Democrats slam budget as “awash with cash” yet blind to grassroots poverty

Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho criticised the Financial Secretary’s 2011/12 Budget: despite a huge surplus, it merely tinkered at the edges with no resolve to tackle grassroots poverty. Party spokespersons went through the list — housing, welfare, women, education, transport — and found almost nothing up to standard.

What did the budget miss for the grassroots?

The party says the budget only raised child and dependent-parent allowances, with no long-term investment in healthcare or education and no answer on housing. Housing spokesperson Lee Wing-tat called the housing policy “a complete failure”, questioning whether next year’s estimated 30,000–40,000 new flats would really materialise.

Why attack the $6,000 MPF injection?

Welfare spokesperson Wong Sing-chi argued the government’s $24 billion plan to inject $6,000 into every MPF account does nothing for the “three-nothings” — no public housing, no CSSA, no MPF — and other vulnerable groups. Women’s affairs spokesperson Emily Lau added that many housewives have no MPF account at all, so the injection passes them by.

What did the Democrats propose instead?

The party proposed a dual-track transport subsidy — individual or household application — costing an estimated under $1 billion yet reaching far more people. On education it demanded subsidised kindergarten and 15-year free education: schooling is key to fighting poverty and boosting mobility, and without funding, parents cannot cope with children’s education costs.

For background on how MPF accounts work, visit the MPF education hub.