Invest in Hong Kong’s future instead of giving us cash handouts

The Hong Kong budget has taken a step in the right direction by committing HK$50 billion to welfare and another HK$50 billion to innovation and technology.

The city has one of the world’s lowest unemployment rates and the number receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance has dropped over the years. More effort is required to help those who remain on CSSA, perhaps through a combination of skills training and job opportunities.

In innovation and technology, Hong Kong needs to catch up with its neighbours. There is still a large gap between research in universities and research resulting in a product that benefits society. In her policy address, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor pledged HK$150 million for universities to promote such research. It is also pleasing to see the relaunching of matching money for universities to appeal to donors who may contribute to developing research activities.

However, some legislators have called for universal cash handouts, which would be expensive and wasteful. In 2011, the government gave HK$6,000 to Hongkongers and the total expenditure was about HK$36 billion. We estimate that about a sixth of that went to Hongkongers living overseas. What good does that do here?

About 30 per cent of our surplus derives from better-than-expected land sales. It is this high land premium that makes housing unaffordable. It has had an upwards spiral effect on many other items, making life difficult for those on low incomes.