一、美国贫富分化状况持续恶化
I. Deterioration of Economic Polarization in the United States文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
20世纪70年代以来，美国收入不平等和财富悬殊程度日益加深，出现“富者愈富、贫者愈贫”和“中产阶级遭挤压”的严重现象，这一趋势至今仍在延续。文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
Since the 1970s, income inequality and wealth disparity in the United States have continually deepened. The rich keep getting richer, the poor keep getting poorer, and the middle class is squeezed. Today, these perilous trends continue.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
反映收入分配差距的基尼系数不断攀升。据世界银行统计，1974年美国的基尼系数为0.353，到2019年已升至0.415，超过贫富差距过大（大于0.4）的警戒水平。同期其他发达国家基尼系数基本都在0.35，甚至0.3以下。文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
The Gini coefficient, which measures inequality in income distribution, has kept rising in the United States. According to the World Bank, the U.S. Gini coefficient has gone up from 0.353 in 1974 to 0.415 in 2019, exceeding the alarming level at 0.4 indicating a large income gap. During the same period, other developed countries have largely kept their Gini coefficient below 0.35, or even 0.3 in some cases.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/14240.html
美国富裕群体的收入增速远高于低收入群体。据美国人口普查局数据，1970年以来，收入前五分之一家庭的平均收入增长182%，到2020年达25.3万美元，而中等收入和收入后五分之一家庭的平均收入仅增长133%和113%，到2020年仅为7.2万美元和1.5万美元。1975年，收入前五分之一家庭的平均收入是后五分之一家庭平均收入的10.3倍，到2020年升至17.4倍。
In the United States, the wealthy population have enjoyed much faster income growth than the low-income group. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 1970 and 2020, the average income of the top fifth of families increased by 182 percent to 253,000 U.S. dollars, while the middle-income households and the bottom fifth saw their average incomes grow by just 133 percent to 72,000 dollars and 113 percent to 15,000 dollars respectively. In 1975, the average income of the top fifth was 10.3 times that of the bottom fifth. The gap widened to 17.4 times by 2020.
富裕群体收入占全社会总收入的比例显著上升。美国人口普查局数据显示，无论是收入前五分之一还是最高5%群组，其家庭收入占全社会总收入的比例都呈上升趋势。1970年相关比例分别为43.3%和16.6%，2020年已升至52.2%和23.0%。中间阶层和低收入群组的占比均有所下降。中间阶层收入占比从1970年的52.7%降至2020年的44.7%，收入后五分之一的低收入群组的收入占比则从4.1%降至3%。1993年以来，占总家庭数60%的中间阶层家庭的收入占比始终低于前五分之一的群组，并日益失衡。
The share of national income held by upper-income households has risen markedly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the income shares of the top fifth and top 5 percent have both been climbing. Standing at 43.3 percent and 16.6 percent respectively in 1970, their shares rose to 52.2 percent and 23.0 percent in 2020. In the meantime, the shares held by middle- and low-income households have both declined. The share of the middle-income group dropped from 52.7 percent in 1970 to 44.7 percent in 2020, and that of the low-income group in the bottom fifth fell from 4.1 percent to 3 percent. Since 1993, the income share of middle-income families, who make up 60 percent of total households, has remained lower than that of the top fifth, and is becoming increasingly disproportionate.
超级富豪的收入占比水平创下战后新高。世界财富与收入数据库显示，20世纪初以来，美国前1%超级富豪的收入占比经历了先降后升。1928年这一比例一度高达22.3%，二战后随着机会平等、经济平等价值理念的发展，累进税、遗产税、强势工会和金融管制等经济制度抑制了财富集中，到1970年1%超级富豪的收入占全社会总收入的比例降至10.7%。此后这一比例逐步升高，到2021年已升至19.1%，50年间几乎翻了一番。
The income share of the ultra-rich has reached its highest level since World War II. According to the World Wealth and Income Database, after an initial fall in the early 20th century, the income share of the ultra-rich, or the top 1 percent, in the United States had kept rising, and hit 22.3 percent in 1928. After World War II, a prevailing call for equal opportunity and economic equality, along with the introduction of economic systems such as progressive tax, inheritance tax, strong trade unions and financial regulation, helped restrain the concentration of wealth. By 1970, the income share of the top 1 percent had fallen to 10.7 percent. But it has since risen gradually, and reached 19.1 percent by 2021, almost doubled in 50 years.
收入差距扩大的主要原因是工资收入水平的巨大差距。据伊奎勒数据，2021年上市公司首席执行官的中位数收入达2000万美元，较2020年增长31%。而2021年普通员工的中位数收入从2020年的6.9万美元增至7.2万美元，增长约4%。据美国经济政策研究所跟踪研究，1978年至2020年，首席执行官收入增长1322%，而同期普通员工收入仅增长18%。
A main cause for the widening income disparity is the huge pay gap. According to Equilar, the median income of CEOs of listed companies in 2021 was 20 million dollars, up 31 percent from 2020, while that of average employees increased from around 69,000 dollars to some 72,000 dollars, up about 4 percent. According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, CEO pay had skyrocketed by 1,322 percent between 1978 and 2020, while typical worker compensation had risen just 18 percent.
贫富分化还体现在财富不平等上。美联储数据显示，1%的最富裕家庭占有超过20%的家庭总财富，这一比例在近年来还在显著增加。据美联储2021年统计，前1%家庭拥有的财富比例达到创纪录的32.3%，而在1989年这一比例仅为23.6%；后50%家庭（约6300万个家庭）仅拥有2.6%的财富，而在1989年这一比例为3.7%。
The economic divide is also reflected in wealth inequality. According to Federal Reserve statistics, the richest 1 percent of U.S. households hold more than 20 percent of national household wealth, a share that has continued to grow sharply in recent years. According to Fed statistics in 2021, the top 1 percent held a record 32.3 percent of the country’s wealth, up from only 23.6 percent in 1989, while the bottom 50 percent (about 63 million households) held only 2.6 percent, down from 3.7 percent in 1989.
中产阶级萎缩。从二战结束到1970年的20多年间，“中产阶级的美国”形成。此后，尽管美国经济继续发展，但中产阶级不仅没有扩大，反而显著下降。生活在中等收入家庭的美国成年人占比从1971年的61%下降到2019年的51%。高收入阶层比例从14%上升到20%，低收入阶层比例从25%上升到29%，中等收入家庭规模持续萎缩。
The middle class is shrinking. A “middle-class America” was formed in some 20 years from the end of World War II to 1970. Afterward, however, despite the continued growth of the U.S. economy, the middle class has not expanded, but shrunk significantly. The share of American adults who live in middle-income households fell from 61 percent in 1971 to 51 percent in 2019. The share in the upper-income tier rose from 14 percent to 20 percent over the same period. Meanwhile, the share in the lower-income tier increased from 25 percent to 29 percent. The size of middle-income families has continued to shrink.
阶层固化严重。据美国经济学家拉杰·切蒂等研究，收入高于父母的美国人比例从20世纪40年代的超过90%下降到20世纪80年代的约50%。其中，中产阶级家庭降幅最大，年轻人增加收入的机会越来越少，主要原因不是经济增长放缓，而是财富分配不公。奥巴马政府白宫经济顾问委员会主席阿兰·克鲁格认为，美国社会的高度不平等造成了代际流动水平较低，形成了一个“了不起的盖茨比曲线”，个人经济状况更多由父母经济地位决定。
Social stratification is severely rigid. According to a paper by Raj Chetty and other American economists, the percentage of Americans earning more than their parents fell from more than 90 percent in the 1940s to about 50 percent in the 1980s, with the largest declines for families in the middle class. The opportunities for young people to increase their incomes are fading. Most of the decline is driven by the more unequal distribution of wealth rather than the slowdown in aggregate growth rates. Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration, believes that high inequality in American society has resulted in a low level of inter-generational mobility and formed a “Great Gatsby Curve” where one’s economic standing is more dependent on the wealth of the parents.
美国的贫困问题从未得到有效解决。1959年至1969年，美国总体贫困率下降了10个百分点以上，此后一直在12.5%左右徘徊不前。据美国人口普查局数据，2010年美国贫困人口达4620万人，贫困率高达15.1%，为52年来最高。2020年的贫困率达11.4%，比2019年的10.5%上升了0.9个百分点。目前，美国仍有3700万人生活在贫困线以下。
The poverty issue in the United States has never been effectively addressed. The overall poverty rate in the country dropped by more than 10 percentage points from 1959 to 1969, but has lingered around 12.5 percent ever since. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million American people were living in poverty in 2010, and the poverty rate reached up to 15.1 percent, the highest in 52 years. In 2020, the poverty rate climbed by 0.9 percentage points to 11.4 percent from 10.5 percent in 2019. Currently, 37 million American people are still living below the poverty line.
疫情加剧了美国贫富分化。新冠疫情引发的经济衰退导致大量失业，低收入者经济状况进一步恶化。同时，货币超发和大规模财政支出助推股价和房价猛涨，使拥有更多资产的富人爆发式受益。美联储关于家庭财富的报告显示，截至2021年第四季度，美国最富有的1%的人总财富达到创纪录的45.9万亿美元，其财富在新冠疫情期间增加了超过12万亿美元，增长了三分之一以上。
The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified economic inequality in the United States. The economic recession triggered by the pandemic has led to massive job losses and further deterioration in the economic situation of low-income earners. At the same time, excessive money supply and large-scale fiscal spending drove up stock and housing prices, bringing enormous benefits to wealthier asset owners. According to a Fed report on household wealth, the total wealth of the richest 1 percent reached a record 45.9 trillion dollars at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, and their fortunes increased by more than 12 trillion dollars, or more than a third, during the course of the pandemic.
