The seven necessities of life are firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.
Whether for a country or an individual, managing a household, managing finances, and living a good life is not an easy task.
In the TV series “Yongzheng Dynasty”, the plot of the Ministry of Revenue urging the payment of arrears is very exciting, and now this scene is extremely rare in Wuhan.
On May 26, the Wuhan Municipal Finance Bureau and Wuhan Yangtze River Asset Management Co., Ltd. published a full-page joint debt collection announcement in the “Changjiang Daily”, detailing the names of 259 debtor units, the balance of principal borrowed as of the end of 2018. These units include subordinate district finance bureaus, research units, state-owned enterprises, listed companies, and a few private enterprises. The amount of the loan ranges from tens of thousands to tens of millions, with a total of over 100 million yuan.
It is a matter of course to pay back debts. It is really magical and unexpected that the money owed to the Finance Bureau is not repaid, and the subordinate owes the superior.
According to analysis, affected by the impact of the epidemic, tax cuts and fee reductions, Wuhan’s fiscal revenue has been greatly impacted in recent years.
According to data from the Wuhan Municipal Finance Bureau, the city’s local general public budget revenue in 2020 was about 12.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 21.3%. In 2021, it recovered to the pre-epidemic level of about 15.79 billion yuan. In 2022, it fell again to 15.05 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.7%. In the first quarter of this year, the revenue was 5.08 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.5%.
In this context, it is undoubtedly commendable to ensure that state-owned assets are not damaged.
In the data age, we speak with data. There are two 20% figures at the macro level that are very worthy of attention.
On May 27, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that from January to April, the total profits of industrial enterprises above designated size reached 2032.88 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 20.6%.
Among them, state-owned enterprises decreased by 17.9% year-on-year, foreign-funded enterprises decreased by 16.2%, and private enterprises decreased by 22.5%.
From the perspective of industry sectors, the oil, coal and other fuel processing industry decreased by 87.9%, the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry decreased by as much as 99.4%, while the power, heat, gas and water production and supply industry increased by 34.1%, the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 30.1%, and the general equipment manufacturing industry increased by 20.7%.
In addition, the urban unemployment rate data released by the National Bureau of Statistics in April showed that the unemployment rate for the 16-24 age group was 20.4%. Students who have not entered the labor market are generally not included in the calculation of the unemployment rate. By the end of June, more than 10 million college students will graduate, which will definitely put great pressure on the number and index of young people’s employment.
The decline in industrial enterprise profits exceeds 20%, and the unemployment rate of young people exceeds 20%. These two 20% figures have a strong internal correlation and also have realistic warnings.
If corporate profits do not go up, the ability to absorb employment will decrease, and new employment groups will continue to pour in, the pressure of “six guarantees” is still not easy.
Guaranteeing residents’ employment, guaranteeing basic people’s livelihood, guaranteeing market entities, guaranteeing food and energy security, guaranteeing the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain, and guaranteeing the operation of the grassroots. These six major events are related to the national economy and the people’s livelihood, and are crucial for a considerable period of time.
Currently, the number of people with “re-positive” infections of the epidemic is increasing, and experts continue to make suggestions. Some places, especially universities, are nervous, but generally, most people feel a state of dullness and numbness to the epidemic. It’s not that they ignore their own health, but they are tired, weary, and exhausted. There are more important things than getting sick and having a fever, that is, work and income.
Professor Laura Veldkamp of Columbia University believes that the impact of the epidemic will not pass quickly, just like the scars left on the body, it will exist for a long time, including the impact on people’s mentality, the impact on entrepreneurial spirit, the impact on human capital, the impact on the employment market, the impact on enterprises, and so on.
With the new crown epidemic as a sign, we have entered an extremely uncertain era. In such an era, individuals seem extremely humble and weak in the face of the group, power, system, and technology.
On May 27, Jensen Huang, the founder of Nvidia, said at the graduation ceremony of National Taiwan University, “Class of 2023 graduates, you are about to enter a world that is undergoing tremendous changes. Just like when I graduated and encountered the personal computer and chip revolution, you are at the starting line of AI. Every industry will be revolutionized and reborn, and be prepared for new ideas.”
In fact, not only the newly graduated young people will be revolutionized and reborn, but in the state of the epidemic scars are healing and various uncertainties are superimposed, each of us needs a revolution and rebirth from the depths of our inner thoughts. We all need to recognize the big trends, grasp and control our careers and lives, and after the storms, we can still sail with hope.
Economist Sun Liping judged that in the next few years, we will face an economic contraction period that may not be short. This conclusion is mainly based on three reasons:
First, the era of large-scale concentrated consumption in China has ended, second, the increasingly severe international environment, and third, the release of the epidemic effect.
Economic contraction will inevitably require a tight life, and the tight life is not a day or two, it needs to go through a long period, which is also the inevitable result of long-term high-speed development. Only by precipitation and cooling can we breed a new nirvana. In this process, there are several things that need to be firmly grasped.
First, the main status of people.
As the master of the world, people are the main force of social development, and the ultimate goal of development is to realize people’s well-being. People-oriented, protecting everyone’s rights, respecting everyone’s value, and showing everyone’s personality, this is the source of creativity for the whole society.
Second, the confidence of opening up to the outside world.
Opening up to the outside world is not just doing business with outsiders, but more importantly, establishing full cultural confidence, eliminating value differences, integrating into mainstream civilization, and making more and more friends and more and more consensus.
Third, the healthy development of the private economy.
The private economy is an important form of enriching the people and the foundation of common prosperity. Do not criticize, do not compete for profits, less interference, less disturbance to the private economy, provide a fair and consistent, long-term and stable policy environment, and truly be proud of the development and growth of the private economy.
Fourth, a relatively fair distribution system.
Fairness is not absolute, absolute is not fair. The tighter the days, the more we need to divide the cake well, balance the demands of different groups in the distribution of power and interests, replenish the blood of low-income people, enhance the sense of gain of middle-income people, and smooth the channels for upward mobility, so that people can see the future and hope.
Fifth, the basic attitude of seeking truth from facts.
If you don’t do practical things, you don’t have a bit of Marxism-Leninism. Seeking truth from facts is the soul of Marxism and a sharp weapon to overcome bureaucracy and formalism. Study more problems, argue less about doctrines, do not shout slogans, do not sing praises, and do not tell lies should be the basic code of conduct for the whole society.
Everyone is a grain of dust in the times, although small, it can be endowed with infinite brilliance.
Most people live just to live, and just living is full of great meaning.
After the wind and rain, a rainbow does not necessarily appear.
I just hope that everyone can live happily and work hard, and that is a blessing of gratitude.
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