【倒计时65天】考研同难度阅读特训
倒计时65天
Workers without such valuable skills, however, are not doing nearly as well. The biggest problem stemmed from the 2020 labour reform. Dependent contractors working through online platforms, unlike employees, are not entitled to a minimum wage. It is difficult for trade unions to organise workers who are highly dispersed. Automation is also reducing the overall demand for low-skill labour. Having a pool of workers always available makes the gig economy operate efficiently, but limits workers’ bargaining power.?
然而，没有这样宝贵技能的工人日子就不大好过了。最大的问题源于2020年的劳动力改革。与员工不同，通过在线平台工作的从属合同工无权享受最低工资。工会很难组织高度分散的工人。自动化也降低了对低技能劳动力的总体需求。总是有一批工人在待命使得零工经济能高效地运作，但也限制了工人的议价能力。??
ertert
In real terms, wages at the bottom of the income distribution have now stagnated for two decades. Such workers cannot afford to contribute to pension pots; health-care coverage has also fallen. Concern over the potential long-term hit to the public finances has led to calls for more regulation of the gig economy. In America, the Democrats want to undo the 2020 reform and extend minimum-wage legislation to more people. But the gig economy has a powerful logic. In 1937, Coase famously asked “why do firms exist”? Nearly a century later, as technology makes it ever easier for them to disassemble their enterprises, more and more managers are asking the same question.
按照实际价值计算，处于收入分配最底部的工人工资到现在已经停滞了20年。这些工人无力为退休金账户缴费；医疗保险的覆盖面也在缩小。一些人担心长期而言这会给公共财政造成冲击，因而呼吁对零工经济加强监管。在美国，民主党希望废除2020年的改革，让最低工资立法惠及更多人。但是，零工经济有一个强大的逻辑。1937年，科斯提出了一个著名的问题：“公司为什么存在？”近一个世纪之后，随着技术让企业变得更容易被拆解开来运作，越来越多的管理者提出了同样的问题。