Struggles of a 76 year old street scavenger

The following was the introduction accompanying this YouTube movie.


"This is an AFP video about a 76-year old street scavenger in Singapore who became homeless after paying for her late husband's medical bills. In Singapore, medical expenses receive only 36% subsidy compared to 50%-80% for other developed nations."


I suspect the picture isn't so simple. While I sympathise with this 76 year old lady and inumerable others like her, I wonder how the picture might be different if we provide subsidies like other developed nations. The rampant waste, abuse and poor accountability of welfare funds in these other nations would overall make it worse for us.


The plight of this 76 year old only shows that we must continue to work harder and get better at helping our under class. Copying the other nations is not a good place to begin looking to improve the current situation.