The impulse behind the latest “big” progressive idea of offering job guarantees is entirely valid. Studies show that those without jobs are much more likely to be dissatisfied with their lives, to become addicted to alcohol or drugs, and to be abusive within their family than even those working at low wages they find inadequate.
提供就业保障这一最新的“宏大”进步理念背后的推动力是完全成立的。研究表明，那些没有工作的人更可能对自己的生活不满，更可能酗酒或吸毒，甚至比那些低工资的人更容易诉诸家庭暴力。
On this point, the US economy is falling short of its potential. The fraction of the adult population aged 25 to 54 that is working or seeking work has declined over the past 20 years. Despite the US’s vaunted labour market flexibility, the chance that a man, aged between 25 and 54 years old, is out of work is much greater than it is in France and not very different than what it is in Italy. In sharp contrast to the rest of the world, the percentage of adult women working in the US has been declining since the 1990s.
在这一点上，美国经济未能发挥潜力。过去20年期间，25至54岁有工作或正在找工作的成年人口比例出现了下降。尽管喜欢吹嘘本国劳动力市场的灵活性，但美国年龄在25至54岁之间的男性失业的可能性要比法国大得多，与意大利相差无几。与世界其他地区形成鲜明反差的是，自上世纪90年代以来，美国从事工作的成年女性的比例一直在下降。
These trends are important causes of the increasingly bitter nature of US politics and of resistance to technological change and overseas trade. President Donald Trump received disproportionate support in parts of the country where joblessness increased most.
这些趋势是美国政治日益激化、民众对技术变革和海外贸易产生抵触心态的重要原因。唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)总统在美国失业增加最多的地区获得了超出比例的支持。