Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced on Wednesday (23rd) the Budget for the next year, distributing electronic consumer coupons totaling $10,000 in installments to all permanent residents over the age of 18 and new arrivals in Hong Kong to ease the impact of epidemic prevention measures. economic pressure and stimulate economic recovery.
The policy is expected to benefit about 6.6 million citizens. The first tranche of $5,000 will be distributed in April, and the balance will be distributed in the middle of the year.
Although the distribution of consumer coupons can be a way to stimulate the economy, some groups and citizens believe that it is better to distribute cash.
For example, at the beginning of the month (11th), the Democratic Party proposed that cash should be distributed, arguing that the distribution of electronic consumer coupons could not meet the needs of citizens in terms of anti-epidemic or livelihood.
In August last year, Chen Maobo and DAB Li Huiqiong and others went to Dacheng Street Market to inspect the use of consumer coupons.
(file picture)
Consumer vouchers are in line with grassroots spending habits
Some people pointed out that the method of electronic consumption coupons may not meet the actual needs of Hong Kong people in the fight against the epidemic. For example, some people pointed out that the shops have been closed during the epidemic, and there will be a situation where "there is no place to spend money".
It was also pointed out that some citizens were "stopping their hands and talking" and needed cash to live.
Luo Jianxi of the Democratic Party pointed out that the distribution of cash can effectively help the citizens to tide over the difficulties, and at the same time help to stabilize the public's mood.
However, consumer coupons are tentatively scheduled to be distributed in April. The ideal situation is that the epidemic will be initially controlled by then, and the market can resume certain activities, so there will not be a situation of "money but no place to spend".
If the epidemic is still severe until April, even if cash is distributed, citizens may not have a place to spend.
Moreover, consumer vouchers also have a significant effect on the grassroots, and may not be able to help some citizens tide over the difficulties.
According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Business Studies of Lingnan University, more than 70% of the respondents will use coupons for daily necessities and food.
Octopus Sales and Marketing Director Li Yuer also revealed that consumer coupons are mostly used in the catering industry.
Even if the grassroots do not go out to eat and drink, consumption coupons can also be used to buy food in supermarkets and other places.
According to statistics from the Census and Statistics Department, the average household expenditure on food in Hong Kong is 26.8%, which is second only to the expenditure on accommodation (and the largest expenditure for PRH households).
From this, it can be seen that most of the consumer vouchers ultimately fall into the most basic living needs of the citizens, which are in line with the spending habits of the grassroots.
Chen Maobo read out the "Financial Budget", and will distribute 10,000 yuan of electronic consumer coupons to all citizens of Manchuria.
(Photo by Zheng Zifeng)
Some loopholes can be filled
Of course, consumer coupons are not without loopholes.
For example, the grassroots may not be able to pay rent with electronic consumption coupons, or some people may replace the daily food expenses with electronic consumption coupons. In fact, it does not increase daily expenses and may not necessarily stimulate consumption.
But the effects of these problems are not fatal.
For some people who are unemployed and have difficulty paying rent, the government has announced the distribution of unemployment benefits to alleviate the problem.
And last year's data shows that consumer coupons do have the effect of boosting consumption. For example, after two issues of consumer coupons were distributed in August and October last year, the total retail sales in the two months increased by 11.9% and 12.1% year-on-year respectively, significantly higher than other months.
In contrast, after the distribution of cash of 10,000 in July 2020, the total retail sales for the month still fell by 23.1% year-on-year, which was similar to the June before the distribution.
Furthermore, with the experience of distributing electronic message coupons last year, this year's distribution and application operations can save a lot of technical procedures, so as not to cause too much confusion.
Compared with consumer vouchers, there are many problems with direct cash distribution. For example, it is easier for recipients to not use them directly, save them or transfer them to the financial market, or some people who have moved abroad can still receive them.
In fact, the example of consumer coupons also reflects that a measure or policy cannot be perfect, but it can be supplemented by other policies.
We do not need to expect that every measure can solve all problems overnight. As long as the measures themselves can play a certain role and are cost-effective, they should be adopted, and then we should consider how to make up for their shortcomings with other measures.
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