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  3. The question of how Americans spent and, crucially, saved money over the past two years looms large over the economy today. In s

The question of how Americans spent and, crucially, saved money over the past two years looms large over the economy today. In s

admin2022-12-09  95
问题     The question of how Americans spent and, crucially, saved money over the past two years looms large over the economy today. In spring 2020, when millions lost their jobs overnight, a reasonable assumption was that personal finances would suffer. Instead, government handouts, from the stimmies to more generous unemployment benefits, propped up incomes. Moreover, as people stayed home, their spending fell well below normal levels. The result was a piggybank boom. Americans have accumulated some $2.5trn in extra savings compared with the pre-covid trend. Higher-than-expected incomes account for two-thirds of the stockpile, while lower-than-expected expenditures explain the other third, according to calculations.
    This stash of cash could, in theory, provide a pillar for the economy over the coming year as policymakers withdraw support. With annual consumer-price inflation running at a four-decade high—it hit 7％ in December—the Federal Reserve has signalled that it intends to raise interest rates soon. Some economists expect as many as four rate increases this year. Fiscal policies are also becoming more parsimonious.
    Will the extra savings blunt the impact of all this policy tightening? There are reasons to be skeptical. Were the $2.5trn shared equally across the country, it would amount to about $7,500 for every American—more than the combined total of the three rounds of stimulus cheques. In practice the distribution is far from equal. In the decade before COVID-19 the wealthiest 1％ of Americans had, in aggregate, about twice as much in cash and chequable bank deposits as the bottom 50％.
    Another dampener may be the nature of the economic recovery. In a paper last year Martin Beraja and Christian Wolf of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed that recoveries from recessions where falls in spending are concentrated on goods tend to be stronger than those with cuts concentrated on services. Pent-up demand for, say, smartphones can be released in a flood. By contrast, demand for beach holidays returns more slowly: vacationers can only be in one place at a time. This suggests that as the pandemic fades, the flow of savings into services such as travel and entertainment may be sluggish.
    As a whole, Americans saved about 6.9％ of their incomes in November, less than the 7.4％ average in the five years before the pandemic. Yet this is exactly what should be seen if some people are dipping into their excess savings. It is also a key reason why most forecasters think the economy will grow by about 4％ this year, a robust pace in the face of headwinds.
The author’s attitude towards economic recovery is________.
选项 A、hopeful
B、gloomy
C、indefinite
D、objective
答案A
解析 态度题。解答态度题应着眼于全文。最后一段最后一句指出It is also a key reason why most forecasters think the economy will grow by about 4％ this year, a robust pace in the face of headwinds (这也是大多数预测者认为今年经济将增长约4％的一个关键原因，面对逆风，这是一个强劲的步伐)，由the economy will grow(经济将增长)以及a robustpace(强劲的步伐)可进一步推知，作者对经济复苏的前景是充满希望的，故选项A正确。其他三个选项均不能体现作者的态度，故排除。故本题答案为A项。
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