If government wants to impose on maid (domestic helper) industry...

Just consider overtaking (or get involved) in the industry. Don't just throw policies at it and sit back waiting for another opportunity to introduce additional policies (only when something goes awry).

In my opinion, most of the policies in place protects helpers rather than both parties. This could have been a direct consequence of few cases of mistreatment (if not abuse) of helpers by irresponsible employers; but the blanket policies affects all employers (to the extent of being seen as skewed towards more protection to helpers than employers).

Not all households with maids are rich. Most of them have both working parents (with kids). It is a need, rather than want. So please don't assume households with maids are spoilt (and hence a tendency by government to wean this habit).

Cost of living in Singapore is high. It needs both parents working to lead a comparable comfortable lives as Singapore's neighbours. To own a home of two bedrooms (2+1) is not an easy task. To care for a kid is not an easy task. To care for elders are not easy task (considering the ripple effect of previous single child policy leaving most older generations with just a kid or two).

Is it possible for a household earning sgd 3k or less to break away from being at the lower rung of society? There is no saving (how can this household invest other than via cpf?), no free medical care etc... if even a single member of this household is afflicted by cancer or accident (needing surgery), the whole of the family's bank savings would be exhausted (hence there is mentality that if you are sick here, it's better to just die fast). Talk about insurance, the premium for whole household cost how much? How encompassing is the coverage (or how efficient is the buffer to prevent depleting a household's saving comes disaster)? How many households with sgd 3k or less have all their family members covered? Can a single medisave (from a single parent working) covers four or more family members (being considered here are older gen, spouse, and next gen)?

If there is kiasu mentality in Singapore, it is due to environmental factor triggering to the innate mechanism for survival and hence a behavioural changes catered for "fighting for survival". To propel next gen to leave the lower rung of society, both parents need to work in order to achieve this. That is a sacrifice from a family unit who planned for having kids and who planned ahead for their children's education. We are this type of family unit (although I realise there are other types who are more laid back).

Now, when we lament that less families nowadays are having kids, what are the problems or circumstances leading to this? Are they spoilt because these households only want handouts from national coffer? Could dangling more carrots help?

In my perspective, if you subject family units to a less conducive environment to have kids - you get just that... less kids. No matter how much extrinsic factors (e.g. viagra, good mood music, delicious food, or carrots etc.), you just get a short-term placebo effect. Once these subjects realise it's not working, they revert (or remit) to original state.

It's just too darn stressful to have kids. Who in their right mind would want to subject innocent children to stressful environment?

More returning to maid (aka domestic helper). Governments of countries catering domestic helpers are doing the right thing to protect their maids from being taken advantage by middlemen (aka agency). Not all agencies are bad, but some are and measures are taken to help prevent helpers from exploitation. Good for them.

In comparison, Singapore is not helping protect employers (aka households) from being victimized. To as salt to injury, why are we being imposed levy when the cost of having maid is getting higher and higher due to measures taken to protect helpers. Shouldn't Singapore be protecting needy households as well? Don't be misled by sensational news about the NS brat being pampered to the extent that his NS bag was carried by his maid. Instead, act on information based on statistics. I dare you to disprove that majority of households took maid for wants rather than needs.