21社论丨持续促消费与惠民生，并实现稳增长

Core Viewpoint - The article emphasizes the shift in China's fiscal policy towards enhancing people's livelihoods and promoting consumption, indicating a strategic transformation from infrastructure investment to human resource investment and social welfare [1][2]. Group 1: Fiscal Policy and Budget Allocation - The scale and proportion of fiscal investment in the livelihood sector have both increased, with general public budget expenditure reaching 16.1 trillion yuan from January to July, a year-on-year growth of 3.4%. Expenditures on social security and employment, education, and health care grew by 9.8%, 5.7%, and 5.3% respectively, significantly outpacing overall fiscal expenditure growth [2]. - Livelihood expenditures accounted for over 40% of total fiscal spending, and when including community services, this figure exceeds 47%, indicating that nearly half of fiscal funds are directly allocated to social welfare [2]. - Central and local governments are collaborating effectively, with the central government’s transfer payments exceeding 1 trillion yuan this year, focusing on education, health care, social security, and employment to ensure effective implementation of livelihood policies [2]. Group 2: Targeted Subsidy Policies - The implementation of targeted subsidy policies has shown significant effectiveness, directly benefiting specific groups such as families with young children, the elderly, and youth through measures like childcare subsidies and public service fee reductions [3]. - A new childcare subsidy system provides 3,600 yuan per child annually for families with children under three, with the central government allocating approximately 90 billion yuan in the first year to alleviate the burden of childbirth [3]. - Free preschool education will be implemented starting from the fall semester of 2025, benefiting around 12 million children, while youth employment support policies have been enhanced to provide one-time subsidies to companies hiring unemployed youth aged 16-24 [3]. Group 3: Consumption Promotion Policies - The introduction of fiscal interest subsidies aims to stimulate domestic consumption, effectively lowering consumer credit costs and unlocking consumption potential [4][5]. - The policy combines "small-scale universal" and "large-scale targeted" approaches, covering both everyday small purchases and significant expenditures in key areas such as automobiles, elderly care, education, and healthcare [4]. - The coordinated efforts on both demand and supply sides include the implementation of personal consumption loan interest subsidies and support for service sector loans, collectively enhancing market vitality [5]. Group 4: Future Outlook - China's macroeconomic policy is expected to maintain an active stance, focusing on stabilizing overall demand, promoting moderate price recovery, and ensuring economic improvement while enhancing supply optimization and social welfare [5]. - Future fiscal policies are likely to continue favoring the livelihood sector, expanding the coverage and impact of consumption stimulus measures, and improving policy precision and effectiveness through targeted support [5].