>I disagree it is the governments job to give people a place to live. From the sounds of it, Hong Kong already does a lot of this. At some point, people need to take care of themselves.

The government IS the people. It's not some alien body as some people (mostly in the US) seem to think.

The government is the people voting to elect some representatives, so they can get some things done for them ("the country") that need massive co-ordination and central planning.

Of course it can go astray (politicians taking advantage of their power for their own benefit and such), but it's not like there such thing as "perfection" anywhere in life, be it private or public.