Why are people not spending anymore?
The article points out a key feature of contemporary rural society (at its core, it’s still the same old system): benefits shift downward to the younger generation, while responsibilities shift upward onto the older ones. In practice, this means pooling the entire family’s resources to support the next generation, while placing all the burden on the limited productive capacity of the parents. At the same time, there is growing pressure for elderly people to generate economic returns—expecting them to stretch already tight incomes to cover not only basic survival needs for multiple household members, but also social obligations such as weddings and funerals. This further compresses disposable income, leading rural residents to spend cautiously: beyond essential expenses, they prioritize accumulating resources for their children, and it is increasingly common for younger family members to expect their grandparents to provide financial support for the household. (Social pressures are intensifying.)
In polite terms, this is called “expanding the family’s reproductive capacity.” In blunt terms, it means if you can’t earn money, you don’t count as a full person.