Optimize expenditure structure and focus on saving resources for the people
Funds are precious and must be used more efficiently, and every penny must be spent on the blade.
All expenditures should be more performance-oriented, speed up the establishment of an all-round, full-process and full-coverage budget performance management system, and earnestly ensure that money must be accountable for effectiveness and invalidity.
At the same time, we must vigorously promote budget disclosure and increase the breadth and depth of budget disclosure.
Recently, the central government's budget for 2021 will be disclosed to the public.
The "account books" of more than 100 central departments run through the government's important thinking of insisting on living a tight life and saving resources for the people, highlighting that "the party and the government take the lead in living a tight life, and the purpose is to live a good life for the people."
It can be seen from the published budget that the operating expenses of various departments and the arrangements for the "three public" expenses can be described as careful calculations, and many of them have even dropped considerably.
Take the "three public" funds of social concern as an example. In 2021, a budget of 5.187 billion yuan will be allocated for the central government's "three public" funds, which is a decrease of 330 million yuan or 6% from the 2020 budget.
It is worth noting that this reduction in the funding of the "Three Publics" is a reduction on the basis of the 31.9% drop in the budget last year. It can be said to have been pressured again and again.
Objectively speaking, it is impossible to reduce the operating expenses of government agencies and the “three public” expenses indefinitely. Normal expenditures in many aspects are needed for the work.
For example, in the "three public" funds, if there are more international affairs and contacts in a certain year, it is really necessary to increase the expenditure.
At the same time, the government's operating expenses and the "three public" expenses are only part of fiscal expenditures.
Party and government agencies' insistence on living too tight is not only reflected in these relatively intuitive and sensible funding arrangements, but also in the overall budget arrangements.
Judging from this year’s budget, various departments continue to drastically reduce expenditures for non-rigid and non-key projects and public expenditures.
Reducing general expenditures is not the ultimate goal.
As required by the "Government Work Report", governments at all levels must save money for the people and insist on living too tightly, to ensure that basic people's livelihood expenditures only increase and not decrease, and to help market players always have green hills and vitality.
For this reason, while the government is living a tight life, it must also focus on optimizing the expenditure structure and do a good job in protecting the people's livelihood.
This year's budget will continue to strengthen basic people's livelihood security, and increase funding arrangements in terms of implementing the employment priority policy, promoting high-quality development of education, steadily improving the level of social security, and strengthening investment in health and health.
Between one decrease and one increase, the requirement of "saving resources for the people" has been implemented, reflecting the people-centered development thinking.
Funds are precious and must be used more efficiently, and every penny must be spent on the blade.
All expenditures should be more performance-oriented, speed up the establishment of an all-round, full-process and full-coverage budget performance management system, and earnestly ensure that money must be accountable for effectiveness and invalidity.
When the central government budget is released this year, in addition to the secret-related departments and secret-related information, each department will disclose at least one first-level project performance target table, so that the public can more directly see where the fiscal funds are arranged and the expected use effects.
Statistics show that this year 99 departments have published performance target tables for 128 projects, an increase of 19 projects over the previous year.
In the next step, there should be more and more projects that disclose performance goals, so that the public can have a more comprehensive understanding and more convenient supervision.
It is necessary to vigorously promote budget disclosure, increase the breadth and depth of budget disclosure, and give full play to the supervision and restraint role of budget disclosure and transparency on government departments.
It is worth emphasizing that the party and government agencies’ insistence on living too tight is not a short-term response, but a policy that must be adhered to for a long time.
All localities and departments should truly live tight in terms of institutional mechanisms, budget arrangements, and policy implementation, persist in hard work, diligence and thrift, and better meet the people's growing needs for a better life.
Zeng Jinhua