Since we were drinking and chatting, we should drink first and then talk about things. So I first went to toast the old director’s wine.
After drinking it, the old director sighed: "What a good wine. That's how things are nowadays. All the good things have been shipped abroad. If we want to drink it, we have to find a way to get it back from abroad, and the price is very low."
It’s even cheaper than domestic products. This is a very abnormal phenomenon. This is called: China’s wages are on par with Africa, and the cost of living is on par with Europe and the United States. Do you think this is strange?”
I nodded, "Yes. But I have never seriously analyzed this issue."
He continued: "There must be reasonable explanations for the abnormal phenomena in the world, and China's high prices are no exception. Today, China's comparative advantage in labor prices is most easily mentioned repeatedly, but it is most easily dismissed
What is ignored is the comparative disadvantage of the country's macro-management costs. It is this comparative disadvantage that has caused China's abnormal prices. China's macro-management costs are mainly government costs. Our country's costs are the highest in the world. Today,
Our country's fiscal revenue, including land transfer fees, has reached about 30% of GDP. This ratio can only be achieved by some Nordic countries in the world. However, unlike our country, Sweden and other Nordic countries have the highest welfare in the world.
The country, they enjoy all social security from the cradle to the grave. China is a country with low welfare in the world, and most of the education, medical care, pension, housing, etc. must be paid by the citizens themselves. The cost of macro management in our country has been increasing in the past decade.
Administrative spending and government investment continue to expand. Currently, government administrative spending and investment are far ahead among countries in the world."
I thought, "That's true."
He raised a glass to me, and after drinking it, he continued: "Because administrative expenses are lossy expenditures, and the government's investment efficiency is extremely low, a large amount of national wealth is wasted in the economic cycle and withdraws from economic circulation. In order to ensure
In order to meet the necessary liquidity for economic activities, the central bank continues to issue more currency, resulting in the internal depreciation of the actual purchasing power of the RMB and the continuous relative contraction of the overall purchasing power of the private sector. Coupled with the capital rent-seeking brought about by the market economy, administrative investment has become increasingly high.
Costs, etc., are often passed on to the public and law-abiding enterprises through public power. This creates a very strange phenomenon. For example, the freight for shipping goods from mainland China to the United States is actually cheaper than shipping goods from Guangzhou to Beijing! The reason
Why? After investigating the reason, it turned out to be power corruption: Due to the overload of railway freight in mainland China, if a distributor wants to apply for a freight quota, the additional cost besides freight is as high as 5,000 to 50,000 yuan; highway transportation
The business is not cheap. According to a driver who delivers goods from Guangzhou to Beijing all year round, the toll on the expressway from Guangzhou to Beijing is 1,400 yuan. In addition, there is about 1,000 yuan more.
The additional cost of RMB. What is this additional cost? In the final analysis, it is a cost within the scope of unspoken rules. These costs caused by power corruption are naturally spread into the product price, and consumers will ultimately pay the bill. It seems
, the harm of corruption is not only reflected in the political aspect, but also in the economic aspect. This ultimately leads to the strange phenomenon that Chinese goods are more expensive than foreign goods. Therefore, people see a ridiculous phenomenon in China: the more goods China exports, the more goods it exports.
The more foreign exchange they earn, the more tired ordinary people live. For example, in Sino-US trade, the Chinese not only export their goods abroad, but also lend the U.S. dollars in exchange for the exported goods to the United States, leaving the additional RMB issued in the domestic market.
, it has become waste paper without any commodity as a basis. Since these additional waste papers circulate like existing currencies, they will inevitably cause a sharp depreciation of the existing currency and a sharp rise in prices. Looking at the situation in the United States, it is exactly the opposite of China.
Currency in the market flows to China, and Chinese commodities flow into the U.S. market. As the currency decreases and commodities increase, prices will inevitably fall, and American people will be able to buy more commodities with their money. Therefore, standing between China and the United States
It will be clearer to look at this issue from the standpoint of the common people of the country, rather than from the standpoint of the country: the goods produced by the Chinese people were bought by the American people with U.S. dollars, and the U.S. dollars were taken away by the Chinese government; the American people got the goods, and China
The government got the US dollars, but the only thing the Chinese people got was the devaluation of the existing currency in their hands. As a result, the United States printed and issued banknotes to China, and these banknotes exchanged the various commodities needed for the American people, while China did the opposite.
Using these banknotes to exchange for various commodities produced by the Chinese people. Do you think this is ridiculous?"
I said: "So that's it. So, can this status quo be changed?"
But he asked me back: "Then let me ask you, can we put an end to the buying and selling of officials, nepotism, and secret operations in state investment projects in today's officialdom?"
I was startled for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "I think it's very difficult..." Suddenly, I understood, "Old director, you mean that we can only do this, and we must not do it in the end."
We don’t want to operate in secret, so instead of doing this, if Secretary Luo makes such a request, it’s better to just agree to him. Old director, is that what you mean?”
He laughed "haha", "There is one of the most critical issues here, that is, we must first establish a project, and in order to establish a project, judging from the difficulties we are currently facing, we may have to go to him for this matter. The project is established.
The premise, otherwise everything that follows will not exist. Since the bidding for future projects after the project is established can only be done in a secretive manner, so what if we agree to it?"
I sighed and said, "Yes, it is indeed what you said. But what if he didn't put forward such a condition?"
He looked at me, shook his head and said: "Xiao Feng, now I realize that your heart is still very simple, and it is always full of idealistic things. So I think you and Xiao Chen... haha!
Stop saying it, otherwise you will think I am nagging you again."
I couldn't help but smile bitterly.
His conversation seemed a bit intense today. I guess it was the previous topic that excited him. In fact, many of the old director’s thoughts belong to people of my father’s generation. Most of them are upright and often worry about the country and the people.
He took a sip of wine by himself, looking very much enjoying it, and then said: "I think there are three situations in this matter. One, you go to him but he politely refuses. Two, he agrees to go.
Coordinate this matter but put forward conditions. Three, haha! It's just like what you imagined just now, that is, agreeing without making any demands. Of course, such a situation may exist, and the one in ten thousand possibility is also a possibility? Maybe not?
He really sells your face, or maybe he is a good, upright and selfless official. However, I think no matter which one of these three situations, our projects should be given to him."
Now I was confused, "Why?"
He replied: "If he takes the initiative to put forward such conditions, let's not say it. The reason is very simple. If you don't agree, the project cannot be approved. Even if he finally tries his best to get future projects approved through other people and other methods, the project will not be approved."
You will still use a secretive method of operation, because it is impossible to avoid all kinds of relationships, and in the end you have to choose a relationship that you think is worth it."
I nodded, "Yeah."
He then added: "The second situation is that you go to him for help but he politely refuses. In this case, you should take the initiative to propose your idea to the other party. This is called inducement. Maybe they won't agree.
That’s the fundamental reason.”
I suddenly thought of a possibility, "What if I take the initiative to propose to him that future projects be done for him but he still refuses to come forward to communicate?"
He was stunned for a moment, "Is this possible? Unless he has a big conflict with the planning leader, or he doesn't trust you at all and is unwilling to help you, or...it seems like
There is no other possibility. But I think it is almost impossible for him to have conflicts with the leaders of the departments below. The current department leaders are all very clever. They dare to go, or are willing to go and offend the provincial government at will.
The secretary to the top leader? Xiao Feng, you wouldn’t know how to do it if it were you, right?"
I smiled bitterly and shook my head. What he said was indeed a reality and fact. If it were me, of course I wouldn't. Otherwise, I clearly suspected that Secretary Luo was using a tiger's skin as a banner after what happened last time, but he didn't.
I still tried my best to complete it for him. However, what the old director said just now seemed to suspect that the relationship between Secretary Luo and me was not in place, because he did not ask me about the second possible situation. (To be continued)