Residents vs Non-resident 'Tap'

Same old argument about how the shortage of manpower is Singapore's Achilles' heel, and if left unrectified, will hamper economic growth by discouraging foreign investments....but what is interesting here is the use of a colourful metaphor to describe the human resource (see underlined section in second portion of article). Recognise that there are actually a few 'taps' to supply the human resource that Singapore is in such great shortage of. Other than tapping on foreigners, the WP is actually asking the govt to tap on the elderly (of which there are plentiful given our ageing population) and the women (which make up half the population and are highly educated). there are also the handicapped/disabled. The govt is also seeking the use of technology to ramp up productivity to compensate for the shortfall in manpower since one machine can do the job of many people. Other than pulling in more people, another recourse is to prevent people from leaving, esp the more talented and highly-sought after and therefore mobile ones  (i.e. stemming brain drain).....This is accomplished by improving the quality of life and making Singapore an attractive place to settle down and sink roots in (works not just in retaining existing talent but also in attracting foreign ones).....


On a side note, hope u know what are the 4 REAL taps of Singapore's water supply: reservoirs, Malaysia, Newater (i.e. recycled), desalination plants