Are Hong Kong taxpayers getting value for money？

  

(頭條日報報導 P.38 15 Nov 2012) Did you know Hong Kong's government officials are the second-highest-paid in the world？ Only officials in Singapore are paid more. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is paid more than US president Barack Obama. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor earns more than US vice president Joe Biden. Security Secretary Lai Tung-kwok has a higher pay than FBI director Robert Mueller. 

But are Hong Kong taxpayers getting value for money？ Of course not. Singapore has the world's highest-paid government officials but the air is clean, people live in nice and spacious (寬敞的) （large） homes, there are no subdivided flats (劏房), and income disparity (貧富懸殊) is not as shameful (丟臉的) as in Hong Kong. Singaporeans are getting value for money.

In Hong Kong the air sucks, home prices are so unaffordable that many people live in slum flats(貧民窟般的單位), and income disparity is the worst in the developed world. Hong Kong people are not getting value for money. The expression value for money means getting good value for the money you spend. For example, it is value for money if you can buy a spacious and new Mid-Levels flat for only $4 million. It is not value for money if officials get very high pay but fail to do their jobs properly. The word disparity means inequality or a great difference. Income disparity means a great difference and inequality(不均等) in income or pay.

The word suck has several meanings but when used as slang it means lousy, useless, or terrible. If the watch you bought doesn't work you can say:"My new watch sucks." If the food in a restaurant is lousy you can say: "The food sucks." When I say Hong Kong's air sucks it means we have terrible air quality. A slum （noun） is a poor and overcrowded district, usually in the city. A slum flat is a dirty and run-down （in terrible condition） flat in a slum area. I think we should cut the pay of our senior officials, take away their government cars and housing allowances and force them to live in slum flats.

* * *你知不知道，香港官員的薪金是全球第二高的？唯獨新加坡的官員薪金更高。特首梁振英比美國總統奧巴馬更高薪；政務司司長林鄭月娥的收入高於美國副總統拜登；保安局局長黎棟國的薪金也高於聯邦調查局局長羅伯特。可是，香港納稅人是否取回物有所值（value for money）的回報？當然沒有。新加坡官員的薪酬全球最高，但那兒的空氣清新，人們住在雅致又寬敞（spacious）的家，那兒沒有房，貧富懸殊（income disparity）也沒有香港的來得如此丟臉。新加坡人納稅就真的物有所值（value for money）了。

　　在香港，空氣糟透了（sucks），樓價高得教人負擔不起，許多人只能住在貧民窟（slum）般的單位，貧富懸殊（income disparity）的情況則是全球已發展的地區中最惡劣的。香港人納稅就不太物有所值（value for money）。習語value for money就是物有所值。例如，假若你只花了四百萬，就買得位處半山又寬敞的新樓，那就真是物有所值（value for money）了。但要是官員領取高薪厚祿，卻沒有好好履行職務，那就不是物有所值（value for money）。Disparity解作不等或很大的差異。Income disparity則是收入不等或有很大的差距。

　　Suck這個字有幾個意思，但用作俚語時則解作討厭、無用或極差的。如果你買了一隻手錶但壞了，你可以說：「我的新錶糟透了（sucks）。」要是某間餐廳的食物難吃極了，你可以說：「食物很爛（sucks）。」當我說Hong Kong's air sucks即是說我們的空氣質素很惡劣。名詞slum解作擠逼又貧困的地區，通常處於城市中。A slum flat就是在貧民窟（slum）中骯髒而破落（run-down）的單位。我認為我們應該削減高官的薪酬，取去他們的官用房車和房屋津貼，強迫他們住進貧民（slum）單位才對。

中譯:七刻

Michael Chugani 褚簡寧