How many really suffer as a result of labor market problems This is one of the most critical yet contentious social policy questions. In many ways, our social statistics exaggerate the degree of hardship. Unemployment does not have the same dire consequences today as it did in the 1930’s when most of the unemployed were primary breadwinners, when income and earnings were usually much closer to the margin of subsistence, and when there were no countervailing social programs for those failing in the labor market. Increasing affluence, the rise of families with more than one wage earner, the growing predominance of secondary earners among the unemployed, and improved social welfare protection have unquestionably mitigated the consequences of joblessness. Earnings and income data also overstate the dimensions of hardship. Among the millions with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage level, the over-whelming majority are from multiple earner, relatively afflunent families. Most of those counted by the poverty statistics are elderly or handicapped or have family responsibilities which keep them out of the labor force, so the poverty statistics are by no means an accurate indicator of labor market pathologies.Yet there are also many ways our social statistics underestimate the degree of labor-market- related hardship. The unemployment counts exclude the millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support. Since the number experiencing joblessness at some time during the year is several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer as a result of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffer. For every person counted in the monthly unemployment tallies, there is another working part-time because of the inability to find fulltime work, or else outside the labor force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and in kind transfers does not necessarily mean that those failing in the labor market are adequately protected.As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether those suffering seriously as a result of thousands or the tens of millions, and, hence, whether high levels of joblessness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate--that the existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one of their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems. One factor that causes unemployment and earnings figures to over-predict the amount of economic hardship is()
A. the recurrence of periods of unemployment for a group of low--wage workers
B. the fact that unemployment counts do not include those who work for low wages
C. the establishment of a system of record keeping that makes it possible to compile poverty statistics
D. the prevalence, among low--wage workers and the unemployed, of members of families in which others are employed
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The 1990s have been designated the Decade Against Drug Abuse by the United Nations. But, (1) less than three years to go before the end of the decade, governments and health organizations (2) that they have made (3) progress in reducing drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse. Today, consumption of all these substances is increasingly steadily worldwide. (4) every country now has problems with (5) drugs. And the world is producing and consuming more alcohol and tobacco than ever. Between 1970 and 1990 beer production (6) rose by over 80 per cent. And, (7) the number of smokers keeps on (8) ,by the second or third (9) of the next century there could be 10 million deaths each year (10) smoking related illnesses.Drugs are also a huge burden (11) the world economy. In the United States, for example, it’s estimated that alcohol and illegal drug use costs the country tens of billions of dollars each year, mainly (12) health care. When the cost of tobacco related illnesses is added, (13) total more than doubles.Drugs are also closely (14) crime. Many police forces no longer (15) between illegal and legal drugs when fighting crime. In Australia, for example, experts (16) that police in some parts of the country spend between 70 and 80 per cent of their time dealing with alcohol-related incidents.One explanation for the increase in drug (17) is simply that people have more money to spend. Tobacco and alcohol companies are now (18) much more on developing countries to take (19) of greater wealth there. And criminals involved in the illegal drug trade are following (20) ,introducing drugs into countries where they were previously hardly use. (9)()
A. decade
B. year
C. section
D. period
How many really suffer as a result of labor market problems This is one of the most critical yet contentious social policy questions. In many ways, our social statistics exaggerate the degree of hardship. Unemployment does not have the same dire consequences today as it did in the 1930’s when most of the unemployed were primary breadwinners, when income and earnings were usually much closer to the margin of subsistence, and when there were no countervailing social programs for those failing in the labor market. Increasing affluence, the rise of families with more than one wage earner, the growing predominance of secondary earners among the unemployed, and improved social welfare protection have unquestionably mitigated the consequences of joblessness. Earnings and income data also overstate the dimensions of hardship. Among the millions with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage level, the over-whelming majority are from multiple earner, relatively afflunent families. Most of those counted by the poverty statistics are elderly or handicapped or have family responsibilities which keep them out of the labor force, so the poverty statistics are by no means an accurate indicator of labor market pathologies.Yet there are also many ways our social statistics underestimate the degree of labor-market- related hardship. The unemployment counts exclude the millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support. Since the number experiencing joblessness at some time during the year is several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer as a result of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffer. For every person counted in the monthly unemployment tallies, there is another working part-time because of the inability to find fulltime work, or else outside the labor force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and in kind transfers does not necessarily mean that those failing in the labor market are adequately protected.As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether those suffering seriously as a result of thousands or the tens of millions, and, hence, whether high levels of joblessness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate--that the existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one of their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems. The author’s purpose in citing "repeated 12-month unemployed ment" is most probably to show that()
A. there are several factors that cause the payment of low wages to some members of the labor force
B. unemployment statistics can underestimate the hardship resulting from joblessness
C. recurrent inadequacies in the labor market can exist and can cause hardships for individual workers
D. a majority of those who are jobless at any one time does not suffer severe hardship
The 1990s have been designated the Decade Against Drug Abuse by the United Nations. But, (1) less than three years to go before the end of the decade, governments and health organizations (2) that they have made (3) progress in reducing drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse. Today, consumption of all these substances is increasingly steadily worldwide. (4) every country now has problems with (5) drugs. And the world is producing and consuming more alcohol and tobacco than ever. Between 1970 and 1990 beer production (6) rose by over 80 per cent. And, (7) the number of smokers keeps on (8) ,by the second or third (9) of the next century there could be 10 million deaths each year (10) smoking related illnesses.Drugs are also a huge burden (11) the world economy. In the United States, for example, it’s estimated that alcohol and illegal drug use costs the country tens of billions of dollars each year, mainly (12) health care. When the cost of tobacco related illnesses is added, (13) total more than doubles.Drugs are also closely (14) crime. Many police forces no longer (15) between illegal and legal drugs when fighting crime. In Australia, for example, experts (16) that police in some parts of the country spend between 70 and 80 per cent of their time dealing with alcohol-related incidents.One explanation for the increase in drug (17) is simply that people have more money to spend. Tobacco and alcohol companies are now (18) much more on developing countries to take (19) of greater wealth there. And criminals involved in the illegal drug trade are following (20) ,introducing drugs into countries where they were previously hardly use. (20)()
A. example
B. forward
C. suit
D. after
The 1990s have been designated the Decade Against Drug Abuse by the United Nations. But, (1) less than three years to go before the end of the decade, governments and health organizations (2) that they have made (3) progress in reducing drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse. Today, consumption of all these substances is increasingly steadily worldwide. (4) every country now has problems with (5) drugs. And the world is producing and consuming more alcohol and tobacco than ever. Between 1970 and 1990 beer production (6) rose by over 80 per cent. And, (7) the number of smokers keeps on (8) ,by the second or third (9) of the next century there could be 10 million deaths each year (10) smoking related illnesses.Drugs are also a huge burden (11) the world economy. In the United States, for example, it’s estimated that alcohol and illegal drug use costs the country tens of billions of dollars each year, mainly (12) health care. When the cost of tobacco related illnesses is added, (13) total more than doubles.Drugs are also closely (14) crime. Many police forces no longer (15) between illegal and legal drugs when fighting crime. In Australia, for example, experts (16) that police in some parts of the country spend between 70 and 80 per cent of their time dealing with alcohol-related incidents.One explanation for the increase in drug (17) is simply that people have more money to spend. Tobacco and alcohol companies are now (18) much more on developing countries to take (19) of greater wealth there. And criminals involved in the illegal drug trade are following (20) ,introducing drugs into countries where they were previously hardly use. (15)()
A. aware
B. separate
C. investigate
D. distinguish