2016考研英语最新时文精读：关于最低工资的讨论

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本文推荐的2016考研英语最新时文精读来自2015年7月《Principles of Economics》，一场关于最低工资(minimum wages)的讨论，文章认为“争取越来越高的最低工资标准”这种趋势是非常危险的，原因何在?通读这篇文章，让我们来一探究竟。

市场存在一条基本的运作定律——“价涨需跌”(when prices rise, demand falls)。时下最低工资的大幅上涨是一场押上了人们未来的赌博。Big rises in minimum wages are a gamble with people's futures.

Modest minimum wages do not seem to sap demand for labour. Truckloads of studies, from both America and Europe, show that at low levels—below 50% of median full-time income, with a lower rate for young people—minimum wages do not destroy many jobs. 适度的最低工资似乎不会消弱劳动力需求。来自美国和欧洲的大量研究表明，在处于低水平时——比全职工作收入中位数低50%，且对年轻人的比率更低——最低工资不会毁掉大量的工作。

By moving towards sharply higher minimum wages, policymakers are accelerating into a fog. Little is known about the long-run effects of modest minimum wages. And nobody knows what big rises will do, at any time horizon. It is reckless to assume that because low minimum wages have seemed harmless, much larger ones must be, too. 通过转向大幅提高最低工资，决策者正在加速进入一片未知领域。适度的最低工资的长期影响鲜为人知，而且也没有人知道大幅提高最低工资会对将来做成什么影响。因为低水平的最低工资似乎无害就假设大幅上涨的最低工资必然也无害是鲁莽的。

One danger is that a high minimum wage will push some workers out of the labour force for good. A building worker who loses his job in a recession can expect to find a new one when the economy picks up. A cashier with few skills who, following the introduction of a high minimum wage, becomes permanently more expensive than a self-service checkout machine will have no such luck. The British government's defence of its new policy—that a strong economy will generate enough jobs to replace those lost to a higher minimum wage—is disingenuous: the jobs are still lost. 一个危险是，高水平的最低工资将把有些工人永远赶出劳动力市场。一位在衰退中失去工作的建筑工人能够在经济回暖时期望找到一份新工作。一位在高水平的最低工资引入后变得永远比一台自助收款机还要贵的低技能工人就不会有这样的运气。英国政府关于其新政策——强劲的经济将产生足够多的工作来取代因提高最低工资而失去的工作——的辩护是不真诚的：工作仍在流失。

An ever-higher minimum wage will encourage investment in the technology to replace them. Higher minimum wages will also affect workers in tradable sectors such as tourism and manufacturing, where they risk losing ground to foreign competitors. 不断上涨的最低工资将鼓励投资于科技，以便取代上述那些人。更高的最低工资还将影响旅游和制造业等存在着输给外国竞争者风险的贸易部门的工人。

文章最后指出，提高最低工资是一种很差劲的与贫困作斗争的方法。The irony is that minimum wages are a bad way to combat poverty. 根据测算，只有五分之一的收入福利流向贫困线之下的人群。英国最富有的10%家庭将从最低工资的上涨中获得比最贫穷的10%家庭更多的好处。通过这篇文章的解读，我们可以获得一个明确的观点，那就是一味地追求最低工资的提高也是有弊端的!有了这一背景知识的了解，再遇到此类文章则可以帮助我们更快的切中主题。小编提醒广大考生，泛读的学习也是非常有必要的，要把课余休息时间利用起来，多了解文化背景知识，这对我们考研英语复习大有裨益。祝大家梦想成真!