The Viagra effect of the HK$10,000 handout

Money can’t buy you love – not even popularity – it seems.
And so Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has yielded to popular demand by unveiling a HK$10,000 cash handout for all adult Hong Kong permanent residents in his budget speech.
You would think Hongkongers would be jumping for joy and praising Chan to high heavens for his generous offer. After all, who wouldn't want to have such extra moolah in these extremely trying times?
Indeed, almost everyone got excited when it was announced last week, but the pleasant feeling it generated soon dissipated as people started considering what real impact it would have on their lives.
As it turned out, the emotions it bred were as volatile as the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the past week. The elation it brought lasted only as long as the effect of Viagra on feeble but yearning men.
According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, Chan's budget speech got a net satisfaction rate of 19 percent on Feb. 26, when it was unveiled. But in the next two days, after media and commentators discussed the budget, that plunged to negative 22 percent, or down by 41 percentage points.
As such, the budget's satisfaction rate was 54.1 on the day it was annnounced, but soon sank 13.9 points to 40.2. This represents an all-time low since records began in 2008.
That's certainly not very good news for Chan, who is being bruited about as a potential successor to the throne now uneasily occupied by the embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
For one thing, the budget, partly as a result of which the government will incur a record deficit, won't drive away the raging coronavirus outbreak, nor will it ease the people's dissatisfaction with the Lam administration after months of social unrest.
Hongkongers have never really been satisfied with cash handouts, especially when they realize that it's their money that the government is dishing out.
And so while the disbursement is aimed at boosting local consumption and easing people’s financial burdens, most of the recipients are probably going to keep the money in the bank because no one really knows when this Covid-19 epidemic will be contained, or in the case of those who have had their salary slashed or have lost their job, use it to make ends meet.
It's highly unlikely that people are thinking of spending the amount on a smartphone upgrade.
Besides, we won't get our hands on the cash until summer – July at the earliest.
The government is also handing out the amount to permanent residents who are currently living abroad, and is thinking of also granting it to non-permanent residents in need of financial assistance.
Meanwhile, many are grumbling about the nearly 25 percent increase in the budget of the police force, a clear manifestation of the government's gratitude for its role in battling against dissenters during the months of unrest.
The additional money, as a matter of fact, will be used to recruit more men and buy special equipment to deal with the protesters.
As for the young people who have hounded the Lam administration, no candies for them. What did they expect?
– Contact us at [email protected]
CG
-
Hang Seng Index back to where it was in 1997 Ben Kwok
The hits just keep on coming for the Hong Kong stock market. At yesterday's closing, Hang Seng Index fell close to two per cent to the year-low of 16,327, below the peak in 1997. Not only Hong Kong
-
What our youth need today Brian YS Wong
The headlines say it all. The suicide rate amongst 15-24 year olds in Hong Kong rose to a record high of 12.2 deaths per 100,000 people, as compared with just over a half of this number 8 years ago.
-
Reducing water pipes leakage requires departmental collaboration Dr. Winnie Tang
Water leakage in the public water networks is a perennial problem. Mainland media reported in 2021 that the leakage rate of water pipes in some cities and towns reached 30%, and the public water
-
Sanctimonious sanctions Neville Sarony
With clockwork inevitability, the proposal by a number of US lawmakers to introduce the Hong Kong Sanctions Act provoked a locust swarm of vitriolic protests. The idea of sanctioning 49 Hong Kong
-
Opportunities brought by the ageing population Dr. Winnie Tang
According to the government projection, the average life expectancy of men and women in Hong Kong in 2022 was 81.3 and 87.2 years respectively, the highest in the world. A paper published in The