A lot of controversies has arisen after the Hong Kong government recently announced giving every permanent resident of Hong Kong (18 and above) a rebate of 6000 dollars. One of the most contentious issues is whether those who have yet to obtain permanent resident status should receive a rebate. Those who are against giving the rebate to newly-arrived residents often state that the new arrivals "should not receive anything as they have yet to make any contribution to society". This statement got me into thinking how much have I received from society and how much I have given back thus far.
While my family has never received welfare, but as I counted the services that I have received and what I have given, I realized how much I owe to society. (Yes, I do realize that it is a bit too early to determine whether I haven taken more from society than I have given.)
I spent my first few days in this world in a public hospital and most of the hospital costs were subsidized by the government. Most of my education took place at a public school and my family (and I) didn't have to pay tuition until I reached university, even then the costs were heavily subsidized. After graduation, I spent most of my work life so far at a publicly-run university and my salary, at least in part, comes from the public treasury. I have also worked on a project commissioned by the government, with the equipment and funds coming from, of course, the government. I am sure the amount of money (my family and) I spend to receive service from the government (application for identity documents and provision of data collected by the government, to name just two) is smaller than the costs borne by the government.
While I have contributed to the government treasury by paying direct (income tax) and indirect taxes (import tax, sales tax), the amount of money I contribute to the government is still dwarfed by the amount of money I received from it.
I have also received a lot guidance, advice, and assistance from many individuals, friends and strangers alike. While most of them did not ask for anything in return, I often feel I owe them something (whether it is out of appreciation or guilt, I am not sure). On the flip side, I don't think I should judge whether the help I have given to others is actually helpful to those who receive it. So on this section of the ledger I probably have also received more than what I have given.
The debt that is the most difficult to repay is probably the one I owe my family. If the (emotional) support and advice I received from my family can be quantified, I would probably be so heavily in debt that everything I do from now on would go towards paying that debt off.
Adding these up shows that I have a huge debt to society and those around me. However, this is one debt that cannot be defaulted and one cannot declare bankruptcy. I am not sure if I can pay off this debt, but I will try anyways. (Good thing most of these debts are interest free, otherwise they would be much harder to pay off.)