VOA慢速英语20060113a

ECONOMICS REPORT - On the Job, at Minimum WageBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, January 13, 2006

I'm Faith Lapidus with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly pay rate permitted by law. In the United States, the federal minimum wage is five dollars and fifteen cents an hour. It has not changed since nineteen ninety-seven. And it does not include all jobs.

For example, workers who receive extra money in the form of tips can be paid two dollars and thirteen cents an hour. Also, the federal rate may not cover some workers for small companies. State laws often set minimum pay in these cases.

The Department of Labor¹ says about two million workers earn the minimum wage or less. That is about three percent of all workers paid by the hour.

Ohio and Kansas have lower minimum wages for some workers than under federal law. But sixteen of the fifty states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the federal one.

In California, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has just proposed what he says is a much-needed raise. California's minimum wage would rise one dollar, to seven dollars and seventy-five cents an hour, over the next year and a half.




State lawmakers passed a bill last year to add a dollar to the minimum wage. But Mister Schwarzenegger vetoed it because it would have also required yearly increases for inflation.

State governments led the way in the history of the minimum wage in America. Massachusetts passed a law for women and children in nineteen twelve. But in nineteen twenty-three, the Supreme² Court found wage requirements for private employers unconstitutional. It ruled that states could not interfere³ with pay agreements.

In nineteen thirty-eight, however, the Fair Labor Standards Act established a federal minimum wage. At that time, it was twenty-five cents.

Some economists⁴ and lawmakers argue that markets, and not the government, should set prices for labor. They say minimum wage laws reduce the number of jobs for unskilled workers and young people.

Employers might not be happy with higher labor costs. But labor activists⁵ warn that inflation has reduced the buying power of today's minimum wage. They say a minimum wage must be a living wage. That is, it must be enough for workers and their families to live on.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. Read and listen to our reports online at www.unsv.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》