A slump exposes holes in China’s welfare state
Amid the pandemic, the country’s poor are getting little help
CHINA OR AMERICA: which is the land of rugged self-reliance and which of the government handout? Judging by support for people on low incomes amid the coronavirus crisis, the answer is surprising. America has dramatically scaled up benefits for those out of work. Its federal stimulus has allocated an extra $600 a week to each jobless person—enough, on average, to replace 100% of lost income. The Chinese government, meanwhile, has given an extra 12 yuan ($1.70) a week to its poor. That is enough for a daily bowl of noodles.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Socialism’s precariat”
From the May 9th 2020 edition
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