THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6, 1994
GOVERNOR: EVERYBODY ONLY
I
16
THINK IT'S ONLY FAIR TO THE REST OF THE AUDIENCE IF ASKS ONE QUESTION, BUT JUST SINCE YOU ARE THE FIRST QUESTIONER, WE WILL GIVE YOU TWO QUESTIONS BUT AFTER THAT IT'S QUESTION EACH. THAT'S THE DEAL, ALRIGHT? OTHERWISE NOBODY ELSE WILL BE ABLE TO ASK ANY. SO YOU CAN ASK ONE MORE AND THEN I WILL ANSWER BOTH YOUR QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONER:
OKAY, SO ONE MORE QUESTION FOR ME.
GOVERNOR:
MAKE IT AN EASY ONE.
QUESTIONER:
YOU WANT ONE EASY ONE?
GOVERNOR:
QUESTIONER:
WHAT'S THE CAPITAL OF BOLIVIA! I KNOW THAT!
YOU
THAT
THIS WILL BE AN EASY QUESTION FOR YOU. YOU HAVE TWO DOGS, RIGHT? HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU SPEND ON ONE DOG? WE HAVE PEOPLE ON PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, CHILDREN ON PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, AND HOW MUCH DO THEY GET PER MONTH? GOVERNOR:
THAT'S YOUR TWO QUESTIONS. I THINK THAT YOUR TWO QUESTIONS ARE RELATED. THE QUESTION OF LOOKING AFTER CHILDREN IF ARE A SINGLE PARENT AND THE QUESTION OF THE LEVEL OF CSSA RATES, IS THE AMOUNT OF BENEFIT THAT WE GIVE ΤΟ THE NEEDY AND THE DISADVANTAGED IN THE COMMUNITY. WE DO RECOGNISE THAT THERE ARE PARTICULAR PROBLEMS FACED BY SINGLE PARENTS AND PARTICULAR PROBLEMS FACED BY CHILDREN WHO ARE NEEDY. WHO FOR NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN ARE SHORT OF MONEY. THAT'S WHY IN THIS SPEECH WE ANNOUNCED, FIRST OF ALL, THAT WE ARE PROPOSING TO GIVE A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO SINGLE PARENTS IN ORDER TO HELP THEM COPE WITH THE DEMANDS ON THEM.
ΤΟ THE
AND
HAS
SECONDLY, WE'VE INCREASED THE ALLOWANCE FOR CHILDREN SAME LEVEL AS THAT FOR THE ELDERLY. WE'VE INCREASED IT BY $205 A MONTH SO THAT I HOPE THAT WILL BE OF SOME ASSISTANCE TO FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN PARTICULARLY SINGLE PARENT FAMILIES. I DON'T HONESTLY THINK THAT MY DOGS ARE QUITE AS RELEVANT AS YOU MIGHT RAVE THOUGHT BECAUSE THEY ARE EXTREMELY SMALL DOGS AND THEREFORE DON'T COST TOO MUCH TO FEED. BUT THERE IS A SERIOUS POINT BEHIND YOUR QUESTION IT'S THIS. HOW DO WE, IN A COMMUNITY AS AFFLUENT AS HONG KONG BECOME, MAKE SURE THAT WE LOOK AFTER THE NEEDY WITHOUT RUNNING INTO THE SAME SORT OF PROBLEMS OF EXCESSIVE WELFARE SPENDING WHICH HAVE CRIPPLED ECONOMIES IN OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. AND THAT'S, I THINK, GOING TO BE THE FOCUS FOR CONSIDERABLE DEBATE HERE FOR MANY YEARS ΤΟ COME. THE GOVERNMENT EARLIER THIS YEAR PROPOSED THAT AFTER THIRTY YEARS OF DEBATE WE SHOULD INTRODUCE IN HONG KONG AN OLD AGE PENSION. THAT OLD AGE PENSION INVOLVES A VERY SMALL TRANSFER OF WEALTH. A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY THAT'S TOO MUCH FOR HONG KONG, EVEN THOUGH IN HONG KONG ONLY 2% OF THOSE WHO ARE IN WORK ARE PAYING A TOP RATE OF SALARIES TAX OF 15%. WE ARE A VERY LIGHTLY TAXED ECONOMY AND I WOULD LIKE US TO STAY THAT WAY. BUT I DIDN'T MYSELF THINK THAT THE INTRODUCTION OF AN OLD AGE PENSION SCHEME AND THE VERY MARGINAL TRANSFER OF WEALTH THAT THAT INVOLVED WAS TOO MUCH FOR AN ECONOMY LIKE OURS. SO I BELIEVE THAT WE DO HAVE TO BE AS GENEROUS AS POSSIBLE TO THOSE IN NEED WITHOUT ALLOWING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE TO RUN AHEAD OF WHAT THE ECONOMY CAN BEAR AND I HOPE THAT NOBODY WILL REGARD THAT AS BEING THE SORT OF WELFARISM TO BORROW A PHRASE
ECONOMIES WHICH HAS GOT OTHER
―
-
INTO
TROUBLE.
/QUESTION: