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Coupons not a fair way

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-13 07:41

It's improper to turn part of people's incomes into shopping coupons for it violates the consumers' right to decide where and when to spend money, says an article in Beijing Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

Hangzhou authorities have envisaged that 5 to 10 percent of the salaries and welfare allowances for people working at government bodies or government-funded enterprises should be paid in the form of shopping coupons to stimulate consumption.

During Spring Festival, Hangzhou gave out 100-million-yuan in shopping coupons to low-income families, residents living in difficulty, students and retirees with no strings attached. It has achieved some successes and won praise from the central government.

But according to this new plan, the shopping coupons for government employees will come from their own pockets rather than government treasuries. Worse still, shopping coupons have to be used within a given period of time.

In theory, shopping coupons should be used to spur consumption rather than force consumers to consume. The move of converting part of people's income into shopping coupons in fact is to force people to consume and violates the regulations in the new Labor Law about the way employees should be paid.

All the people have the freedom to decide when and where to consume. The tentative plan to replace part of the incomes with shopping coupons intervenes in the spending rights of consumers and also harms equal competition in the market.

(China Daily 02/13/2009 page8)