Curb position-related consumption

Lavish position-related consumption should be effectively checked, says an editorial in Beijing Youth Daily. Excerpts below:

Reporters at Xinhua News Agency have found that some officials spend lavishly on official business. Jia Kang, head of the Research Institute for Fiscal Science under the Ministry of Finance, said that some municipal level officials' position-related expenses are more than 400,000 yuan ($65,300) a year, and in some developed areas, the figure is more than 1 million yuan.

Position-related spending is necessary and unavoidable, but it's now a hotbed for invisible corruption. Some officials insist on flying first class and living in five-star hotels during their official business trips. Some officials spend money for private business but pay for them in the name of public spending. Some officials even illegally embezzle public funds for position-related spending. All these have led to harsh public criticism.

A large amount of position-related consumption means tremendous administrative expenditures, which took public funds that should have been spent on people's livelihoods. This situation has created wide public discontent.

Some officials regard position-related spending as perks of their jobs, and they don't think such spending will be punished as corruption. That's why so much money has been wasted on it.

Discipline inspection authorities should be aware of the negative effects of lavish position-related spending and use their supervisory functions to effectively curb it for the sake of the public good.