Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/article/1525874/wealth-gap-will-break-hong-kong-if-we-dont-change-economic-order
Comment/ Opinion

Wealth gap will break Hong Kong if we don't change the economic order

Paul Yip says an economic system that enriches the rich and impoverishes the poor, as Hong Kong seems to have, will one day tear apart our social fabric if we do nothing to change it

Breaking point

In his book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, French economist Thomas Piketty suggests that in a capitalist system, the rate of return on capital is often greater than the rate of economic growth, and therefore those with wealth do much better than those who live on their salaries alone. Despite some queries raised recently about the data used, the observation seems applicable to Hong Kong.

In the past decade, Hong Kong's gross domestic product has grown by about 50 per cent, but median household income has risen by only about 10 per cent. Those who own property have done much better than those who do not. However, the proportion of home ownership here has remained at 50 per cent in the past decade.