2006年VOA标准英语-International Trends Affect US Income Levels

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, DC
31 August 2006
 
watch American Census¹ report
 
 
Census data collection was partially² done door-to-door 
  
New census figures indicate that average household incomes in the United States are rising.  But the country's poverty level remains³ unchanged and the number of Americans without health insurance is at a record high.  VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports on the uneven⁴ influence certain international trends are having on American well-being⁵.

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New data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that average American household income exceeds $46,000 a year -- an $11,000 increase since 1967.  Poverty levels over the same period have fluctuated, but remain virtually unchanged since 2001.  Currently, 12.6 percent of the population -- about 37 million Americans -- are considered poor.  

David Johnson  
  
David Johnson of the U.S. Census Bureau says nearly 47 million Americans have no health insurance.  "The percentage of people covered by employment-based insurance decreased from 59.8 percent to 59.5 percent in 2005 and the percentage of people with privately⁶ purchased plans also declined.  The increase in the overall uninsured rate can be attributed to these two declines."

On average, men earn more than women in the United States. Asian-Americans earn more than whites, followed by African-Americans and Hispanics.  The wealthiest counties in the United States are in the Washington, D.C area.  The poorest are in Texas along the Mexican border.  

Gary Burtless   
  
Nonetheless, economist⁷ Gary Burtless of the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, D.C. notes that Latin American immigrants continue to stream into the United States.

"They move to the United States, even if it brings them to a position where they are below the poverty line in the United States. Still, for those families [it] represents a tremendous improvement in their well-being.  It's a huge engine for progress in real incomes of these people."

Despite such improvement, low immigrant wages depress the overall U.S. income average.

Census data also indicate a growing disparity between incomes of Americans at the top and bottom quintiles, or 20 percent, of the population.  David Johnson of the Census Bureau explains. "The income for households in the top quintile represents about half of the total income for the nation, while income for those households at the bottom quintile accounts for only 3.4 percent."

Brookings Institution economist Gary Burtless says the growing wage gap between poor and wealthy Americans can be attributed in part to globalization and the outsourcing of U.S. jobs overseas.  He says this is shifting more of the national income from workers to employers.

"The availability of alternative places to produce things -- both goods and services in other countries, where wages are much lower, benefits are much less costly⁸ -- does increase the bargaining power of employers compared with workers," says Burtless.

Politicians in both major U.S. political parties claim the statistics support their economic policies.  Democrats⁹ say the census report confirms that most working families are not moving ahead financially.  Republicans say the figures indicate low unemployment, rising wages and more American jobs than ever before.

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

5 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》