These are sensible measures, so long as they are time-limited; for, in the short term, governments need to do all they can to sustain demand. But the jobs crisis, alas, is unlikely to be short-lived. Even if the recession ends soon (and there is little sign of that happening), the asset bust and the excessive borrowing that led to it are likely to overshadow the world economy for many years to come. Moreover, many of yesterday’s jobs, from Spanish bricklayer to Wall Street trader, are not coming back. People will have to shift out of old occupations and into new ones.
这些措施在一定时限内是合理的:因为在短期内,政府需要尽全力维持需求。只是哎呀,就业危机不大可能只在短期内存在。即便经济衰退很快结束(而且几乎不可能发生),引起这场危机的阴云——资金短缺和过度借贷——将在接下来继续笼罩世界经济长达数年。更有甚者,不论是西班牙的砌砖匠还是华尔街的交易员,很多昔日的就业岗位会一去不复返。人们将被迫告别现有职位,转行进入新岗位。
商务英语培训,商务英语口语,商务英语每日一句
A difficult dance 艰难的舞步
Over the next couple of years, politicians will have to perform a difficult policy U-turn; for, in the long term, they need flexible labour markets. That will mean abolishing job-subsidy programmes, taking away protected workers’ privileges and making it easier for businesses to restructure by laying people off. Countries such as Japan, with two-tier workforces in which an army of temporary workers with few protections toil alongside mollycoddled folk with many, will need to narrow that disparity by making the latter easier to fire.
在接下来的几年中,政治家们不得不做出一个180度的艰难政策转变:因为从长远来看,他们需要一个灵活的劳动力市场。这意味着废除工作补贴计划,去除受保护劳工的特权,以及帮助企业更方便地裁员从而进行重组。像日本这样具有双层劳动力结构的国家,大量埋头苦干的临时劳工缺乏就业保障,而被娇生惯养的上层员工却能享受到多重保护。这种差别需要通过严格上层员工的裁汰制度加以消除。