U8  Politics and Economy

政治与经济

Unemployment Policy Discourages Employment

       Reading Comprehension

       (包括“答案与题解”)

       Notes

       课文参考译文

       练习

         ●Cloze

●Reading Passages(包括“疑难长句翻译与注解”)

         ●Translation

●Writing(包括“审题指导”)

Unemployment Policy Discourages Employment Stability

Our current system of unemployment compensation has increased nearly all sources of adult unemployment. First, for those who are already unemployed, the system greatly reduces the cost of extending the period of unemployment. Second, for all types of unsteady work—seasonal, cyclical and casual—it raises the net wage to the employee, relative to the cost of the employer.

As for the first, consider a worker who earns $500 per month or $6，000 per year if she experiences no unemployment. If she is unemployed for one month, she loses $500 in gross earnings but only $116 in net income. How does this occur? A reduction of $500 in annual earnings reduces her federal payroll and state tax liability by $134. Unemployment compensation consists of 50% of her wage or $250. Her net income therefore falls from $366 if she is employed, to $250 paid as unemployment compensation. Moreover, part of the higher income from employment is offset by the cost of transportation to work and other expenses associated with employment; and in some industries, the cost of unemployment is reduced further or even made negative by the supplementary unemployment benefits paid by employers under collective bargaining agreements. The over-all effect is to increase the duration of a typical period of unemployment and to increase the frequency with which individuals lose jobs and become unemployed. The more general effect of unemployment compensation is to increase the seasonal and cyclical fluctuations in the demand for labor and the relative number of short-lived casual jobs. A worker who accepts such work knows she will be laid off when the season ends. If there were no unemployment compensation, workers could be induced to accept such unstable jobs only if the wage rate were sufficiently higher in those jobs than in the more stable ones.

The higher cost of labor, then, would induce employers to reduce the instability of employment, among other things, by additional development of off-season work and by the introduction of new production techniques, e.g., new methods of outdoor work in bad weather. Employers contribute to the state unemployment compensation fund on the basis of the unemployment experience of their own previous employees. Within limits, the more benefits that those former employees draw, the higher is the employer’s tax rate. The theory of experience rating is clear. If an employer paid the full cost of the unemployment benefits that his former employees received, unemployment compensation would provide no incentive to an excess use of unstable employment. In practice, however, experience rating is limited by a maximum rate of employer contribution. For any firm that pays the maximum rate, there is no cost for additional unemployment and no gain from a small reduction in unemployment.

The challenge at this time is to restructure the unemployment system in a way that strengthens its good features while reducing the harmful effects. Some gains can be achieved by removing the ceiling on the employer’s rate of contribution and by lowering the minimum rate to zero. Employers would then pay the full price of unemployment insurance benefits and this would encourage employers to stabilize employment and production. Further improvement could be achieved if unemployment insurance benefits were taxed in the same way as other earnings. This would eliminate the situations in which a worker’s net income is actually reduced when he returns to work.

1. The author’s primary concern is to            .

 ［A］ defend the system of unemployment compensation against criticism

 ［B］ advocate expanding the benefits and scope of coverage of unemployment compensation

 ［C］ suggest reforms to eliminate inefficiencies in unemployment compensation

 ［D］ propose methods of increasing the effectiveness of government programs to reduce unemployment

2. The author cites the example of a worker earning $500 per month (Para. 2) in order to show             .

 ［A］ the negative effects created by unemployment compensation on the worker’s return to work

 ［B］ that employers do not bear the full cost of worker compensation

 ［C］ that unemployed workers would not be able to survive without unemployment compensation

 ［D］ that workers prefer living on unemployment compensation to taking a job

3. Which of the following changes does the author recommend being made in the unemployment compensation?

 ［A］ Taxing unemployment compensation to lower net benefits received by workers.

 ［B］ Shortening the length of time during which a worker receives benefits to force the worker to seek work.

 ［C］ Increasing the amount of money paid by employers into the unemployment compensation fund.

 ［D］ Both ［A］ and ［C］.

4. All the following are mentioned as ways by which employers might reduce seasonal and cyclical unemployment EXCEPT             .

 ［A］ developing new techniques of production not affected by weather

 ［B］ creating new job opportunities for laid-off workers at the off-season

 ［C］ adopting a system of supplementary benefits for workers laid off in slow periods

 ［D］ finding new jobs to be done by workers during the off-season

5. Which of the following criticisms of the unemployment compensation system does the author make?

 ［A］ It encourages a worker to stay on his or her present job longer.

 ［B］ It places an unfair burden on firms whose production is cyclical or seasonal.

 ［C］ It encourages out-of-work employees to extend the length of time they are unemployed.

 ［D］ It constitutes a long-term threat to those more capable yet jobless workers.

答案与题解

1.［C］  

文章第一段开门见山地指出了存在的问题，第二、三段对问题的产生原因进行了具体分析，并举例进行了说明，第四段对解决问题提出了建议。可见本文的宗旨在于分析问题并解决问题。

2.［A］  

根据第二段第一句的提示(As for the first)，我们找到第一段第二句，这句话的意思是：对那些正处于失业状态的人来说，他们并不急于再找工作，因为现行的失业补助金制度极大减少了他们失业期间的个人损失。

3.［D］  

有关［A］参阅第四段第四、五句，有关［C］参阅第四段第二、三句。

4.［C］   意为：对缓慢增长时期被解雇的工人采用一种补充救济制度。

有关［A］、［B］、［D］参阅第三段第一句。

5.［C］  

参阅第一段第二句及第2题题解。

Notes

1.第二段第七句是一个并列复合句。两个句子由and连接。句架是...， part of the...income...is offset by the cost and other expenses...; and...， the cost...is reduced further or even made...by...benefits paid by...under...。

2.第二段最后一句是一个简单主从复合句， 是一个虚拟语气的句子。句架是If there were no...compensation, workers could be induced...only if the wage rate were...higher in those jobs than in the more stable ones (ones在这里指jobs)。

课文参考译文

失业政策不利于就业稳定

 我们目前的失业补偿制度差不多使成年人失业的所有原因增多了。首先，对那些已经失业的人来说，这种制度大大减少了失业时间延长所带来的损失。其次，对各类不稳定工作——季节性、周期性和临时性工作——来说，与雇主的开支相比，这种制度提高了员工的纯工资。

至于第一类，请考虑一个工人如果没有经历过失业每月可挣500美元或每年挣6 000美元。如果她失业一个月，她的总收入损失500美元，但是纯收入只损失116美元。这种情况是怎么发生的？年收入减少500美元，她应缴纳的联邦工薪税和州税就减少134美元。失业补偿金由她的一半工资构成，即250美元。因而她的纯收入就从就业时的366美元降到作为失业补偿金发放的250美元。此外，因就业所获得的较高收入的一部分则被前去工作的交通费和其他与就业有关的费用所抵消；在某些工业部门，失业损失会进一步减少，或者甚至变成负数，因为根据集体谈判协议，雇主应发放失业补助金。全面的影响是使典型的失业持续期间延长和个人丢掉工作变为失业的频率增加。失业补偿制度所产生的更普遍影响是在需求劳动力和相对数量的短期临时工方面增加了季节和周期变动。一个接受这种工作的工人知道，她在这个季节结束时就会被解雇。如果没有失业补偿制度，那么只有在那些不稳定的工作岗位的工资水平大大高于更稳定的工作岗位的工资水平的情况下，工人才有可能受到诱惑而接受不稳定的工作。

那么，较高的人工成本会诱使雇主通过额外开发淡季工作和引进新生产技术，即引进在恶劣气候条件下户外工作的新方法来减少就业的不稳定性。雇主根据他们自己以前的员工的失业经验向州失业补偿基金捐款。在一定范围内，那些前员工领取的补助越多，雇主的纳税率就越高。根据经验决定纳税率是清楚的。如果一位雇主全额支付他的前员工所领到的失业补助金，那么失业补偿制度对过分使用不稳定就业的办法就不会起到鼓励作用。但是在实践中，根据经验决定纳税率的做法受到雇主最高捐款率的限制。对捐款率最高的任何公司来说，增加失业不会造成损失，少量减少失业也不会得益。