and lower-middle
7
ownership for lower/incone groups the Government can make the most practical
reducing
further contribution both to housing shortage and to the aspirations of the
people concerned. I feel sure that if the Government were to call for the
assistance of the private sector in any expansion scheme it would be forthcoming.
Perhaps I should say a word about bus fares. I believe that the
fundamental areas of public anxiety at the moment are inflation, static or dropping
incomes in some sectors of manufacturing,
real fear of redundancy, and above all in the middle and lower income
brackets, pressure from rents and mortgages. Nevertheless the focus is on
bus fares. It seems to be assumed that the Government has in some way
already made up its mind. This is completely untrue. We realise the effect
that very large increases could have on family budgets. We also know that Hong
Kong people are realistic and accept that fair charges must be paid to cover
particularly if these services are to be improved.
the costs of services, But they need assurance that what they are eventually
asked to pay is based on figures that are accurate and accountancy that is fair.
So no decision will be taken before
all aspects have been submitted to the most searching scrutiny first by the
Transport Advisory Committee and secondly by the Executive Council. The
first of these stages has only just now commenced.
Before leaving the sour,
I think it reasonable to point out that we are talking about an unemployment
figure that is still comparatively low, about a decline in the growth rate of our
and about what looks like being
exports at worst a shallow and temporary recession. Though the situation has
been aggravated by the coincidence of immigration and inflation, comparisons
with the deep recession of 1974/75 are completely misplaced.
In facing this situation, which is not all that serious compared
with situations Hong Kong has overcone in the past, we should remember how
extraordinarily well the economy has performed during the last 5 years, when,
let us remember most developed economies have been in pr
of, recession most of the time.
on the adge
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