Washington D.C. ranks first among the 40 cities with the widest gap between the poor and the rich, according to a recent report

admin2015-02-12  42

问题     Washington D.C. ranks first among the 40 cities with the widest gap between the poor and the rich, according to a recent report released by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute on July 22nd. The top 20 percent of households in D.C. have an average yearly income of $186,830, 31 times that of the bottom 20 percent, which earns only $6,126 per year.
    The report also indicates that the widening gap occurred mainly during the 1990s. Over the last decade, the average income of the top 20 percent of households has grown 36 percent, while the average income of the bottom 20 percent has only risen 3 percent.
    "I believe the concentration of the middle to high-income families in the D.C. area will continue, therefore, the income gap between rich and poor will be hard to bridge," David Garrison told the Washington Observer. Garrison is a senior researcher with the Brookings Institution, specializing in the study of the social and economic policies in the greater Washington D.C. area.
    The report attributed the persistent income gap in Washington to the area’s special job opportunities, which attract high-income households. Especially since the federal government is based in Washington D.C, Government agencies and other government related businesses such as lobbying firms and government contractors constantly offer high-paying jobs, which contribute to the trend of increasing high-income households in the D.C. area. For example, a single young professional working in a law firm in D.C. can earn as much as $100,000 in his or her first year out of law school.
    "In addition, high-quality housing available in Washington D.C. is one of the main reasons why high-income families choose to live here, while middle and low-income families, if they can afford it, choose to move out of Washington D.C. to the Virginia and Maryland suburbs so that their kids can go to better schools," stated Garrison.
    "As rich families continue to move into D.C. and middle and low-income families are moving out, the poorest families are left with nowhere to move, or cannot afford to move. This creates the situation we face now: a huge income gap between the rich and poor."
    Tony Blalock, the spokesperson for Mayor Anthony Williams, said resignedly, "No matter what we seem to do to bring investment into the District, a certain population is not able to access the unique employment opportunities there. The gap between the rich and poor is the product of complex forces, and won’t be fixed overnight."
    Garrison believes that the D.C. government should attract high-income families. By doing so, the District’s tax base can grow, which in turn can help improve D.C.’s infrastructure. "But in the meantime, the District government should also take into consideration the rights of the poor, set up good schools for them, and provide sound social welfare. All these measures can alleviate the dire situation caused by income disparity."
According to the text, the reason why Washington D.C. suffers from gap between the poor and the rich is not______.

选项 A、high-paying job chances
B、quality housing conditions
C、better schools
D、high-income families’ inflow

答案C

解析 属逻辑关系题。在文章第四段第一句,作者提到了由于有很多特殊工作的机遇,所以加剧了贫富差距,故选项A符合文意但不合题意;在文章第五段开头,作者又提到了优质的住房条件吸引了富人们居住在华盛顿特区,中低收人家庭迁到别处,而最贫穷的家庭又无处也无力可搬,从而造成了贫富差距的状况,故选项B符合文意但不合题意;在第六段,作者进一步指出富人家庭的不断迁入加大了华盛顿的收入差距,故选项D符合文意但不合题意。根据原文,选项C同华盛顿特区在美国40个城市里收入差距最大无直接联系,故正确答案为选项C。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/6vFRFFFM
0

最新回复(0)