Are our seniors a burden? Are they standing in the way of the youth or dragging the rest of us down? The discussion surrounding older lawmakers bowing out of the electoral race could have us framing age in all the wrong ways.

Public healthcare expenditure, measured as a proportion of the city’s gross domestic product (GDP), has grown by almost 50 per cent over the last decade. Public funds used for healthcare account for 4.3 per cent of GDP. Deputy Secretary for Health Raymond Wu Wai-man said the ageing population was a key driver of higher public healthcare expenditure.

Seniors are costing us 4.3 times that of other residents in terms of average per capita service costs. They are using public healthcare facilities heavily too. Older residents spend more than 95 per cent of their hospital days in the public system.

Never mind that they were also the main drivers of Hong Kong’s incredible economic and development achievements in the past.