I'm back in 1990

Chapter 1023: Refreshing Three Perspectives

"Now you should know, right? Economics has never opposed luxury goods because it is a process of redistribution of social wealth. Economics divides wealth distribution into three parts. The first distribution is wages and profits. This distribution can only be fair, not equal. If this principle is violated, everyone will be poor together instead of becoming rich together. This was the case in my country before the 1980s, and many people know what the result was."

The second distribution mainly focuses on income tax. In this distribution, fairness can be appropriately sacrificed. Low-income people don't have to pay, middle-income people have to pay 20% or so, and high-income people have to pay even more.

The third distribution mainly consists of donations and the sale of luxury goods, as I just mentioned. This distribution is primarily voluntary; you can't force people to donate or buy luxury goods, can you?

The wealthy are willing to spend over a thousand yuan on a bottle of wine. That money then flows through the supply chain to packaging workers, transport drivers, and even those who use alcohol for personal purposes, ultimately entering a broader economic cycle. So, don't object to the wealthy voluntarily spending money on luxury goods.

"Perhaps some students will still be unhappy after hearing this, but I want to tell you that this is the truth of economic logic: making the rich willingly pay high prices for symbols and experiences is more conducive to the flow and distribution of the economy than keeping wealth stagnant."

So today I hope everyone can step outside their emotions and calmly examine this economic logic.

Sometimes, expensive things exist not to exploit the poor, but because they play a crucial role in the flow of wealth within a complex system.

At 8 p.m., Tang Ruixuan was chatting online with her best friend Gu Suining on her laptop.

Gu Suining kept sending new messages.

"Xuanxuan, you'll never guess whose lecture I attended this afternoon!" Gu Suining had just finished showering and hadn't even dried her hair yet. She knew that her best friend's university, Jinda, turned off the lights and power on time, so she wanted to tell her best friend what she wanted to say as soon as possible.

"Whose lecture is it that's making you so excited?" Tang Ruixuan typed lightly on the keyboard.

"Huang Xiaochuan! Huang Xiaochuan, Asia's richest man! A legendary alumnus of our university!"

Tang Ruixuan smiled knowingly; no one knew this person better than she did.

"I know him. I've heard he's very capable." Tang Ruixuan continued typing on the keyboard.

"Amazing! Xuanxuan, this has completely shattered my worldview today!" Excited Gu Suining typed rapidly, like a machine gun.

"He talked to us about the economics of luxury goods, and guess what he said? He said that Moutai liquor and Balenciaga garbage bags are economically the same thing!"

Seeing this, Tang Ruixuan couldn't help but laugh. This was indeed her uncle's style of speaking, using the most down-to-earth examples to explain the most profound economic principles.

She responded to Gu Suining: "Garbage bags? The ones that sell for 12,000?" She had heard her uncle mention this example at home before. At that time, her uncle complained that the person who designed this thing was either a genius or a madman, and that there would definitely be a fool who would buy it.

He was right.

But Gu Suining was surprised when she saw Tang Ruixuan's message: "You know about this? You follow these things too?"

Tang Ruixuan realized she had been careless and let something slip, so she quickly tried to cover it up: "I saw this news article online before and I thought it was outrageous."

Gu Suining then put her doubts aside: "Right! But what Huang Xiaochuan said makes a lot of sense. He said that luxury goods are actually a tax on the rich. We must make the rich spend more money so that the money can flow to every link in the industrial chain."

Gu Suining recounted the afternoon's lecture to Tang Ruixuan in detail, from steel wool bracelets to plastic sandals, from the theory of three distributions to the flow of wealth.

Tang Ruixuan stared quietly at the computer screen, her emotions a jumble of complex feelings.

She really wanted to proudly tell Gu Suining that Huang Xiaochuan, whom she admired, was actually her uncle, the uncle who had doted on her since she was a child.

But she can't.

Gu Suining, of course, had no idea what Tang Ruixuan was thinking at that moment. She continued writing, "What moved me the most was the end. A classmate asked him, 'If luxury goods are so good, should the poor accept the gap between the rich and the poor with a clear conscience?' Guess how Huang Xiaochuan answered?"

Tang Ruixuan replied with three words: "I don't know!"

Gu Suining wrote triumphantly: "He said that economics explains phenomena, but does not defend inequality. Luxury goods are part of the existing distribution mechanism, but a healthy society needs more proactive and institutionalized means and methods of redistribution. Understanding economic logic is to better change it, not to conform to it."

When Tang Ruixuan saw this passage, her eyes reddened slightly. This was her uncle, the calm and rational economist in public, and the owner of enormous wealth.

Any one of the things he has done would make many people feel ashamed of themselves, such as providing dignified income for grassroots employees, donating to build schools for children in mountainous areas, and donating funds for basic research and development for scientific and technological advancements—there are just too many to list.

"He's absolutely right!"

After seeing the message her best friend sent, Gu Suining replied, "Huang Xiaochuan showed me the warmth of economics. I would say he is my idol, without a doubt."

Following that, Gu Suining posted a whole bunch of her hopes and plans for the future.

As they chatted, Tang Ruixuan couldn't help but ask, "Ningning, what kind of person do you think Huang Xiaochuan is?" She wanted to hear what kind of person other people thought her uncle was.

After a moment of silence, Gu Suining replied, "Rational and insightful, yet he also conveyed a sense that although he is a super-rich man, I feel he doesn't just speak from the perspective of the wealthy class. I can sense that he is deeply considering the impact of these issues on every level of society. Moreover, he is very humble and gentle. At the end of the lecture, many people went to him for autographs. Guess what he said?"

Gu Suining started keeping everyone in suspense again, but thankfully she quickly continued typing: "He said my handwriting is worthless, but knowledge is valuable. Just take good notes."

Upon seeing this, Tang Ruixuan laughed.

Gu Suining changed the subject: "By the way, Huang Xiaochuan's hometown is Suzhou Academy. I remember your hometown is there too. Maybe your parents even know him!"

After considering for a moment, Tang Ruixuan replied, "Maybe! The library is just a small town; we might actually know each other."

Gu Suining didn't continue the connection, and the two chatted about everyday things. Gu Suining mentioned the cafeteria at the University of Finance and Economics, saying that its quality was the best among all universities in Shanghai.

Tang Ruixuan then shared her experiences at the coffee shop that day, and they chatted until the dormitory supervisor announced that the lights were going out, at which point the two reluctantly ended their conversation.