For the man who missed the speech, it doesn't add up

Lam Hoi said he could not be bothered to watch the budget speech.

'I won't be able to understand the financial terms ... I heard it is going to have something to do with bonds and shares, isn't it?' asked the 73-year-old retired renovator.

Instead, he left home yesterday at around noon for a typical daily routine that includes a walk around his district. After lunch he usually spends the afternoon watching football at Southorn Playground in Wan Chai. If he had been able to afford a newspaper, Mr Lam, who is single, might have learned that the budget would cover a term he could relate to - sales tax.

'I do know what sales tax is ... is it a tax that is imposed on shopping and food?' he asked. 'But I don't know how to do the calculations.'

His main source of income is the $3,300 comprehensive social security assistance he receives each month from the Social Welfare Department, which has dropped by $200 after last June's deductions.

He spends more than one-third of his welfare payment on the 60 sq ft room he shares with an elderly roommate for $1,300 in a seven- roomed apartment in Sheung Wan. The rest is spent on two meals a day.