国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

No easy fix for poverty

Updated: 2015-09-30 09:48

By Staff Writer(HK Edition)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small

The recent fall in tourist arrivals is a warning sign of looming unemployment, because the consumer service sector is a major source of low-paid jobs in Hong Kong. There is no denying that the city has become overly reliant on this labor-intensive industry in recent years and the need to step up economic restructuring has never been more urgent than today. However, there is no telling when or even whether economic restructuring will produce tangible results in terms of job creation. More immediate measures are needed to prevent a sudden rise of unemployment rates in the near future.

Hong Kong is a capitalist free-market economy. Its very nature has long determined that businesses must have the freedom to make decisions that ensure profitability, albeit legally, or they will not be able to survive fierce competition in the market and provide jobs for society. People may resent the "law of the jungle" or "survival of the fittest", but that is exactly what businesses have to deal with on a daily basis in order to stay alive, if not thrive. And that is why the governments from all capitalist societies face the same challenges posed by widening income gaps and the working poor.

The SAR government has been trying hard to help low-income families get back on their feet economically, apart from offering financial assistance out of the welfare budget, in the past 18 years. The results may be debatable among people of different backgrounds, but no one can deny the fact that public policies can do only so much in capitalist societies everywhere.

Take the minimum wage for example: It always takes a great deal of negotiation to convince employers a slight increase of the minimum wage will not break their bank accounts - or their financial bottom lines for that matter. The government cannot simply force employers to agree on a minimum wage raise whenever pressure groups demand it, because such a move will almost surely be counterproductive.

Poverty alleviation is an extremely complex project of socio-economic system engineering and it may take multiple generations - if not forever - to find a reasonably effective solution. It no doubt requires determination and dedication on the government's part. But society also needs to "chip in" with compassion, understanding and perseverance, as well as collective thinking. There is no easy fix for poverty. But Hong Kong people can prove they have what it takes to perform another economic "miracle" if they set their minds to it. An "appropriately proactive" government will definitely help.

(HK Edition 09/30/2015 page10)

新闻| 普洱| 乃东县| 福贡县| 宣汉县| 泰安市| 慈溪市| 循化| 揭西县| 兴城市| 肇源县| 铜川市| 蓝山县| 岳普湖县| 贺州市| 井陉县| 威信县| 溧水县| 新津县| 伊春市| 宁陵县| 榆社县| 济宁市| 葵青区| 濮阳县| 扶风县| 长海县| 湘乡市| 申扎县| 原平市| 绥滨县| 宁远县| 蒲江县| 咸阳市| 三都| 晋中市| 五大连池市| 凤城市| 濮阳市| 营山县| 班玛县|