By | Mr. It’s Rare
When many people mention retirement, the first thing they think of is saving more money when they are young, or hoping that their children will be promising and filial.
Few people will immediately and directly connect the matter of retirement with the country, this big guy. It seems that retirement is purely a private matter for individuals and families, and has nothing to do with the country.
But is that really the case?
If we take a longer view and see how retirement came about in modern countries, we may be able to see more clearly.
The national retirement system in the modern sense actually doesn’t have a very long history. The real system construction, which regards it as a responsibility that the country must bear, can be traced back to Germany more than a hundred years ago.
At that time, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, and a large number of farmers poured into the cities to become workers. They left the land and lost the foundation of the traditional “raising children to provide for old age”. After working hard for a lifetime beside the machines, what should they do when they get old and can’t work? Without a guarantee of life, society is prone to turmoil.
At that time, German Chancellor Bismarck, a shrewd and pragmatic man, saw this problem. In order to stabilize society and appease the huge working class, he took the lead in establishing the world’s first mandatory pension insurance system in 1889.
This is not because he is kind, but because he understands that allowing workers to have a meal when they are old and weak is the ballast stone that can keep the social ship sailing smoothly.
From then on, an idea began to sprout and gradually spread to the world: citizens contributed to social development when they were young, then when they were old and lost their ability to work, the country and society have the obligation to provide them with basic living security.
This is no longer a gift from the king or the rich, but a responsibility based on a social contract.
More than a hundred years have passed.
The constitution of the country also clearly states: “Citizens have the right to receive material assistance from the state and society when they are old, sick or lose their ability to work.”
This sentence is very simple, but it carries a lot of weight. It confirms that when we are old, seeking basic help from the country is our right, just as natural as our right to breathe air and drink clean water.
This is not begging for anyone’s sympathy, nor is it waiting for anyone’s alms.
Retirement is the equal guarantee obligation of the state to all citizens, and it is an important cornerstone of social justice.
Everyone is a screw in the national machine.
Some screws shine in key parts; but more screws are scattered in every corner of the machine, such as farmers working in the fields, workers screwing in the workshops, sanitation workers on the roads, soldiers guarding the borders…
It cannot be said that only those shining screws are important. Without farmers producing food, even the smartest brains would starve; without workers working hard in the workshops, even the best designs would not turn into rockets flying into the sky; without soldiers standing guard, even the most prosperous cities could become ruins overnight. This is like our body, it cannot be said that only the brain and heart are important, and the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hands, feet, spleen and lungs are irrelevant. If any organ has a problem, the whole person will get sick, and the brain and heart will eventually be involved.
Since everyone has different jobs, but they are all working hard and fulfilling their responsibilities for the operation of the national machine, then, when these screws are worn out and old, and when they are not working properly, shouldn’t the national machine be responsible for maintenance and maintenance, so that they can spend their remaining years in peace? This is the most simple truth.
However, some situations in reality often make people feel confused and helpless.
Everyone can see that people in different positions have very different retirement benefits when they get old.
If this gap is entirely accumulated by individuals when they are young due to different abilities and choices, through commercial pension insurance and other means, then no one can say anything, that is the result of individual struggle.
But the problem is that the country’s pension security comes from public finance and social security coordination.
Where does this money come from?
It is the thousands of citizens who, through labor and taxation, jointly create national income. To put it bluntly, it is taken from the people and should also be used for the people.
So, when it is used for the people, why is there such a huge difference between the “dual-track system” and even the “multi-track system”?
A worker who created export output value and paid taxes for the country on the assembly line when he was young, and a staff member who provided public services for the country in government agencies, both worked for thirty or forty years, and both are covered by the national pension system, why can the money they receive after retirement be several times different?
Is this fair? Does this conform to the spirit of “equal guarantee obligations”?
This can’t help but remind people of the old saying, “The hemp rope always breaks in the thinnest part, and misfortune always finds the unfortunate.” Many workers in ordinary positions, when they are young and able to work, their income is already relatively meager, at the end of social distribution. They silently contributed their youth and sweat to the development of the country, but if they are old and unable to work, the return they get is still the lowest and most meager, wouldn’t this make their old age even worse?
Is this what a society that pursues common prosperity is willing to see? Life may sometimes oppress the poor, but the social system and policies should not add fuel to the fire. This has already deviated from the fair principle that the country should have.
The essence of the right to retirement is the expression of social rights enjoyed by individuals based on their citizenship.
It is not just about how much money can be received every month, it is more about whether people can still maintain the most basic dignity in their old age.
To measure the degree of civilization of a country, we cannot only look at how high the GDP figures are, how magnificent the skyscrapers in the city are, and how advanced the technology is. We must also look at how it treats those citizens who are no longer young and no longer strong. See if it remembers their past contributions, whether it has fulfilled its obligations to its citizens, and whether it has allowed them to share the dividends brought by national development.
In a civilized society, its retirement services should not divide citizens into different classes. Those ordinary people who have worked diligently and conscientiously in different positions for a lifetime should receive equal respect and the same dignified national pension security.
Therefore, it must be reiterated again and again: retirement is the obligation of the state and the right granted to every citizen by the constitution. It is not a charitable relief that is high above, nor is it an alms that needs to be grateful. It is as natural as sowing in spring and harvesting in autumn; just as we build the country when we are young, and the country rewards us when we are old, it is a matter of course.
Legally protecting the “right to retirement” of every citizen and fairly and justly fulfilling the state’s payment obligations is not only to enable the elderly to survive, but also to enable them to complete the last journey of their lives in a healthy and dignified manner. This dignity belongs not only to them, but also to each of us. Because everyone is, or will eventually, walk this road.
Writing this, looking at the bustling crowd outside the window, thinking that each of us will have the day when our hair is white and our hair is gray. Today I speak for you, and tomorrow it may be you who is fighting for me. In order to allow every hardworking elderly person to enjoy their old age with dignity, and to allow the light of fairness and justice to shine into the future years of each of us.
If this article also touches you and makes you feel that it is necessary to contribute to promoting this kind of fairness, then any support you give, whether it is forwarding it to let more people see it, or giving as much as you can, will be transformed into the weak candle that we continue to move forward and continue to shout. Although this light is small, if it gathers together, it may illuminate the road ahead and warm the common tomorrow for you and me.
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