Budget did little to address our severe economic problems

Amid the deepening global downturn, Hong Kong's exports suffered their biggest year-on-year decline in value since 1958 ('Crisis hits home - HK exports suffer biggest slump for 50 years', February 27).

This is the same the world over. Diminishing demand has led to diminishing trade. Gripped by the fear of economic uncertainty, even people in work are reluctant to spend, which has affected local consumption. In the current economic climate we can only expect more business closures and unemployment.

If nothing is done to boost local consumption the city's economy will go into a downward spiral. When the business fabric has become badly frayed who can still say Hong Kong will be among the first to come out of the recession?

Delivering the budget, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah acknowledged that Hong Kong had not escaped the worldwide turmoil and was already sliding into recession. But his budget has not included any immediate measures that would help preserve jobs that people still have or enable more small and medium-sized businesses to survive in the next six to nine months. There are no specific measures in it that could help stimulate growth in the local economy.

Accounting firm Ernst & Young's tax partner Owen Chan Shiu-shing said the use of free shopping vouchers to stimulate the economy had merit ('Accountants expect HK$7.2b deficit', February 12).

He reckoned that assuming the government gave HK$1,000 to everyone to spend, the local economy could grow by 2 per cent. Why hasn't this scheme been given due consideration in these very special times?