• Living in Singapore, I could feel a /firm/ support by the government. “Social safety net” is one aspect of it.
• Living in the U.S.  I felt “nothing below”, just as the bathtub in 31a Hillside Terrace. I guess the African American community relied on self help and the black church. Across racial divides, covid19 revealed huge fault lines and weakness.

For decades, the Canada brand, as an immigration destination, conjures up images of a caring society compared to U.S. Now I feel its naïve and brainwash.

Canada is an attractive emigration destination due to healthcare. However, the Singapore integrated shield basically provides a comparable healthcare.

SG is probably much more of a nanny state , even though the education system is ruthless, and there’s no free handout for the poor…

Canada, one of the better western systems in pandemic management, had covid19 new deaths every day until 11 Sep
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/canada-reports-zero-covid-19-deaths-for-first-time-since-march-13104740. Total deaths reached 9000+. Compare it to Singapore’s very low death toll.

Q: What make SG such an effective nanny state? I asked my father this question.

• With a small population and less severe income disparity, SG gov has fewer needy citizens to look after.
• Also in terms of logistics, it is presumably easier to check out and monitor each needy household, so as to prevent tax payer’s money wasted on the wrong cases.
• SG gov assistance to needy household is case by case, and depends on effective case management of volumes of cases.

On another note, the names of many Canadian and U.S. cities conjure up romantic images in my head, but to visit or retire there, main factors are 1) burn rate 2) climate 3) Chinese community. For these reasons, I should consider Penang, Jiande,,,