Now we seem to be starting to rediscover thrift.Debt levels are falling.Consumer spending is down.The savings rate is on the ris

admin2020-03-28  9

问题     Now we seem to be starting to rediscover thrift.Debt levels are falling.Consumer spending is down.The savings rate is on the rise.Great,right?Not exactly.The sudden sobering up of the American consumer happens to be the No.1 force driving the U.S.and global economies downward.We’re saving more,yet we’re all getting poorer.
    This is what some economists call the paradox of thrift.Paul McCulley,an economist and portfolio manager at bond giant Pimco,defines it like this:“If we all individually cut our spending in an attempt to increase individual savings,then our collective savings will paradoxically fall because one person’s spending is another’s income—the fountain from which savings flow.”
    At present,while retailers and a few economists still make the case that more consumer spending would be a really great thing,our nation’s political leaders have concluded that it’s too soon to issue calls for more shopping.New York Times columnist David Leonhardt makes a clever pitch for spending now on things that will save your money later.
    Still,the approach remains paradoxical.Our profligacy has gotten us into trouble,and so the response is moreprofligacy?There is no shortage of critics who contend that today’s massive government spending is simply laying the foundation of another financial crisis,this one centering oil a loss of confidence in Treasuries and the dollar.
    For now,we’re betting that it won’t—and investors from around the world are letting us get away with it by continuing to buy U.S.-government debt.We will,however,eventually have to shape up.Consumers must pay down their credit cards,and the country must pay down at least part of its debt.“Some of the painful adjustments that are taking place are not avoidable,”says David Blankenhorn,
founder and president of the Institute for American Values.“Wringing debt out of our economy at every level is a painful and inevitable process,and it isn’t going to be solved by charging more things at the supermarket.”
    Blankenhorn isn’t opposed to using government stimulus to ease the transition,but he’s worried that it could obscure the need for big changes in behavior.“If the moral of today’s crisis is‘Let’s stimulate this and empty that,and as soon as things get back to normal,we can go back to a debt culture,’that’s just not a sustainable idea,”he says.
  He’s right,Virtually all economists agree that there is no paradox of thrift in the long run.Saving stimulates investment.Careful management of resources brings prosperity.Thrift is its own reward.Just not right this second.
As far as David Blankenhom is concerned____________.

选项 A、charging more things brings no good to the economy
B、people’s current consuming behaviors seem impropriate
C、debt culture isn’t suitable for sustainable development
D、the recovery of American economy will come soon

答案B

解析 细节题。由第六段首句可知,大卫·布兰肯霍恩并不反对运用政府刺激来使过渡更容易些,由此可知,他认为当前的消费行为是不恰当的,故B项正确。A项误区在于第五段第四句提到:用信用卡买更多的东西不能解决债务问题。但第六段第一句提到大卫·布兰肯霍恩不反对运用政府刺激来使消费行为的改变更容易,说明他赞成就目前状况,一定程度地刺激消费对经济是有好处的。C项误区在于考生易受that’s just not a sustainable idea,误导,但是that指的是前面单引号内表达的整句观点,而非与that相邻的adebt culture。D项误区在于第五段第四句出现going to be solved。如果考生没有注意前面的否定,会误选该项。故本题选B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/SDjY777K
0

相关试题推荐
最新回复(0)