timster3001

I think this is a very thoughtful long term strategy for a country as big and as globally relevant as china. Looking at the US and the decline of the middle class and the rise of the donor class shows where a country is headed when inequality gets out of hand. Right now the US is arguably not a democracy anymore but an oligarchy - that the Party looks to avoid going down the same road is of course out of self-protection. But it is also the very interest of the hundrets of millions who were left out of the distribution of the dividend of "opening" the economy. So - compared to a descend into a potentially fascist donor-run society it might be a better strategy to simply distribute the wealth more aggressively.

hey, two problems I see with your post: a) taxation is no measure for (in-)equality, policy is - direct the money at the poor and it reduces inequality. the countries you mentioned do that, the US, not so much (see your very own link to the WaPo). b) yes, Paul Ryan has already proposed cutting programs benefiting the poor to tackle the self-inflicted rise of deficit caused by the tax cuts.