The financial crisis that is threatening to bankrupt Greece is not going to happen in Hong Kong. That is because our government is practically debt-free.

To remain so, the Hong Kong government must continue to observe the fiscal discipline that prevents it from taking the initiative in addressing issues that are seen to be at the root of rising social discontent. Primary among those is the perceived widening of the wealth gap between the rich minority and the rest of the public.

Unsurprisingly, nearly every commentator and political activist has laid the blame on the government for this and other social ills. It's unsurprising because I learned from years of experience in writing commentaries for this and, in earlier times, some other publications that the easiest column to write is to pick a popular issue and launch an attack on the government for failing to address it.

This is particularly easy in Hong Kong because the government is highly tolerant of, and some would say, insensitive to, criticisms. Most commentators know there is little risk, and even less glory, in whacking the government. But, of course, there are always readers who, for one reason or another, love to read anything that is deemed to have brought the authorities to task.

In this case, they really should take heed of an old adage: be careful what you wish for.

For a government to get seriously involved in the redistribution of wealth, it would need to raise money by increasing taxes and issuing bonds and other debt instruments. None of these options are available to the Hong Kong government.

An earlier proposal to introduce an indirect tax similar to a sales tax in other countries was shelved in face of stiff opposition from the business sector. The passage of even something as basic as a minimum wage bill was a process mired in controversies and recriminations.

The Hong Kong government has become increasingly dependent on the proceeds from land sales to finance its enlarging expenditure to help meet the needs of an ever more demanding public. The original fiscal idea, first adopted in the mid-1970s, was limited to the financing of capital expenditure on infrastructure projects. This self-imposed discipline has since been quietly dropped and an increasingly large share of recurrent expenditure on education, health-care and other social services is now funded by land sale income.

This fiscal policy has been largely blamed for driving up property prices and, in the process, enriched the largest few property developers who dominate government land auctions. But the role they play in facilitating the working of a major component in the government fiscal policy cannot be easily replaced. Any idea to establish government-owned property companies to develop apartments for sale to the public at market prices would seem preposterous.

Some economists have said that increasing the supply of government-subsidized housing is a way to address the wealth gap issue. About half of Hong Kong people are already living in subsidized rental flats built by the government, which has also proposed a new scheme to provide "affordable" housing to potential buyers within a specified income bracket.

Having read so much about what's happening in Greece, should we continue to press our government for more? It should be borne in mind that we need to maintain sizable fiscal reserves to cover unexpected shortfalls in revenue. With the Greek debt crisis looming large, it makes sense to perhaps postpone our wants.

The author is a staff writer.

(HK Edition 06/28/2011 page3)