SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan said that financially, Singapore can afford a welfare state for those in need. But politically, welfare is unpopular, he said. "It is seen as a path to economic irrelevance because it undermines the dignity of work in a society that abhors and just doesn't do welfare," he said. "It's an abiding fear of becoming enervated by a poor work ethos where welfare becomes a crutch." But he admits that Singapore has become more welfare-oriented than ever before, even if that welfare is strictly controlled.