At the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee, how to reduce income inequality will be a key issue.
When he became China's top leader, Xi Jinping made helping all Chinese people to achieve modest prosperity and the rejuvenation of the nation the goals for his time at the helm. But reducing the huge income gap is a daunting task, as in recent years there has been no noticeable progress in reducing China's high Gini coefficient of 0.474, which indicates a high degree of inequality, and it is at a level above that in many long-established capitalist economies, where successful risk-taking earns rewards. In the developed countries some highly successful, risk-taking entrepreneurs, such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson, command respect for their wealth rather than jealousy, and they are seen as role models inspiring others.
However, the wealth of these entrepreneurs has been acquired through their own efforts and they have often made innovative contributions to people's lives. They also give back through charitable work and present a lifestyle that is not too ostentatious and still seems in touch with ordinary folks. And, they all fly the flag for their country.
Whether justified or not, in China, people's perceptions of rich Chinese is different. There is a suspicion that they have become wealthy through their connections and/or corruption, and that a major goal of many of them is not to help China but to squirrel funds abroad and then emigrate. There is the general perception that rich Chinese are a tuhao, a group that displays uncivilized splendor. The fact that the nouveau riche ostentatiously flaunt their wealth and show a lack of sensitivity to the struggles of everyday folks does not endear them to others, nor, that in general, the rich of China seem unwilling to help others by supporting charities.
This perception is not a good one, as it raises concerns there might be a backlash against the rich if ordinary people do not see fairer policies, including income redistribution, in favor of those in need, and a greater contribution to society from the wealthy.
Global happiness surveys have found that the people living in countries with re-distributive tax systems and the support of social security systems are usually the most contented. In these countries, high-income earners accept relatively high taxation in return for a comprehensive "social wage" of quality healthcare, education and pensions, and the benefits of a stable society guaranteed by a safety net for the less advantaged.
It is a truism that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" and we see this at the pre-tax level in most advanced economies. Even during an economic downturn, the inequality gap usually widens. It is recognized that it is less painful to increase taxes on the higher paid in times of strong economic growth, when resources can more readily redistributed and more be spent on basic provision of social welfare, than it is during an economic slump.
Although the growth of China's economy has slowed, there is every reason to believe that China can maintain a robust increase in its GDP of more than 7 percent a year over the next decade. China needs to take that opportunity to enter a new period of reform in which the taxation and social welfare policies more usually associated with a socialist society are implemented to counter the growth in inequality that the development of a capitalistic market development inevitably produces. The longer this policy is postponed, the harder it will be to implement. The Party plenary is a good time to plan for the long march toward a fairer society.
The author is an economist and director of China Programs at CAPA International Education, an UK-US based organization that cooperates with Capital Normal University and Shanghai International Studies University.
By Colin Speakman (China Daily)
當(dāng)前召開的中共十八屆三中全會上，采取措施縮小貧富差距是工作的重中之重。
習(xí)近平主席成為中國最高領(lǐng)導(dǎo)時(shí)就把全面建成小康社會和實(shí)現(xiàn)民族復(fù)興作為執(zhí)政目標(biāo)。然而要縮小如此巨大的貧富差距是很大挑戰(zhàn)。中國基尼指數(shù)仍在0.474且居高不下，顯示出收入分配的極度不平衡。許多歷史悠久的資本主義經(jīng)濟(jì)體，成功的冒險(xiǎn)受到肯定。發(fā)達(dá)國家一些像比爾·蓋茨、史蒂夫·喬布斯和理查德·布蘭森等這類成功的、敢于冒險(xiǎn)的創(chuàng)業(yè)者都使人敬仰而非嫉妒，他們被看做激勵他人的典范。
然而，這些企業(yè)家是通過自己的努力獲得財(cái)富，他們通過自己的創(chuàng)造為人類生活做了貢獻(xiàn)。還通過慈善活動回饋他人，保持著普通人的低調(diào)生活從不賣弄招搖。而且，他們非常維護(hù)國家利益。
不知這樣說是否有失公允，在中國，大家對有錢人的認(rèn)識并非如此。大家懷疑他們致富要么是通過關(guān)系，要么是通過貪污腐敗，而他們賺錢不是為了幫助中國而是囤積財(cái)富然后移居國外。現(xiàn)在大家普遍把有錢人稱做“土豪”，意思是光鮮亮麗而沒修養(yǎng)的群體。事實(shí)上，很多暴發(fā)戶招搖炫富，對仍為生計(jì)奔走的大眾沒有同情心，與他們保持距離，而總體上中國的有錢人也不愿通過支持慈善幫助他人。
這種意識是不健康的，因?yàn)槿绻胀ㄈ丝床坏桨ㄊ杖朐俜峙�、兼顧低收入群體和先富帶后富等公平的政策，將會有導(dǎo)致激烈社會沖突的危險(xiǎn)。
全球幸福指數(shù)調(diào)查研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在那些通過稅收重分配社會財(cái)富和由健全社會保障系統(tǒng)的國家，人們通常生活最幸福。在這些國家，高收入群體愿接受相對較高的稅收，通過為不那么優(yōu)越的群體提供醫(yī)療、教育、養(yǎng)老和穩(wěn)定社會的其他福利來回報(bào)社會。
眾所周知的是“富裕的容易越來越富有，貧窮的會越來越窮”。在通過稅收調(diào)節(jié)以前，大多數(shù)發(fā)達(dá)經(jīng)濟(jì)體都是如此。甚至在經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退時(shí)期，收入差距有擴(kuò)大的趨勢。事實(shí)也證明，在經(jīng)濟(jì)強(qiáng)盛、資源更好重新分配、社會福利基本儲備充足時(shí)期提高稅收要比經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退時(shí)容易的多。
盡管中國經(jīng)濟(jì)增長有放慢的趨勢，我們?nèi)杂欣碛上嘈旁诮酉聛淼氖�，中國能夠保持國�?nèi)生產(chǎn)總值每年超過7%的強(qiáng)勁增長。中國必須抓住這個(gè)機(jī)會進(jìn)入改革的新時(shí)期。制定稅收和社會福利政策要充分考慮社會主義社會的實(shí)現(xiàn)，避免資本主義市場發(fā)展中不可避免的不平等增長。這個(gè)政策出臺推遲時(shí)間越長，就越難實(shí)現(xiàn)。十八屆三中全會是規(guī)劃實(shí)現(xiàn)社會公平之萬里長征的契機(jī)。
(作者是經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家，與首都師范大學(xué)和上海外國語大學(xué)[微博]有合作的英美機(jī)構(gòu)——卡帕國際教育的中國部項(xiàng)目主任Colin Speakman)
