Blog 45: Samaritan’s Dilemma by Xavier Lo, FIA, FRM, MBA

Everyone’s probably heard of the Good Samaritan [撒瑪利亞人]. However, think about the person on the receiving end. If that person keeps on getting help and knows that help will always come, what behaviour does this promote? This is exactly what today’s blog will be about: the Samaritan’s Dilemma [撒瑪利亞人的兩難].

Think about some of your friends (or even yourself!). Have you seen people who spend money in such a way that it is way over their own budgets [超預算]? Then when it comes to repaying credit card loans, they always ask for their parents to help them out (also known as the Bank of Mom and Dad[借屋企錢]). In these situations, will these people ever learn how to manage their own money? A better question is: will these people even need to learn how to manage their money if they always get aid when they need it? The Samaritan’s Dilemma is one where a charitable act [善心行為] helps people who are truly in need, but at the same time, may promote people to become reliant [依賴] on that charity and become lazy.

Of course, I’m not saying that everyone should stop giving help. However, it is important to have a good balance between giving aid to help someone improve their situation, and not giving so much that the person overly relies on the aid. A good example is government support [政府資助]. Yes, there are some people who need the government’s help to get shelter, to eat, and to survive. However, there are many who take advantage [濫用] of this system and use it as a way to live without working. If we apply this to our work environment, think of a time when you thought you’d be a nice person and help out a colleague with a piece of work because he was struggling at that moment. Did you end up being the one doing the same piece of work even a year later? That’s the Samaritan’s Dilemma.

There’s a downside to everything, even with helping people. Of course, you can be the nicest guy in the room, but don’t be the stupidest!

About the Author

Xavier Lo, FIA, FRM, MBA

Qualified fellow actuary (in UK and Hong Kong), Financial Risk Manager, and MBA graduate (listed on the Dean's List) with a passion for insurance, data science, and analytics. Experienced in a broad range of insurance roles (pricing, capital modelling, reserving, ERM), along with a touch of knowledge in banking. Member of the General Insurance Committee (2021), Actuarial Innovation Committee (2019 - 2021) in ASHK.

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