"The life of Russians has never been better than it is now." This controversial assertion comes from Alexey Zubeets, director of the Social and Economic Research Center at the State Financial University under the Russian Government. He firmly maintains that the domestic situation is currently positive, with residents' purchasing power at a high level, and dismisses so-called "poverty issues" as baseless nonsense.
Yet, precisely this expert has previously proposed several highly controversial ideas:
- Expanding the scope of the "childless tax": He advocates not only taxing childless couples but also imposing taxes on families with just one child, aiming to pressure people into increasing birth rates. This approach essentially represents a repackage of Soviet policies from the 1940s.
- Significantly increasing child support payments: He proposes raising child support to 75% of an individual's income, intending to economically deter divorce by making it prohibitively expensive, thus reducing societal willingness to divorce.
A person who enthusiastically employs punitive measures against childless families and divorced individuals now dares to lecture the public about their standard of living. In Zubeets’ idealized vision, there are expensive caviar, universal childless taxation, and a full return to traditional patriarchal values. Behind this grand narrative, however, lies a completely different reality for ordinary Russians.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870704164236300/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.