VOA标准英语2011--Occupy Wall Street Protests Highlight Rich-Poor Gap

Occupy Wall Street Protests Highlight Rich-Poor Gap

 

The growing income gap between rich and poor is one of the reasons that activists¹ from the Occupy Wall Street movement staged protests in New York, across the United States and in other nations in 2011.

Major studies leave no doubt that the income gap is growing, but there is an even wider gulf² in opinions about what, if anything, to do about it.

Activists in hundreds of cities protested economic inequality and unemployment.

They say troubled banks get bailed³ out by taxpayers⁴, but ordinary people with financial problems face foreclosure.

The Occupy movement blames the financial crisis on banks and Wall Street, and says the wealthiest one percent of the population gets too much money and takes advantage of the 99 percent, buying political power to block taxes on the rich and slash⁵ social services for the poor.

It is demanding a more equitable⁶ society through more taxes on the wealthy and more regulation of business.

But Peter Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute says lower taxes and less business regulation would help the economy.

Protesters affiliated7 with the Occupy Wall Street movement hold up a sign in the center of Winter Garden Atrium in Three World Financial Center, New York, New York, December 12, 2011.

He says the growth of high tech firms like Apple computer show government should get out of the way of entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs.

Wallison says income inequality is less important than the possibility of getting rich, which drives entrepreneurs to take risks and create products.

"Many of these people grew up in very poor circumstances [Apple computer co-founder] Steve Jobs was a great example of that, and turned out to be a very wealthy man because of the things he was able to do in our very flexible society," says Wallison.

But John Cavanagh of the Institute for Policy Studies says high unemployment raises doubts about the rags to riches story.

"I think why the Occupy movement has struck such a cord, and been so popular, that they are the living embodiment that that story is no longer true," Cavanagh says.

The Congressional Budget Office says the richest one percent of the U.S. population saw its income jump 275 percent over the past three decades, while the poorest one-fifth gained just 18 percent.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows the wealthiest one-tenth of U.S. society has an income 14 times the size of that of the poorest one-tenth.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria says inequality is a problem.

"The social compact is starting to unravel⁸ in many countries. Uncertainty⁹ and fears of social decline and exclusion¹⁰ have reached the middle class in many societies. People feel that they are bearing the brunt of a crisis for which they have no responsibility, while those on high incomes appear to have been spared."

The protesters say they will continue as long as the economic problems that sparked the demonstrations¹¹, such as unemployment, remain unsolved.

1 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》

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

4 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

5 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

6 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

7 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

8 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

9 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

10 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

11 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。