Relaxing the 2 yuan concession or being blocked by the austerity policy will only sacrifice the citizens

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Written by: Commentary Editing Room

2020-10-22 06:45

Last update date: 2020-10-22 06:45

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor introduced ten livelihood measures at the beginning of the year, including reducing the age of eligible applications for a two-dollar ride concession from 65 to 60.

On Tuesday (20th), a report quoted news that some members of the guild believed that the annual expenditure derived from the measures amounted to tens of billions of dollars, and there was no economic benefit. There was great resistance to the implementation of the policy, which attracted criticism from many legislators.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor introduced ten livelihood measures at the beginning of the year, including reducing the age of eligible applications for a two-dollar ride concession from 65 to 60.

(Profile picture)

There is no economic benefit for social welfare?

The two-dollar car discount was originally a social welfare policy. The original intention was to give the elderly a discount to encourage them to participate in community activities and build a caring and inclusive society.

If the news that members of the guild deny ride concessions on the grounds of economic benefits is true, the thinking of the Executive Council on social welfare policies is indeed questionable.

The purpose of the social welfare policy should be to promote the quality of life of the people. Whether it can promote economic benefits is not the main consideration for the implementation of the social welfare policy.

When Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor proposed the measures in January, he had already weighed whether the government can afford the expenditure.

When the government responded to Members’ questions on the concession scheme in July, the government pointed out that from 2012 to 2019, the number of people in Hong Kong has risen from 980,000 to 1.32 million. In 2019/2020, the government has to reimburse public transport operators for the cost of vehicle and ship expenses. 1.3 billion yuan.

Based on the current population ageing trend, the government predicts that the recurrent expenditure in 2025/26 will increase to about 3 billion yuan. It also predicts that if the eligible age is lowered to 60, the estimated recurrent expenditure of the concessionary program will reach 7 billion yuan.

Whether it is the aging trend of Hong Kong's population, the affordability of government coffers, and the time required to change the method of granting concessions to the elderly, the Hong Kong government should have fully grasped it.

In fact, the treasury reserves still reach 800 billion yuan, and the finances are quite sound. For this reason, we must betray our promise and deprive people aged 60 to 64 of the ride concessions. This is not only a breach of trust, but also reflects that it does not pay enough attention to the livelihood of ordinary citizens. Thinking about fiscal austerity.

The MTR can add or subtract mechanism has been criticized from time to time.

(Profile picture / Photo by Luo Junhao)

Welfare policy abuse should be improved non-stop

On the one hand, even if the government's long-term financial capacity is limited, under the premise that it should be used, what it needs to do is to open source simultaneously.

On the other hand, the rapid increase in travel concession expenses is not only due to the ageing population of Hong Kong, but also due to loopholes in the welfare policy.

If the government wants to increase the efficiency of the use of public funds, it should start by plugging loopholes in the policy, rather than stopping the expansion of the social welfare policy.

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong admitted in replying to Members earlier that there is a gap between the number of bearer elderly Octopus and the number of people aged 65 or above.

This means that the number of beneficiaries of the two-dollar car concession for the elderly in Hong Kong can be larger than the total number of elderly people in Hong Kong. Many citizens who would otherwise not be able to enjoy the concession may be travelling to and from get off work under the two-dollar scheme.

The government should close the loopholes as soon as possible. For example, it is stipulated that the Octopus that enjoys the concession for the elderly must be a personal Octopus, so as to at least ensure that the number of citizens who can enjoy the concession does not exceed the total number of elderly people in Hong Kong.

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