首页
登录
职称英语
Compared with the systems in other industrialized countries, the American un
Compared with the systems in other industrialized countries, the American un
游客
2023-12-04
62
管理
问题
Compared with the systems in other industrialized countries, the American unemployment-insurance(Ul)scheme pays lower benefits for less time and to a smaller share of the unemployed. In expansions this encourages the jobless to return quickly to work—and unemployed Americans do indeed work harder at finding jobs than their European counterparts(see chart). But in recessions, when there is less work to return to, it causes hardship. Like America’s training system, Ul is ripe for attention from the incoming Obama administration.
Like much of the social safety net, the current Ul system was a product of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. States were prodded to provide benefits in accordance with federal guidelines; in return the federal government paid their administrative costs. But the system has not kept up with changes in America’s labor force.
States often require beneficiaries to have worked or earned an amount that disqualifies many part-time and low-wage workers. They also disqualify people seeking only part-time work—even though many people now work part-time for family reasons. Benefits typically last for only six months, more than enough time to find a. new job in normal times but not in recessions. Extended benefits kick in automatically when unemployment reaches certain thresholds, but those thresholds are so high that they are almost never triggered.
Congress therefore has to pass special legislation to extend benefits, as it did twice last year, but political wrangling often delays such action. In the week that ended on December 20th, 586,000 workers filed a first claim for unemployment benefits, the largest number for 26 years. Yet such claimants are, in one sense, lucky: typically, 60% of unemployed people don’t qualify for the benefits at all.
Unemployment insurance is one of the economy’s most important automatic stabilisers, helping to maintain household purchasing power when the economy weakens. But that role is impaired by the short duration of benefits and their skimpy level. At just under $300, the average weekly benefit is less than half the average private-sector wage. Mississippi’s maximum benefit of $230 is not much more than the federal poverty threshold of $200 for an individual. Benefits are low, in part, because they are financed by payroll taxes that states levy on their employers. States don’t like to raise such taxes, even when times are good. But that means they lack the funds to pay benefits when times are bad, forcing them to raise other taxes or borrow from the federal government, as some 30 states are now considering.
One of the best features of America’s system is "experience rating" : employers that frequently lay workers off must pay higher payroll taxes, thereby discouraging such lay-offs. But according to Alan Krueger of Princeton, many states have neutered that feature by charging most employers the lowest tax rate.
Several moves are afoot to mend the flaws in the Ul system. Under a bill put forward by Jim McDermott, a congressman from Seattle, the government would offer cash incentives to states to expand eligibility to part-time workers and make the benefit formula more generous. A second bill would significantly expand eligibility for the 46-year old Trade Adjustment Assistance programme, for example by including service-sector workers and providing more generous benefits. Both measures passed the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate. As a senator, Barack Obama backed both. As president, he might make them reality. [br] Unemployment insurance serves as the economy’s automatic stabilizer in that it______.
选项
A、provides the unemployed with the necessities of life
B、keeps the level of family consumption
C、keeps the unemployed from causing riots to the society
D、maintains the original level of the nation’s purchasing power
答案
B
解析
细节题。根据第五段第一句:“Unemployment insurance is one of the economy’s most importantautomatic stabilizers,helping to maintain household purchasing power when the economy weakens.”后半句的同位语解释了为什么失业保障体系是经济最重要的稳定器之一——因为它可以在经济衰退的时候保持家庭的购买力以阻止经济的进一步恶化。[B]为这一意思的另一种表达,故为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3245296.html
相关试题推荐
______wasthemostpopularAmericanpoetofthiscentury.Attheageof87,he
TheAmericanWay:FreedomTheheartoftheAmericancalendaris
TheAmericanWay:FreedomTheheartoftheAmericancalendaris
TheAmericanWay:FreedomTheheartoftheAmericancalendaris
TheAmericanWay:FreedomTheheartoftheAmericancalendaris
TheAmericanWay:FreedomTheheartoftheAmericancalendaris
WilliamFaulknerwastheforemostAmerican______writerofthe20thcentury.A、N
WhichofthefollowingcountriesdoesNOTtakeEnglishastheofficiallanguage?
Whichofthefollowingcameintobeingasanon-religiousAmericanfestival?A、Th
AftertheAmericanRevolution,______becamethefirstcapitaloftheUnitedSta
随机试题
Themostnoticeabletrendamongtoday’smediacompaniesisverticalintegrat
AnothermilestoneonthejourneytowardsdigitalcashwaspassedonNovember
______in1943______theharmfulsmogmadeitsappearanceinLosAngeles.A、Only
世界上第一只公认的证券投资基金是()A.海外及殖民地政府信托基金 B.苏格兰
亲水性的化学成分是A.苷元B.生物碱盐C.萜类D.挥发油E.树脂
下列平喘药中最慢产生效果的是A.特布他林B.氨茶碱C.色甘酸钠D.倍氯米松E.克
人在每一瞬间,将心理活动选择了某些对象而忽略了另一些对象。这一特点指的是注意的(
心理咨询的基本阶段包括( )。多选A、巩固阶段 B、诊断阶段 C
某公司注册资本为100万元。2020年,该公司提取的法定公积金累计额为7
当对一种商品实行最高限价时,市场上可能出现的后果通常有()。A.市场过剩
最新回复
(
0
)