Commencement (毕业典礼)is a time for idealism.
But economic reality is cruel everywhere; especially for new college graduates. They have been told repeatedly that a college degree is an open sesame (芝麻) to the global economy. But that’s not necessarily so, according to new research by two economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank Levy and Peter Temin.
It is true that people with college degrees make more money than people without degrees. The gap has narrowed somewhat in recent years, which is disturbing. But the earning power of college graduates still far outpaces that of less-educated workers.
The bad news, though, is that a college degree does not ensure a bigger share of the economic pie for many graduates. In recent decades Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show, only college-educated women have seen their income grow in line with economy wide gains in productivity. The earnings of male college graduates have failed to keep pace with productivity gains.
Instead, a huge share of productivity growth, which expands the nation’s total income, is going to Americans on the top of the income scale. In 2005, the latest year with available data, the top 1 percent of Americans--whose average annual income was $1.1 million--took in 21.8 percent of the nation’s income, their largest share since 1929.
Administration officials, and other politicians and economists, often, believe that income inequality reflects an education gap. But Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show that in the case of men, the average bachelor’s degree is not enough to catch the rising tide of the global economy.
They argue that the real reason that inequality is worsening is the lack of strong policies that broadly distribute economic gains. In the past, for example, a more progressive income tax and unions promote equality. Positive measures have also helped and probably accounts, in part, for the pay growth of college-educated women. But such measures have been eroding and new ones have not yet emerged, making the income gap even greater.
Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin conclude that only a new government policy can restore general prosperity. That’s a challenge to the nation’s leaders and today’s graduates. America needs them to contribute to the development of the nation in a global economy.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about that ________.| A．there is a big income gap between female and male college graduates in America |
| B．college graduates find it hard to find an idea job after graduation in America |
| C．college degrees are losing value in America |
| D．research shows that American government should take measures to ensure income equality for college graduates |
| A．Much of the total income of America has been gained by a few very rich people. |
| B．The whole nation has enjoyed a big income growth with the growth of productivity. |
| C．A small part of people in America can have income increase. |
| D．Upper class Americans contribute most to productivity growth. |
| A．being gradually destroyed by wind or rain | B．gradually not suitable |
| C．gradually disappearing | D．gradually reducing power |
| A．female college graduates have higher income than male ones |
| B．income tax can guarantee income equality |
| C．female college graduates have benefited from some governmental measures to ensure their income growth |
| D．new measures and policies have been taken to promote income equality |
| A．lack of proper governmental policies | B．lower college degree of college graduates |
| C．gender discrimination | D．underdevelopment of economy and productivity |
