Mandatory Social Security “Nuclear Bomb” Detonated: 6,450 Officials at Vice-Ministerial Rank and Above Cost 2 Trillion Yuan Annually

(Dajiyuan Illustration)

[People News] On August 31, the official Weibo account of Legal Daily posted an article that instantly shot to the top of the trending list. The headline read: “Experts Say That Starting September 1, Mandatory Social Security for All Is a Misinterpretation.” From the title alone, it was clear this was just another round of professional whitewashing. Without doubt, it once again pushed the issue of compulsory social security into the spotlight of public opinion.

The so-called “experts” speak in dull, tedious tones but with a clear stance — they are the mouthpieces of the Zhao family, announcing edicts to the “servants.” Citizens are told that the state regulations demanding social security contributions were written 30 years ago. If the rulers hadn’t had plenty of money back then, they would have enforced it long ago. But now that the coffers are running dry, they’re cutting you down. What’s there to complain about?

This kind of talk, and this kind of manoeuvre, did not sit well with netizens, who fired back in anger: “Where did my social security money go?” “Is the shortage because people contributed too little, or because someone took too much?” “Please investigate where my social security funds ended up.” “Social security is the next generation feeding the last. If those funds have been invested into his father’s corruption empire, then your earnings are being siphoned away.” “I just want to know whether my contributions are being embezzled.”

It’s obvious: Legal Daily was speaking on behalf of the Supreme Court, raising a political storm under the banner of “protecting workers” — but the real aim was to refill the empty social security fund, continuously channelling fresh blood into the veins of CCP elites.

Everyone knows that this country’s “Brahmin class,” the privileged elite, live off the fat of the land. Their living expenses are treated as state secrets, astronomical figures. But no wall can block all winds — if they dare to spend it, someone dares to expose it.

Independent commentator Zhai Shanying, who once worked within the State Council system and still has connections, revealed internal data: In 2024, there were 27 top state leaders (including 7 sitting Politburo Standing Committee members and Han Zheng, plus 19 retired but still living former leaders). Each enjoyed annual benefits of 150 million–350 million yuan, covering secretaries, security, housing, food, etc. Below them, there were 173 vice-state-level leaders (62 active, 111 retired but alive). Their annual budgets were 50 million–150 million yuan each. At the ministerial level, about 250 in office plus 1,000 retired but alive, each costing 5–10 million yuan annually. At the vice-ministerial level, about 1,000 active and 4,000 retired but alive, with annual budgets of 3–5 million yuan per person.

Zhai commented, “These CCP bigwigs really live long. Of course, they do — they eat special food supplies, and they get young people’s organs transplanted. How could they not? Just among the 6,450 officials at vice-ministerial rank and above, the average personal expense totals 52.5 billion yuan annually — about 10 million yuan each. And this is only personal spending, not including public expenses.”

For example, Xi Jinping’s recent inspection trip to Yunnan cost the treasury 27 million yuan. For all vice-ministerial officials, public spending is an even greater burden. Adding personal and public expenditures, the state spends over 2 trillion yuan each year just on these officials — nearly one-tenth of total national revenue. And this doesn’t even include bureau- and department-level cadres, whose sheer numbers make costs incalculable, nor the massive sums siphoned away through corruption. Think about it: with only so much fiscal revenue each year, how much can truly be spent on ordinary people? Even scraps are considered a luxury.

Now, back to mandatory social security. The CCP has carefully prepared this move, deploying a full combination strike: foreign income tax, government bond interest tax, mandatory social security tax, landlord tax — knives are being sharpened on every side. Ordinary people are helpless against such a barrage.

The truth is, the CCP is broke. Cash-strapped. Under enormous pressure. In 2024, non-tax revenues jumped 25.4%. This surge shows the economic fundamentals propping up the state budget are deteriorating. The Party has reverted to its old tricks: grab everything in sight.

Now they’re desperate — killing both rich and poor. They’ll plunder the wealthy, but also strip the poor of their last layer of skin. Mandatory social security is essentially a tax on the poor, bleeding them dry. For low-income groups, the burden is especially heavy. Research shows that every 1% increase in social security’s share of disposable income reduces the consumption rate by 0.6%. For middle- and low-income households, contributions already consume 15–20% of income. This is nothing less than killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Notice this: this year, the government raised the minimum wage standards in various provinces. Normally, these are adjusted every 2–3 years, but the CCP often delays, sometimes for 3–4 years. Why? Because China’s corporate tax burden is already the world’s highest, about 60%. Raising the minimum wage further tightens the noose around businesses, choking them of oxygen.

On the surface, raising the minimum wage seems beneficial to workers. But during an economic downturn, this is dangerous — it forces companies into bankruptcy, triggering an exponential rise in unemployment, deepening the contraction, and fueling a vicious cycle. Instead, in hard times, the government should stimulate the economy with tax cuts and real relief to put money in people’s pockets, boost consumption, and revive growth. But the CCP’s real motive in raising the minimum wage this year was tied to mandatory social security: like draining your blood, then feeding you a bowl of pig liver soup to quickly replenish your blood — only to drain you again. A classic slaughterhouse scheme.

And that’s not even the worst part. The most devastating effect of mandatory social security is the irreversible blow to small and micro enterprises — a crushing, destructive force. For millions of business owners, compulsory contributions are a death warrant. Small and micro enterprises are collapsing one after another. Just this summer alone, mainland China saw another wave of business closures.

On August 26, Shenzhen Haida Decoration Group announced it would stop paying suspension allowances. The company, already paralysed by ties to Evergrande, finally collapsed because it could no longer pay social insurance and housing fund contributions. After 30 years in business, this giant was strangled by mandatory social security.

On July 31, Hefei Construction Group employees received text messages stating that all labour contracts would be terminated as of August 31, 2025. This state-owned enterprise had a 67-year history, but what broke it was the straw of compulsory full-staff social security.

Countless more in catering, clothing, construction, and individual businesses tremble before this beast called “universal social security.” The CCP thinks its calculations add up — but let’s see who the tidal wave ultimately drowns. When the enterprises are gone, the cells of the economic body die. And then, can the CCP really survive?

(First published by People News) △