Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer

Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer Robert B. Reich

Quotes • “Almost half the world’s population lives on less than two dollars a day, yet even this statistics fails to capture the humiliation, powerlessness and brutal hardship that is the daily lot of the world’s poor.” -----Koffi Anan, UN Secretary General • “A world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half of the human race lives on less than $2 a day, is neither just, nor stable.” — President Bush 2

Gap between the rich and the poor: A Global Phenomenon • Global Inequality – The systematic differences in wealth and power that exist between countries • Indicators of Economic Development – – GDP – A country’s yearly output of goods and services per person – Three economic classes as determined by the World Bank -- low, middle, and high. (macro national level)

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Global Inequality: Differences between Countries • High Income Countries – – – –

GDP of $9,266 per person Generally those first to industrialize Account for only 15% of the world’s population Lay claim to 79% of the world’s annual output of wealth

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Global Inequality: Differences between Countries • Middle-Income Countries – GDP of $756 - $9,265 per

person – Most began to industrialize late in the 20th century. – Includes 45% of the world’s population – Only accounts for 18% of the annual output of wealth

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Global Inequality: Differences between Countries

• Low Income Countries – GDP under $755 per person – Mostly agricultural economies that have only recently began to industrialize – Accounts for 37% of the world’s population – Produces only 3% of the annual output of wealth

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The Rich get Richer, the Poor get Poorer – 1.5 Billion People, ¼ of the world’s population lives in poverty.

–Why are incomes diverging??? –The function you perform in the world economy 7

An Overarching metaphor

Structural Analysis • How would you divide the passage?

Structural Analysis Para.1-2: We are now in different economic boats.

Structural Analysis Para.3-20: Why the boat containing routine producers is sinking rapidly.

Structural Analysis Para.21-27: Why the boat carrying in-person servers is sinking more slowly and unevenly.

Structural Analysis Para.28- 42: Why the vessel containing America’s symbolic analysts is rising.

3 Classifications • Who are they? What do they do?

Group 1 • Routine producers: workers who work regular hours for the manufacturing plants or corporations.

Group 2 • In-person Servers: those who work in the service industry.

Group 3 • Symbolic Analysts: those who sell their insights and skills. They are problem identifiers, problem solvers, innova tors who can visualize n ew uses of existing tech nologies.

Brainstorming: Examples Routine Producers • Blue-collar workers • Clerks, secretaries, • Foremen, section chief, • More???

In-person Servers • Waiter, waitress • Sales assistants • Retail sales workers • Aerobics instructors • More???

Symbolic Analysts • Scientists, engineers, technical specialists • Marketers, architects, advertisers, consultants (management, energy, political ) • Investors, bankers, lawyers • Top managers, executives • artists • More???

Why is the boat containing routine producers is sinking rapidly? • The traditional pattern of wages in the core corporations: Reinvestments in new plants and equipment Top managers and investors Middle managers and production workers-----growth of middle-class

Globalization • Core corporations are rapidly breaking down into global webs: Routine producers in the U.S. are in direct competition with those in other nations. • Heavy industry and international corporations strive to search for ever-lower wages.

Cheapest Labor Singapore

Shreveport Thailand

AT&T

Routine data processing: Saztec International

Headquarter: Kansas city

Earns most

Manila

Philippine

Coding • Since more and more Information is converted into computer readable form, the simple coding of computer software has also entered into world commerce. (para.11) • This further leads to the shift of routine workers from advanced to developing nations.

The Technology Gap – Gap continues to widen between technologically enabled countries and those without technology

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• Routine production jobs have vanished fastest in traditional unionized industries. (Para.15) • seniority

Why is the boat carrying in-person servers sinking more slowly and unevenly? • • • • •

In-person servers’ competitors: Former routine production workers High school graduates and dropouts Immigrants Laborsaving machinery (fiercest)

Why is the vessel containing America’s symbolic analysts rising? • Symbolic analysts at the top are in great demand.(para.28)-----The most important reason for such great demand is the dramatic improvement in worldwide communication and transportation technologies. (para.35) • Symbolic analysts in the middle range are not limited to American customers.(para.29-32) • Those who manipulate oral and visual symbols are earning cultural capital.(para.33)

Symbolic Analysts

Rising demand

Rising compensation

Wider gap

Para. 36-42 Routine producers and Symbolic analysts in-person servers Monotonous

Creative

Little independence and discretion

Substantial discretion

There are constraints on their earnings.

Their earnings are not limited.

Summary Globalization • Large, global corporations with workers everywhere competing at a global wage.

They face fiercer competition from different fields.

They are in great demand. • They can work in transnational way. • Their earnings are not limited.

Making Connections • Put what the writer said in the Chinese context, and do you think the rich/poor discrepancy in China is also caused by the those factors? To what extent do you agree or disagree with the author?

Vocabulary (Para.1-2) • The club welcomes all new members regardless of age. (means paying no attention to) • We went through school and college together, but then our paths diverged. (separate and go in different directions.) • By and Large, your plan is a good one. (on the whole) • Share prices languished at $2. (be forced to stay somewhere)

Vocabulary (Para.3-27) • The deteriorating environment poses a threat to human‘s health. (present a danger to， para.3) • The existence of these weapons poses a grave threat to the future of the world. • The factory introduced a state-of-the-art system from abroad. (the highest level of development at present time, para.4) • Some believe that corruption is ineluctable among officials. (unavoidable, para.5)

• Routine data processing is equally footloose. (not confined to the place, carefree, para.7) • Bert is a footloose, unemployed actor. • Her difficult childhood spurred her on to succeed. (encourage, para.11) • The new software will prove a boon to internet users. (something that is very helpful, para.12)

• Many of the houses in the slum area lacked basic amenities. (some facilities that make a place comfortable, para.18) • She wrote the ebullient letter as soon as she got to her flat. (energetic, para.18) • We find newspaper ballyhoo unbearable. (unnecessary noise and excitement, para.19)

• He charged a relatively modest fee. 他收取的 费用不算高。(para.21) • Squirrels garner nuts for the winter. 松鼠为过 冬储存松果. (para.21) • Adults are often immune to German measles. 成人往往对风疹有免疫力。(para.21) • Being the only son in the family, the young man was immune from military service. 由于 是独子, 那个年轻人被免于服兵役.

• They plan to fabricate a cinema next year. 他们 计划明年建造一座电影院.(para.22) • Can you substitute for the singer who is ill? 你能 替一下那位得了病的歌手 吗 ? (para.22) • Violence and military attacks will imperil peace. 暴力和军事打击可能危及和平. • Each animal has its ecological niche. 每种动物都 有自己的生态位. （para.23) • You can then find your own niche in public life. 那 样你就可以在社会生活中找到适合于你的位置.

• The cut in bank rate is expected to buoy up the economy. 银行利率的降低可望振兴经济.(para.24) • There's nothing like a good joke to buoy one's spirits. 没有什么像一个好的笑话那样能振奋人们的精神. • A little bonus will give the employees an incentive to work harder. 一点奖金可以刺激雇员更加努力地工作. (para.24) • Scientific knowledge is cumulative. 科学知识是积累起 来的.(para.24) • He lives in Beijing or thereabout ( s ). 他住北京一 带.(para.24) • It was very cold and the temperature fell to zero or thereabout. 天气很冷,气温降到零度左右.

• The town is perched on the edge of a steep, precipitous cliff. 该镇坐落在陡峭险峻的悬崖边上。 • To stave off disaster we could look only to them. 要阻挡灾 难来临,我们只能指望他们了(para.25) • He thought of riding a camel to conserve his strength and stave off hunger. 想到这里,他想骑上骆驼,省些力气可以 多挨一会儿饥饿. • Lavish gifts were bestowed on the visitors. 向来宾赠送了 厚礼.(para.27) • We are apt to wish for what we can't have. 我们往往会祈 求得不到的东西.(para.27) • He is apt to leave things about. 他总喜欢把东西到处乱放.

Vocabulary (Para.27-42) • Dickens contrasts the opulence of France's nobility with indigence of her peasants. (richness, para.28) • Secretaries have to keep track of their bosses’ appointments. (maintain a written record, remember, para.28) • It seemed difficult for the celebrity couple to get rid of the ubiquitous paparazzo(狗仔队）. (seeming to be everywhere, para.30) • I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public. (trick, para.30) • It was all a ploy to distract attention from his real aims. 那 纯粹是障眼法,用以分散人们对他真正意图的注意力.

• Her unctuous tones are disgusting. 她那虚情 假意的语气叫人恶心. （para.33) • Soul Power is a power that can only emanate from within. 只有灵魂力量是从内在发出的. (para. 34) • She is so independent that she refused all pecuniary aid. 她很独立,所以拒绝一切金钱 上的资助. (para.36)

• Equal compensation should be given to men and women for equal work. 男女同工应同酬. (para.36) • Hold the ladder tightly and move up a rung at a time. 抓紧梯子一级一级地往上爬. (para.37) • From what I was able to glean, it appears they don't intend to take any action yet. 根据我所收 集到的资料分析, 他们看来还不打算采取任何 行动. (para.37) • The book will whet your appetite for more of her work. 你看了这本书就会更想多读她的著作。 (para.37)

• I had much ado to forebear laughing. 我费了很大的劲 才忍住笑. (para.38) • The deal had the tacit approval of the President. 这笔 交易得到总统的默许.(para.39) • By tacit agreement , Clark's friends all avoided any mention of his mentally ill wife. 克拉克的朋友们心照 不宣, 绝口不提他那位患精神病的妻子. • The two countries are immensely disparate in size, culture and wealth. 这2个国家在面积、文化和财富 上迥然不同。（para.39) • Every stakeholder in a society must contribute to the society's success. 社会中的每一位利益相关者都应该 为了社会的成功而努力. （para.39)

• Making banal remarks was one of his bad habits. 他的坏习惯之一就是喜欢说些陈词滥调. （para.39) • They enjoy the comfort and banal luxury of their dwelling. 他们享受着舒适和庸俗奢华的住所. • The gangster walked into the room surrounded by his cohort. 一名匪徒走进被他的一帮人包围 的屋子. （para.40) • His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point. 他 的谈话漫无边际,我抓不住他的要点. (para.41)

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Work stoppage Exact a premium broker Profit margins Fiber-optic cable Layoff Tax abatements Automated tellers Robotized vending machines • euthanasia

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停工、停产、止付 索取额外费用 协商、调停 利润幅度 光缆 下岗 减税 自动取款机 机械化贩卖机

• 安乐死

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寿命 预算赤字 供大于求 八旬老人 权贵、巨头 环球航行 土木工程师 政治说客 电台主持 规模经济 老生常谈 利益攸关者

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Life expectancy Budget deficit Supply exceeds the demand Octogenarian Mogul Circumnavigation Civil engineer Lobbyist Anchor Scale economy platitude stakeholder

synonyms • Rich----affluent, opulent • Beautiful and impressive --Wondrous，swank • State-of-the-art-----most advanced • untidy----sprawling • carefree, fancy-free ---footloose • Large ---princely • Encourage----spur • Current, popular----prevailing

antonyms • Ineluctable-----avoidable • Wither---increase • Ailing----healthy • Obsolete---prevailing • Opulence---indigence • Disparate---identical

synonyms • Pop up----come out • Modest----demure, • Obtain----garner, glean • Ubiquitous—common, universal • Ploy---manoeuver • Spur---buoy