(A letter to a friend) The concept and criteria for “livelihood” are fundamental to many discussions I had with friends including our last email exchange, so let me clarify.
Henry Luo, a schoolmate of mine and a fellow programmer , has 5 kids. Henry told me that parenting, even in expensive Singapore, is not such a financial burden when I said many Singaporean parents (I didn’t talk to Malay parents) can’t afford more than 2 kids. I’m sure Henry knows exactly what specific items are , or aren’t part of “livelihood”.
- [m $$] adequate healthcare …. yes is part of livelihood. As a specific example, Singapore hospital wards are classified by level of care. Pictured above, the lowest is class C with ceiling fans over a large hall housing multiple beds. C-ward patients still receive /adequate/ medical care, but not so much comfort. Access to this level of healthcare is a livelihood need.
- [m $] healthy nutrition …. yes, but expensive foods or fine dining… are not part of livelihood. In other words, we can live well without them.
- [m $$$] safe shelter … yes in a safe, /sanitized/, sustainable environment, free of hazards. Housing is the most elastic item in this list. Specifically, perhaps 2 bedrooms for a family of 4 would be a comfortable minimum by my standard.
- .. exercise facilities .. is not part of livelihood. In my experience, all residential locations offer some clean open spaces or affordable sports facilities or both.
- [$] reliable public transport …. yes, but a private car is not a livelihood
requirementin the Singapore context. - .. When I lived in NY/N/MA, we were coping fine without a private car.
- .. My parents, living in Beijing for most of their lives, don’t have a car.
- .. How about telecom? See section below
- ^^ All of these cities have extensive public transport networks + affordable tax networks (my parents use taxis every day).
- [m $] rigorous public education …. yes, but a prestigious college is not a livelihood need. Such a luxury education is really for the affluent like you and the future “me”.
- .. [$$] If my child is academically qualified but unable to afford a college education, I would (unfairly) classify it as a livelihood issue, but hey, why do I worry when there are multiple layers of financial assistance like 1) scholarships or loans 2) work-n-study 3) work for several years then go back to school
- [m $$$] dependable retirement income …. yes a common factor in financial hardship. The “livelihood amount” is hard to define. As a concrete illustration, the Singapore government provides an annuity that pays up to SGD 2k/M of retirement income. Upon my inquiry, an officer said that amount was considered adequate for the majority of Singaporean retirees. I have since confirmed with friends (in their 50’s) and also read personal stories that even SGD 1500/M is adequate. Adequate for livelihood, not adequate for a “retirement in style“.
[m=aligned to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs]
[$ to $$$ = non-trivial financial cost]
| A somewhat academic clarification on the “retirement factor”. Some sharp observers would point out that retirement doesn’t qualify as a fundamental/basic factor of survival, like food, shelter or healthcare. An average (lower middle-class?) retiree’s minimum burn rate is perhaps split between nutrition, healthcare and transport.
In fact, transport and education are not absolutely essential factors. In the same vein, many housing “requirements” are elastic and non-essential. My concept of livelihood is different from basic survival. Each “policy” would target a certain standard of livelihood. In my chosen standard_of_livelihood, retirement is a major factor. Livelihood is about the long-term survival of one’s family (so childless households perceive livelihood differently). As life expectancy increases, livelihood worries grow, esp. in terms of healthcare and retirement income. This echoes the pervasive perception that superlong retirement can lead to hardship, unless you prepare over a long time. Therefore, many old folks choose to keep working. I watched the 2021 Oscar winner [[Nomadland]], featuring livelihood struggles (and thrills) of thrifty old Americans surviving on a budget. By the above definition_of_livelihood, many of them have some but insufficient 1) retirement income 2) sanitized shelter from hazards 3) healthcare 4) perhaps healthy nutrition. |
Worldwide, I guess as high as 80% still work hard to avoid “livelihood” hardship as in my definition. In some rich countries, perhaps half the population still have livelihood concerns such as street safety, sanitation, job discriminations, debt repayment, inflation, natural disaster protection… Singapore government often talks about the livelihood of Singaporeans. In their context, Livelihood (something like 生计) is about economic survival, satisfying reasonable needs, and not left behind. More precisely, the Singapore government has always used some criteria (eg: means testing) to judge if a family has livelihood needs. Their criteria are higher than financial hardship.
I hope these examples help to clarify what livelihood includes and what resources, aspirations fall beyond the basic standard of livelihood. The most common phrases I tend to associate with “livelihood” are hardship, deprivation, left-behind, and life chances.
Q: Is my definition_of_livelihood too basic for us the middle class? Well, Henry is also middle class, based on my interaction with him. I don’t think his 5 kids feel hardship, deprived or lower-class. In 2020 I visited his new home .. clean (thanks to a full-time maid), not /cramped/ at all.
— telecom .. comparable to transport as an essential /service/ needed by everyone, a livelihood “need”. Lack of telecom service is a hardship comparable to lack of transport service… really? (Q9)
Paradoxically, some families spend more on telecom [TV, broadband, mobile] than on public transport. I think it reflect the nature of telecom as “discretionary spend”, more like entertainment spend. Now, if you remove the entertainment layer and focus on the “essential service” portion, you may notice the telecom cost is improving decade after decade. The most essential of all, landline, is almost free ! A2: The “hardship” is about lack of essential service, which is very very affordable nowadays.
The livelihood standard is very different for me vs my family. For me, I need reliable broadband, mobile voice/SMS, minimal data, no TV. The cost of this package is much lower than cost of public transport. For my family and most middle-class families, telecom bill keeps growing. Part of the reason is the “technology upgrade” by the operators. Telecom operators constantly upgrade their infrastructure and stay on the latest. The upgrade cost is passed on to consumers. Apparently, land line, mobile voice service, SMS and basic data tend to drop in price. The increase in the bill amount lies somewhere else in the bill like more data, faster broadband, more TV channels… all discretionary.