Why the Rich are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer

Robert B. Reich

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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

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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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• 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

Global Inequality: Differences between Countries

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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

An Overarching metaphor

Structural Analysis

• How would you divide the passage?

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

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

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

Structural AnalysisPara.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, innovators who can visualize new uses of existing technologies.

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

AT&T

Shreveport

Singapore

Thailand

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.

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The Technology Gap

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

• 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. 36-42Routine producers and in-person servers

Symbolic analysts

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)

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

• 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

• 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