Why Hong Kong’s austere budget is hard for the public to swallow
Hong Kong's latest budget is notable for its austerity measures, a stark contrast to the city's past financial abundance. The city once boasted substantial reserves, leading to past budget debates focusing on accusations of financial secretaries being overly frugal and not adequately distributing the surplus wealth to the public.
In the past, Hong Kong's budget surpluses were frequently underestimated, becoming a recurring joke. For instance, in 2010, a deficit of HK$25.2 billion was projected, but the year concluded with a HK$75.1 billion surplus. While current Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also underestimated the latest deficit, it was by a smaller margin compared to previous instances, with an actual deficit of HK$87.2 billion against a predicted HK$48.1 billion.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Hong Kong's latest budget is notable for its austerity measures, a stark contrast to the city's past financial abundance. The city once boasted substantial reserves, leading to past budget debates focusing on accusations of financial secretaries being overly frugal and not adequately distributing the surplus wealth to the public.
In the past, Hong Kong's budget surpluses were frequently underestimated, becoming a recurring joke. For instance, in 2010, a deficit of HK$25.2 billion was projected, but the year concluded with a HK$75.1 billion surplus. While current Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also underestimated the latest deficit, it was by a smaller margin compared to previous instances, with an actual deficit of HK$87.2 billion against a predicted HK$48.1 billion.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
