Wednesday, February 6, 2013

China Looks to Close the Income Gap

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/05/news/economy/china-income-inequality/index.html?iid=SF_E_LN

As China has become more and more developed in the last decade, its citizens have seen an overall rise in income. With a growing upper class, China has seen its growing income gap as a problem that needs to be addressed.

This week, China revealed a plan to close its growing income gap. A increase in minimum wage, a pay ceiling for government employees, and new estate taxes are at the forefront of this reform. Critics say that the effort by the Chinese government is in vain, though, because the plan has no specific deadlines. In addition, a goal like closing the income gap is a long-term effort; much of China's plan focuses on short-term changes.

Whether or not China's reform proves effective, it is interesting that its government has decided to take action to combat the income gap. For now, we'll have to wait and see how the reform works--perhaps, America will be able to learn a thing or two that we can apply to our own income gap.

1 comment:

  1. The S-Generation (age 18-34) in China is the highest consuming group in the country. Many Chinese aged 18-25 that are in the work force still live at home and do not pay rent and other expenses. It may be beneficial to focus some of the efforts of closing the income gap on these people because their disposable income levels are so high.

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