On March 17, SMU's Lien Centre for Social Innovation launched a handbook on poverty issues to gather suggestions from experts on how to tackle poverty problems. At the launch of the handbook, SMU School of Economics Advisory Board economist Yeoh Lam Keong said that automatic schemes such as the Workfare Income Supplement scheme reduce the chances of individuals falling through the cracks as they do not know what help they can get, or refuse to apply out of a sense of pride. He also opined that the Workfare supplement should be increased to allow low-wage workers to take home at least $1,500 in cash monthly, noting that "people living at this margin need to pay the bills and keep their heads above water".
Source
The Straits Times
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