Census figures show Hawaiʻi's population is aging faster than the national average. That's also an issue in many parts of Asia, where one government is trying a new approach to meet some of the challenges.
Singapore's government says the country has a baby problem: there aren’t enough of them.
The government wants to encourage its citizens to have more children to increase its birth rate and create a demographic cushion for its aging population.
And it's willing to spend more money to make that happen.
This past weekend, a key part of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s National Day speech focused on child support.
The idea of a “baby bonus” at birth is not new — Singapore's government has paid one for the past 25 years.
Now, those payments will be increased — and spread out through the age of 17, including money to support the child's higher education.
Parental leave policies are also increasing, and more of the costs will be paid by the government instead of employers.
There’s even a portion related to housing.
But the Prime Minister himself says this isn't likely to by itself solve the population issue, which will continue to require immigration.
And there are mixed views from prospective parents.
A marketing firm called YouGov recently surveyed 500 young Singaporeans from their late teens to their mid-forties.
Nearly a third said there was nothing the government could do to incentivize them to have children.
