Reform social insurance to help less well-off

The social insurance system should be reformed to lower the amount paid by wage earners, said an article in the Southern Metropolis Daily (excerpts below).

Chinese wage-earners pay about 40 percent of their income on social insurance on average, the highest in Asia.

The government should standardize payments before asking contributors to pay more.

It is the government's responsibility to provide basic social insurance for all citizens. If rich people want to get higher pensions, they can buy more commercial insurance.

State-owned enterprises should set aside more money from their profits to subsidize the social insurance fund. And the government should try its best to contain inflation and provide better public services for middle and lower-income groups.

The government has the duty to close the wealth gap between the rich and the poor, rather than blindly demand the poor to pay more.