Transport support scheme

【明報專訊】AS the major parties are opposed to the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme, the government has decided to optimise it. It will make concessions. For example, it has vigorously considered raising the two-member family income limit to between $11,600 and $12,000 so that it will be in line with the statutory minimum wage rate. Furthermore, it will put in place a two-tier rule of work hours so that a person may receive a half of the subsidy if he works 36 hours a month.
More than a half of the legislators are opposed to the scheme the government has proposed. Unless it makes concessions, the Legislative Council (Legco) Finance Committee will certainly throw it out tomorrow. The government having offered concessions, we believe its amended scheme will go through. If the Legco Finance Committee grants the appropriation, about 380,000 eligible citizens will receive transport subsidies later this year.
Until dusk yesterday, the government stood firm, saying the proposed scheme was final and there was no way it could make any concession. It may have thought that, if the Finance Committee threw out its application for funding, the scheme would not be implemented in the foreseeable future, citizens, who would then lose out, would blame legislators, and they would come under political pressure. If it did so, it would be gravely mistaken. In fact, if legislators threw the scheme out, citizens would blame that on the government's stinginess and reluctance to benefit more citizens by offering concessions. It would then come under greater political pressure than legislators.
Only if the government threatened it would withdraw the scheme and that would be the end of the matter if the Finance Committee rejected its application for funding would legislators be considered guilty of depriving citizens of the benefit. Would the government be so bold as to do so? Given the political reality and atmosphere in Hong Kong, it would not have dared to contemplate doing so were it as courageous as a leopard. If it had refused to budge, the Finance Committee would reject its application for funding, and citizens and legislators would day after day demand that it come up with a new scheme. In that event, it would certainly come under the greatest ever pressure. Furthermore, its new scheme would not be supported by the majority of legislators unless it was better than that it had produced. In other words, only if it offered concessions would the dust settle. It had to give in sooner or later. It acted realistically when it told some legislators at dusk yesterday it was prepared to budge.
However, the government is adamant that individuals should not be allowed to apply for transport support. It says that, as all benefits are given to households, transport support must not be made an exception lest its policies should seem inconsistent. This argument makes sense. In fact, if individuals are allowed to apply for transport support, it may be difficult to ascertain whether applicants really need the benefit. There would be risk of the scheme being abused. The suggestion that individuals should be eligible for the benefit may be set aside until there is a simple, practicable mechanism for approving applications.
The amended scheme is fair, reasonable and worthy of support. We hope the good scheme will soon be implemented so that citizens who need the support will soon receive it.
明報社評 2011.02.17﹕交津計劃決優化 讓步方案可接受
關於「鼓勵就業交通津貼計劃」（以下簡稱交津），政府在主要政黨聯手反對下，決定優化原初提出的方案，作出讓步，包括積極考慮調高二人家庭入息上限至1.16萬到1.2萬元，與最低工資掛鈎，並設立工時兩級制，每月只需工作36小時已可領一半交通津貼。
政府原初提出的方案，超過半數的立法會議員反對；除非政府讓步，否則只會在明天的財務委員會遭到否決，現在政府讓步，修訂方案應可過關。財委會若能順利通過撥款，約38萬名符合資格的市民今年稍後便可以領取交津。
昨 日黃昏之前，政府一直「企硬」，聲言已提出最後方案，並無讓步空間；政府原初擺出不惜以零和對決的姿態，迫使議員批准撥款。政府或許盤算，財委會不批准撥 款，使計劃落實無期，市民在未能盡快得益下會怪責議員，議員要承受政治壓力。若政府這樣假設，就想錯了。從市民角度來看，議員不惜否決方案，多會認為政府 吝嗇，不肯讓步使更多市民受惠，兩相比較，政府所承受政治壓力，會較議員為大。
關於交津計劃，除非政府聲言若財委會不批准撥款，整個計劃就 會撤銷，整件事就完結，則議員才會面臨阻礙市民享有福利的「罪名」，但是政府敢這樣做嗎？以本港的政治現實和氛圍，就算政府吃了豹子膽，相信也不敢作如是 想。另外，若政府不讓步，財委會否決方案之後，政府面對的是市民和議員每日都催迫「拿出新方案來！」，壓力肯定空前龐大。再其次，若政府再提出方案，一定 要較現有方案更放寬，才可以爭取多數議員支持，也就是說，政府必須讓步，事件才會解決，與其遲早都要讓步，政府昨日傍晚約晤部分議員商議，表明願意讓步， 是實事求是的做法。
政府拒絕接受雙軌制，主要是申領其他福利都以家庭為單位，交津不能另搞一套，以保持政策精神的一致性，政府這個堅持，有 一定依據和道理；事實上，雙軌制在辨識有需要人士存在一定困難，可能使不少沒有逼切需要的人得到資助，被濫用風險較大，故在未有一套較簡單可行的審查做法 之前，雙軌制可以擱置不議。至於其他兩項，政府都讓步了。
經過修訂的方案比較公平合理，值得支持，我們希望這一件好事盡早落實，使有需要的市民盡早得益。
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