Social Investigator: Mi Zhiwei

The theme of social investigation: the problem of rural old-age care in Bashang

Location of social investigation: Baituyao Brigade, Baituyao Township, Guyuan County, Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province

Social survey time: August 2005

The elderly live the worst, dress the worst and eat the worst ... The total population of our village 1070, of which 73 are 60-70 years old and 33 are 70-90 years old, of which 16 is a lonely old man. From small to large, I was deeply impressed by the fact that the elderly were abused by their daughter-in-law, and it was heartbreaking that the elderly were left without support. The old man has been busy all his life for his children, but in the end he has no one to support him, and he is disliked ... So, I made a survey on the old farmers' pension in Bashang, and the survey report is as follows:

First, the status quo of rural pension

How to provide for the elderly without children? To solve this problem, I interviewed Zhou Zhanfu, a lonely old man in our village. Zhou Zhanfu, male, 64 years old, childless, blind, does not engage in any labor, and relies entirely on others to support his life. From the conversation, I learned that his family's 8 mu grain ration field has been cultivated by his younger brother. Every year, my brother gives him two bags of wheat, up to 300 Jin. There is no other income except four bags of flour given by the brigade every year. When asked if these things were enough to eat, Zhou Laohan choked up. "I'm just hungry!" This is his subsequent answer. And her medical insurance is nothing more than 10 yuan's painkiller. My heart ached for this answer, but I was sad and confused: there is a nursing home in the county, why didn't the village branch send him there?

With this question, I interviewed Zhang Shouyu, the village party secretary. He said that we are on the dam in the north, the county is a poor county, and the village is a poor village. The income in the village is very small, and the lonely old people in the village spend more than half of the income of the village branch before flour. Where did so many people get the pension money? The state has promulgated the policy of reducing the burden, and they dare not share it equally. Besides, the villagers don't agree, so much can be managed in the village.

How do old people with children and women provide for the elderly? To solve this problem, I visited the old man Feng Ruilian in the village. Feng Ruilian, female, 80 years old. In the countryside, 80 years old is an old age, but her pension problem has become the talk of the whole village. She has five sons and 1 daughter. When she was asked about providing for the aged, the old man kept crying and didn't answer. When asked about child support again, the old man began to play dumb and answer some irrelevant words. I think the children of the elderly are very unfilial, and the elderly have suffered a lot, but they are embarrassed to speak out because they care about face or are afraid that their children will know that they have spoken ill of them. What I know about her comes from the people nearby. The old man's rations were successfully planted by his second son. She used her pocket to ask her second son for food and was always scolded by her second daughter-in-law. I went to find other sons with the same result, and I blamed her for farming for others. The old man has two sons who live in the city but seldom come back to see her, so he has to go to his son-in-law's house and always give him a bad look. The problem of eating has been solved, but the old man still has to do heavy housework, clean the house, feed the chickens and pigs, and cook ... Everything can't be separated from her. The problem of food and clothing has finally been solved, not to mention the medical expenses. Of course, some children of the elderly are better, but the medical problems of the elderly are not guaranteed, and they are often taken care of when they are sick. Parents have worked hard for their children all their lives, but in the end they have no one to support them, and they still look at life. Why?

Second, the causes of rural pension difficulties analysis

First of all, in fact, whether the elderly have children or not, the reasons for the difficulty of providing for the elderly are all the same. The low quality of rural population, backward rural economy and inadequate education make daughter-in-law and son-in-law not know how to love me, love my dog, have no love, and make villagers have no sympathy. So, where are our manners? Without culture, people don't know the value of family ties, the importance of friendship and nostalgia, and what sympathy is. People not only need material supply, but also need children's understanding, care and heart-to-heart communication. Ignorance makes this need of the old people a luxury that cannot be obtained; Ignorance has also turned the villagers into misers. They reluctantly took out dozens of dollars and spread them evenly on their heads ... but only turned them into insensitive people in Lu Xun's works. The low quality of the population has become the fundamental reason for farmers' difficulties in providing for the aged.

Secondly, the rural economy is backward. This is the direct cause. Our village is dominated by agriculture, supplemented by animal husbandry. The land in our village is barren and there is no grass slope. Agricultural income is so small that almost every family in the village can't make ends meet. If there is another high school student in the family, you have to live on a loan. In the words of a farmer, it is "I can't even manage myself, how can I manage my mother!"

Yes! If so, even if there is filial piety, there is nothing you can do. No wonder the daughter-in-law met her mother-in-law as if she had met an enemy. It is poverty that makes people stingy.

Third, the national distribution system is unfair. In the early days of the People's Republic of China, in order to promote industrial development, the state promulgated many policies that were beneficial to workers, one of which was that workers could receive pensions from the state after retirement. We have to admit: it is farmers who suffer the most; Farmers have low economic income and the lowest status. Farmers will also retire, but they won't get a pension, so they still rely on fields and sons! Agriculture is the foundation of the country, and food is the most important thing for the people. Farmers have made the most ordinary but fundamental contributions, but they can't get the minimum living guarantee when they are old, which is unfair. If farmers can also receive pensions, those old people will not have to worry about food and clothing, nor will they be squeezed under the eaves by their children.

Third, how to solve the problem of rural old-age care.

In view of the above reasons, we can take corresponding measures. We all know that education and economy are closely linked, and one link affects the other. Science and technology are the primary productive forces. We should adhere to both material civilization and spiritual civilization, practice the "Theory of Three Represents" and create a harmonious rural atmosphere. Some areas and people in our country got rich first. People and regions that get rich first now should give full play to their leading role. Therefore, the country has implemented a strategic plan to develop the northwest, and I think the northwest rural areas also have the problem of providing for the elderly like us. Based on this, I put forward the following suggestions: the state should increase investment in these areas, build junior and senior high schools, attract talents from the southeast to the northwest, train talents with talents, and let talents re-create wealth. At the same time, grassroots cadres of township governments and party member should play a leading role and actively explore ways for farmers to get rich.

In the distribution system, the state should make adjustments as soon as possible. At present, although the country has also promulgated some policies to benefit farmers, it has achieved little. The state intervenes in the economy and raises the prices of agricultural products, so does the prices of industrial products. So the price of agricultural products has not changed much. The state has continuously reduced the agricultural tax by 3 percentage points, and the agricultural burden of farmers has been reduced, but this burden is shared by everyone with very little money, and the effect is not obvious. It is hoped that national economic experts will also consider the economic role of macro-survey market and explore a direct, effective and obvious channel to increase farmers' economic income.

This year, the rural areas have been counting the elderly over 60 years old, and it is estimated that the minimum living allowance will be given. Although this system has not been implemented, people's hearts are already full of expenses. I hope that the country will implement this system as soon as possible and change it into a farmer's pension system. I believe that the implementation of this system will be a great progress in the history of farmers.

At present, the way of providing for the aged in our district is still family support, and children provide economic support, life care and spiritual comfort for their elderly parents, which can be recognized from both economic and social aspects.

At present, the economic development in China is not high and balanced, especially in Bashang, north of China, where the economic level is extremely low. The financial resources of the rural elderly depend on their young and middle-aged children. Among young and middle-aged children, the phenomenon of "attaching importance to Xiao Qing's old age" is still very serious, and the younger ones have no money to take care of, let alone the old ones. Some elderly children do not fulfill their maintenance obligations because of trivial matters; Some old people's children have vicious comparisons. "You don't care, I don't care!" The result is that no one cares about these old people. This not only brings economic difficulties to the elderly, but also brings mental pain to the elderly.

Although social pension has begun to take shape, it is not the mainstream. The social welfare system is not perfect, the framework of the social security system has not been established, and the traditional virtue of respecting the elderly of the Chinese nation is losing. The problem of providing for the aged of the old peasants cannot be ignored.

Looking at these two levels comprehensively, it is still the construction of material civilization and spiritual civilization of society. The two complement each other and influence each other. We must continue to adhere to the party's basic line, the four cardinal principles and the policy of "grasping with both hands and being hard with both hands". Only in this way can we fundamentally solve the problem.

For this survey, although the scope of the survey is limited, it is a deep feeling for myself. First of all, we have a preliminary understanding of the mass thought of "from the masses to the masses", and in the process of discovering, analyzing and solving social problems, we have invisibly applied Marxist principles, thus deepening our understanding of Marxism. Secondly, I realize that the problem of providing for the aged in rural areas of China is a big problem that cannot be ignored. If the rural elderly are allowed to live like this, it is not only the degradation of human nature in China, but also a major factor of social disharmony and instability. Finally, I feel that I am really a master to find the problem and rack my brains to think about the measures to solve the problem. Now I am still a student. I should try my best to improve my professional knowledge, cultivate my moral quality and make my modest contribution to socialist modernization.

August 2006