三、关于经济和社会权利 III. On
Economic and Social Rights
虽然经济正在复苏，但是美国公民的经济和社会权利保障依然面临挑战。
Despite the fact that the economy
is recovering, the U.S. citizens’ economic and social rights are still under
challenge.
失业率居高不下。与2007年相比，2013年全美35个州中25-54岁人口的就业率下降。2007年该年龄段80%的人可以就业；而2012年6月至2013年6月，只有76%的人可以就业。（见注23）据美国消费者新闻与商业频道网站2013年9月16日报道，2012年美国工人平均失业时间为39.5周，是第二次世界大战以来最严重的一年。美国最低收入家庭的失业率高达21%，几乎和20世纪30年代大萧条时期所有工人的失业率相同。2013年10月，美国退伍老兵的失业率为6.9%。“9.11”事件以后服役的退伍老兵中有24.6万人正在寻找工作。（见注24）2014年美国国情咨文称，即使在复苏之中，许多美国人还是在勉强度日，还有很多人仍然没有工作。
Unemployment rates are high in
the US. Employment rates for 25-to 54-year-olds were lower in 35 states in
fiscal 2013 than in 2007. In 2007, nearly 80 of every 100 people aged 25 to 54
in the United States had a job. In the 12 months ending June 2013, only about
76 of every 100 people in that age group were working (www.pewstates.org,
November 27, 2013). According to a report by the CNBC on September 16, 2013, in
2012, the average length of unemployment for U.S. workers reached 39.5 weeks,
the highest level since World War II. Rates of unemployment for the
lowest-income families topped 21 percent, nearly matching the rate for all
workers during the 1930s Great Depression. The overall unemployment rate for
U.S. veterans stood at 6.9 percent in October 2013. A total of 246,000
post-9/11 vets are looking for jobs (www.edition.cnn.com, November 11, 2013).
According to the 2014 State of the Union, “even in the midst of recovery, too
many Americans are working more than ever just to get by... And too many still
aren’t working at all.”
贫富差距进一步加大。美国人口普查局2013年9月公布的数据显示，2012年美国贫困人口超过4700万，总体贫困率为15%，大约640万65岁以上的老年人非常贫困。（见注25）美国国内税收署1913年至2012年的数据显示，美国目前的贫富差距是这一时期最大的。2012年，美国收入最高的1%的人口集中了19.3%的总收入；美国10%的家庭控制了全美50.4%的总收入，这个数字是自1917年以来最高的。2009年至2012年，美国收入最高的1%家庭的收入增长了31.4%，占美国全部收入增长的95%；而低收入阶层只增长了0.4%。（见注26）2014年美国国情咨文称，美国公民的平均工资几乎没有变化，社会不平等加深。
Wealth gap in the US is widening.
Statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau in September 2013 showed more
than 47 million U.S. people living in poverty in 2012, and that the poverty
rate reached 15 percent. The data also indicated about 6.4 million people aged
65 and older were poor (www.reuters.com, November 6, 2013). New research using
the U.S. Internal Revenue Service data from 2012 all the way back to 1913 found
that the current gap between America’s rich and poor is the widest in history.
The richest 1 percent’s share of total household income was a record 19.3
percent in 2012. The top 10 percent of U.S. households controlled 50.4 percent
of total income in 2012, the highest figures seen since 1917. In the U.S., the
top 1 percent saw their incomes recover by 31.4 percent during 2009 and 2012,
accounting for 95 percent of the total gain recognized in the U.S., whereas the
bottom 99 percent had to content themselves with growth of only 0.4 percent
(www.globalpost.com, September 10, 2013). The U.S. 2014 State of the Union noted
that average wages in the U.S. have barely budged, and inequality has deepened.
工会组织的影响力下降。据皮尤中心2013年4月15日发布的数据，2012年，美国工会减少了40万成员。印第安纳州和威斯康辛州等削减了政府雇员组织工会的权利。工会领导者认为工会成员最大的增长潜力在私营部门。但是，根据美国劳工统计局的统计数据，私营部门只有6.6%的员工参加工会。2013年7月18日，底特律市申请破产保护。这是美国历史上申请破产保护最大的城市。尽管美国州、县、市政雇员联合会、美国汽车工人联合工会、退休人员协会等工会组织都提出了反对，联邦破产法院仍然裁定该市符合美国《破产法》的规定。工会和退休员工代表认为市政府的破产申请完全没有考虑工会等组织的诉求。当地民众愤怒地走上街头进行抗议。（见注27）
Labor unions see eroding
leverage. According to data released by the PEW on April 15, 2013, in 2012,
unions lost 400,000 members, and states like Indiana and Wisconsin have clipped
the organizing rights of state employees and others. Labor leaders see the
largest growth potential in the private sector, however, according to Bureau of
Labor Statistics data, only 6.6 percent of private-sector workers belong to a
union. On July 18, 2013, the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy, making it
the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Despite the objections
from unions including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, the United Auto Workers as well as local retiree associations, a
U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled that Detroit is eligible for bankruptcy protection.
Representatives of the unions and retirees argued that the decision turned a
blind eye to the appeals of the unions. Local citizens took to the streets to
protest with anger (www.usatoday.com, December 3, 2013).
工人的工作环境和劳动报酬状况恶化。2013年4月18日，得克萨斯州一家化肥厂发生严重爆炸，造成14人死亡、约200人受伤，并产生危险品泄漏。美国职业安全和卫生署因常年缺乏资金，自1985年以来从未对这个化肥厂进行过检查。（见注28）2013年2月1日，《赫芬顿邮报》在题为《美国农场工人的劳动条件类似于现代奴隶》的报道中称，美国农场工人的计件工资超过30年没有得到改变，每天都会有一名农场工人死于工作中，受伤的则有数百人。农场工人工作场所缺乏有效的政府监管。《今日美国报》2013年12月5日的报道称，美国有超过100个城市的快餐店工人举行大罢工。罢工者认为依靠每小时7.25美元的最低工资、1.5万美元的年薪难以维持生计。他们主张每小时最低工资提升到15美元，开始“为15美元而战”。
Working conditions and pay are
declining. On April 18, 2013, a deadly blast at a fertilizer plant in Texas
killed 14 people, left 200 others with injuries and caused some toxic gas
concern. It was reported that the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, being chronically underfunded, has never inspected the plant
since 1985 (www.huffingtonpost.com, June 4, 2013; www.salon.com, May 17, 2013).
A report titled “Farm Worker Conditions Likened to Modern Slavery” and carried
by the Huffington Post on February 1, 2013 quoted a migrant worker as saying
that the piece rate has not changed in over 30 years. The report also said that
one farm worker dies on the job every day and hundreds more are injured, noting
that relevant authorities have failed to exercise effective monitoring and law
enforcement regarding the working conditions for farm workers. The USA Today reported on December 5,
2013 that fast-food workers planned one-day labor walkouts at fast-food
restaurants in 100 cities, claiming that they cannot survive on a minimum wage
of 7.25 dollars per hour, or about 15,000 dollars a year. The campaign was
called “Fight for 15” – pressing for a minimum wage of 15 dollars per hour (www.usatoday.com,
December 5, 2013).
无家可归者人数持续增加。《洛杉矶时报》2013年11月22日报道称，2011年至2013年，美国的无家可归者增加了16%。洛杉矶郡无家可归者增长了15%，达57737人。据美国无家可归者联盟2013年11月发布的数据，纽约市收容的无家可归者的人数自2002年以来已经增加了71%以上。纽约市每天晚上多达60000人无家可归，其中包括22000多名儿童。
Homeless population is growing. A
report by the Los Angeles Times on
November 22, 2013 said the homeless population in the U.S. had climbed 16
percent from 2011 to 2013. Los Angeles County’s homeless population rose 15
percent from 2011 to 2013, to 57,737 people. According to data released by the
U.S. Coalition for the Homeless in November 2013, the number of homeless New
Yorkers in shelters had risen by more than 71 percent since 2002, and each
night more than 60,000 people, including over 22,000 children, experience
homelessness.
社会保障问题重重。据美国人口普查局2013年9月17日公布的数据，2012年，美国约有4800万人仍然没有医疗保险，占总人口的15.4%。同时，享受到政府健康保险的人数比例只有小幅上涨，从32.2%增长到32.6%。与2011年相比，无论是否享受健康保险，人们在卫生保健方面的负担都在不断增加。（见注29）州政府联邦拨款信息中心认为，2013年，美国政府“关门”影响到的涉及民生的项目包括：大部分K-12（见注30）教育资助项目，为穷人提供的低收入家庭能源补助项目，为妇女、婴儿和儿童提供的特殊补充营养项目，失业保险项目管理基金，以及儿童营养项目和其他在10月1日以后开始的项目。（见注31）为应对金融危机设立的美国联邦紧急救助项目在2013年12月28日到期，美国参议院未及时决定项目是否延续，导致约130万每周领取300美元失业救济金的失业人员生计受到严重影响。（见注32）
Social security in the US is
problematic. A U.S. Census Bureau report released on September 17, 2013 said
that in 2012, a total of 15.4 percent, or some 48 million people in the U.S.
were uninsured. The share of people relying on the government for health
insurance edged up slightly to 32.6 percent, from 32.2 percent a year ago.
Whether they have insurance or not, people spent more on health care in 2012
than in 2011 (www.edition.cnn.com, September 17, 2013). According to the U.S.
Federal Funds Information for States, some major programs, including most K-12
educational-support programs; the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for
the poor; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and
Children; Funds to administer the Unemployment Insurance program; Child
nutrition programs and other programs starting on or after October 1 could be
affected by the federal government shutdown in 2013 (www.pewstates.org,
September 26, 2013). When the funds run out on December 28, 2013 for a program
created during the recession to supplement the federal emergency benefits for
jobless people and efforts to renew the benefits stalled in the U.S. Senate,
about 1.3 million jobless Americans who were receiving the benefits averaging
about 300 dollars a week had been affected (www.usatoday.com, December 27,
2013). |
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