When you are still anxious about the mortgage and car loan, and you are counting the accounts with your fingers every day, an expert is shouting to you in the "cloud": young people, go and consume! What kind of magical reality is this? The wallet has been "deflated" into a "dry corpse", what else do you spend? Did these words you off too?
Recently, at the 2024 Summer Davos Forum, Zhu Min, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, threw a "bombshell", saying that the current birth rate is low, the older generation has no place to spend money, and the group of people aged 22 to 60 must work hard to consume. The words were like thunder on the ground, which directly detonated all kinds of complaints among young netizens.
"I also want to spend, but my wallet doesn't agree!" Wails like these can be seen everywhere.
Yes, in this era of high inflation and unattainable housing prices, the vast majority of ordinary young people not only have to face housing and car loans, but also have to deal with heavy burdens such as children's education and elderly support. When experts imagine a beautiful blueprint in the "castle in the sky", have you ever thought that most people are facing "soul torture": how to spend this month?
Ironically, experts also recommend providing goods that young people need to stimulate consumption.
Please, what we lack is not LV bags and high-end restaurants, but the basic guarantee that can keep us from being crushed by life. It can keep up with the price of income, make overtime pay no longer "fill the hunger", and make the burden of housing and medical care no longer become a "hurdle that cannot be passed", which is the "commodity" we need most. Unfortunately, these seemingly basic survival needs always seem to be overlooked.
It's true to promote consumption, but the question is where does the money come from? When the turtle of wage growth climbs, but prices are on a rocket, trying to make everyone let go of consumption is tantamount to a fool's dream. It's not enough to just shout slogans, but also to create conditions for young people, so that everyone's wallets can be puffed up first, and the enthusiasm for consumption will naturally come up.
Not to mention anything else, let's just talk about the two mountains of housing and medical care, which overwhelm many young people. Nowadays, the mortgage for decades has hollowed out a large part of the income, and getting sick is even more life-threatening, not to mention any consumption, and it is difficult to survive. If these pain points are not alleviated, it will be useless to shout more slogans.
It can be seen that there is always some deviation between the perspective of experts and our people.
They talk about the general trend of the economy, but they know very little about the firewood, rice, oil and salt of ordinary people. The burden of life is unabated, and no amount of "consumerism" preaching is just scratching the itch in the boots. Instead of shouting "go buy and buy" to young people, it is better to pay more attention to their income status, employment environment, and growth pressure, and give some real money tricks, which may awaken the enthusiasm for consumption.