive half the punishment provided in the Penal Code or referenced from precedent cases for typical adult offenders. I can infer that the elderly will take advantage of this implementation and commit more crimes. This might lead to having an increase crime rate as a nation. According to research,regardless of the type of theft that is charged, an offender's history of theft or related crimes has a significant effect on sentencing, with repeat offenders receiving less leniency, while first time offenders may receive relatively lighter penalties thus, with lighter sentences there is a greater possibility of that person repeating his mistake. Source:http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/theft-penalties-and-sentencing.html 3) The future scene states that retirement housing precincts with 24-hr medical care will be developed specially for the elderly.This could be
- 3. a problem as no vehicles are allowed inside a precinct, thus if this plan continues,in an emergency situation transport may not be provided readily.This might even lead to a higher death rate.According to the article Thousands die from ambulance delays, an ambulance should respond to a situation within eight minutes. Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-55521/Thousands- die-ambulance-delays.html 4)The future scene states that all elderly persons receive free healthcare at public hospitals and polyclinics. This could be a problem as this could deprive others from seeing the doctors since they have an advantage. This could lead to clinics being ineffective as patients have to wait a longer time for their turn. According to Dr Maureen Baker, chair of the RCGP, said: "If waiting times get longer, it will be more difficult for GPs to ensure that problems are caught early, and the pressure on A&E will intensify. This is bad news for patients and bad news for the whole of the NHS." 5)The future states that numerous high tech devices will be incorporated into hospitals for the elderly .This could be a problem as companies who are
- 4. manufacturing the products used may rely solely on the elderly as a market of revenue/ income thus the standard of living between the elderly and the common citizens may defer drastically in the near future. According to the Forbes website about half the people in the world have smartphones. Hence this could lead this companies losing money. Source: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2012/07/17/mobile-phone- access-reaches-three-quarters-planets-population 6)Since the future scene states that people may be paying far too much taxes for all those special provisions for the elderly,this could be a problem because less money may be spent on helping the common people by the Singapore treasury and Singapores finance may become poor. We know this is true because according to Deputy Prime Minister And Minister For Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, there will be a pioneer generation package for the elderly and thus there may be more funds needed in this package. Source: http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/portals/budget_2014/download/FY2014_Round_Up_Spe ech.pdf
- 5. 7)The future scene states that ordinary people like Bernard are paying far too much taxes for the elderly.This could be problematic as the people might not earn enough to pay their newly-added taxes on top of their annual income tax.This might even result in an increase in people who are in debt.According to The Heart Truths, an article published on The Real Singapore,low- and middle-income Singaporeans are already not able to save and retire in Singapore. Source:http://therealsingapore.com/content/how-much-tax-are- singaporeans-really-paying-part-1 8)The future scene states that Bernard, despite having several common / long-term / permanent illnesses, still has to work for a living. This could be a problem as people may quit their jobs due to their high levels of stress and exhaustion.This might even possibly affect the welfare of the citizens in the near future.According to an article on sciencedirect.com,prolonged work might result in employee stress, job dissatisfaction, and
- 6. turnover intent. Source:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753512 001488 9)According to the future scene,all elderly accused people cannot be sentenced to any form of imprisonment and can only pay fines.This could be problematic as criminals might use / target the elderly as a victim / accomplice in crime since they will never be put to jail.This may in turn lead to a higher crime rate in the country.According to the American Crime Prevention Council, Americans lose an estimated $40 billion each year to the fraudulent sale of goods and services over the telephone. The elderly are (already)frequent targets of telemarketing frauds and sweepstakes scams. Source:http://www.ncpc.org/topics/crime-against-seniors 10)According to the future scene, people who commit crimes when 80 and above will have a lighter sentence. This could be a problem because people may make use of the elderly to commit crimes but the police would not imprison the elderly so the mastermind will make the elderly repeat their
- 7. crimes again. A report from a popular website stated that elderly laws have multiple loopholes. Source: http://social.un.org/ageing-working- group/documents/Gapsinprotectionofolderpeoplesri ghtsAugust2012.pdf 11) According to the future scene, all the benefits are targeted at people 80 years and above only.This could be a problem as number of people who are benefitting from this scheme might be a minority compared to those who are not.This might result in the ineffective use of government funds.All this can be proven with the State of the Elderly in Singapore e-booklet, in which on page 9 clearly states that the number of residents aged 65 and older accounts for 8.8% of the population,however the number of residents aged 85 and older accounts for only 0.7% of the population as of 2009. Source: http://app.msf.gov.sg/Portals/0/Summary/research/State%20of%20t he%20Elderly_Release%201.pdf 12 The future scene states that elderly (80 and above) will not be liable to any imprisonments, but half of the punishment stated in the Penal Code
- 8. would still be implemented. This could be a problem because if another party(below 80) performs a crime, they might make the elderly a scapegoat since they have lighter penalties.This would in turn lead to an environment where law enforcement would become a serious issue. According to studies done by criminology experts, a large number of scapegoats are the elderly 80 and above who do not have basic knowledge of the law and recent happenings. 13)The future scene states that the elderly have subsidies when purchasing housing. This could be a problem because the children of the elderly might take advantage and purchase a house under their parents name, but stay in it as if it were their own home. This could then lead to a deficit in the budget of the government as more people would be buying the houses at a lower price, leading to a decrease of earnings. According to the government, there has been a constant increase of the price of housing, with an average 4-room flat having a price of S$850 000. 14) According to the future scene, the Elderly Special Rights Act was recently introduced,
- 9. and it is a particularly large act. This could be a problem because the affected elderly and/or the younger generation might have many qualms about it, and if they do not address it, many misunderstandings and complaints will arise regarding the act. This could in turn lead to many problems financially and in terms of law. According to Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, more benefits would be given to the elderly and some funds would be reserved for the elderly by the government. Source: http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/portals/budget_2014/download/FY2 014_Round_Up_Speech.pdf 15) According to the future scene, the Elderly Special Rights Act covers the elderly even if they are foreigners. This could be a problem because the act might be a pull factor for many elderly citizens whom are foreigners seeking a place to enjoy their retirement, and the population size could get too high, leading to an overcrowded Singapore. This could then worsen the problem of Singapores population, thus increasing the cost of living in Singapore, which is already a popular topic for
- 10. debate.Based on a polling by Forbes magazine, an acclaimed economical magazine, and the Economics Intelligence Unit, Singapore was ranked first in terms of cost and price of living in both pollings. Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sin gapore/s-pore-ranked-world- s/1019698.html
- 11. 16) According to the future scene,the subsidies and various perks are only applicable to the elderly(80 and above), therefore the younger generation might protest over the large number of subsidies and lenience of punishments for the elderly, while the younger generation are still treated equally with the middle-aged people in terms of law. This could be a problem as if the younger generation feel like they have been treated unfairly, it would further worsen the condition of happiness in Singapore.With an already unhappy population based on studies done by the world-known magazine Forbes, placing Singapore last( Most unhappy country among all), if the satisfaction of the younger generation decreases, riots and protests might happen. Riots cause mayhem and major damage, based on the Hock Lee bus riots(4 dead, 32 injured) and the recent Little India riots(43 injured), therefore leading to a chaotic environment in Singapore.