Why is it so hard to escape poverty? - Ann-Helén Bay

翻译人员: Zizhuo Liang 校对人员: Helen Chang

Imagine that you’ve been unemployed and seeking work for months.

想象一下，你失业找工作 已经好几个月了。

Government benefit programs have helped you cover rent, utilities, and food,

政府福利项目帮你支付 房租、水电费和食物费，

but you're barely getting by.

但这只够你勉强糊口。

Finally, you hear back about a job application.

终于，你收到了一个 申请工作的回复。

You receive your first paycheck in months, and things seem to be turning around.

你收到了几个月来的第一份薪水， 事情似乎正在好转。

But there’s a catch.

但有一个问题。

Your new job pays just enough to disqualify you from the benefit programs,

你新工作的薪水恰恰让你 不符合领取福利津贴的资格，

and not enough to cover the same costs.

而不足以支付你的 正常生活开销。

To make things worse, you have to pay for transportation to work,

更糟糕的是， 你必须支付上班的交通费，

and childcare while you’re at the office.

在办公室期间的托儿费。

Somehow, you have less money now than when you were unemployed.

不知怎的，你现在的钱 比你失业时还要少。

Economists call this demoralizing situation the welfare trap—

经济学家称这种令人沮丧的 情况为福利陷阱——

one of the many different poverty traps affecting millions of people

影响世界各地数百万人的

around the world.

众多不同的贫困陷阱之一。

Poverty traps are economic and environmental circumstances

贫困陷阱是自我强化的 一种经济和环境状况，

that reinforce themselves, perpetuating poverty for generations.

它使贫困世代延续。

Some poverty traps are tied to an individual’s circumstances,

一些贫困陷阱 与个人的情况有关，

like a lack of access to healthy food or education.

比如缺乏健康食品或教育。

Others can affect entire nations,

其他因素甚至可能 影响整个国家，

such as cycles of corrupt government or climate change.

比如周而复始的腐败政府 或气候变化。

But the cruel irony of welfare traps in particular

但福利陷阱的 残酷讽刺之处在于，

is that they stem from the very policies designed to battle poverty.

它们源于与贫困 作斗争的政策本身。

Most societies throughout history employed some strategies

历史上大多数社会 都会采取一些手段

to help people in poverty meet basic needs.

来帮助贫困人口 满足基本需求。

Before the 20th century, religious groups and private charities

在20世纪之前， 宗教团体和私人慈善机构

often led such initiatives.

经常领导这类活动。

Today, these are called welfare programs,

如今， 这些被称为福利项目，

and they usually take the form of government-provided subsidies

通常采用政府提供住房、

for housing, food, energy, and healthcare.

食品、能源和医疗补贴的形式。

Typically, these programs are means-tested,

通常，这些计划是经过 经济状况调查的，

meaning that only people who fall below a certain income level

这意味着只有低于 特定收入水平的人

are eligible for benefits.

才有资格获得福利。

This policy is designed to ensure aid goes to those who need it most.

这项政策旨在确保 资源流向最需要的人。

But it also means people lose access as soon as they earn more

但这也意味着，一旦人们的 收入超过特定门槛，

than the qualification threshold,

他们就失去了获得援助的资格，

regardless of whether or not they're financially stable enough to stay there.

不管他们的 财务状况是否稳定。

This vicious cycle is harmful to both those in poverty and those outside of it.

这种恶性循环 对贫困与不贫困的人都有害。

Mainstream economic models assume people are rational actors

主流经济模型 假设人们是理性的行动者，

who weigh the cost and benefits of their options

他们权衡自己选择的 成本和收益，

and choose the most advantageous path forward.

然后选择最有利的 前进道路。

If those in poverty know they'll gain no net benefit from working,

如果贫困人口知道他们不会从 工作中获得任何净收益，

they're incentivized to remain in government assistance.

他们就会有动力 继续接受政府援助。

Of course, people work for many reasons,

当然，人们工作有很多原因，

including societal norms and personal values.

包括社会规范和个人价值观。

But income is a major incentive to pursuing employment.

但收入是追求就业的 主要动机。

And when less people take on new jobs, the economy slows down,

当越来越少的人从事新的工作时， 经济就会放缓，

keeping people in poverty

使人们陷入贫困，

and potentially pushing people on the cusp of poverty over the edge.

并有可能将人们推到 贫困的边缘。

Some have suggested this feedback loop could be removed

一些人建议，完全取消 政府援助计划

by eliminating government assistance programs altogether.

可以消除这种反馈循环。

But most agree the solution is neither realistic nor humane.

但大多数人认为， 这种解决方案既不现实也不人道。

So how can we redesign benefits in a way that doesn't penalize people for working?

那么我们如何重新设计福利， 才能不惩罚工作的人呢？

Many countries have tried different ways to circumvent this problem.

许多国家尝试了不同的 方法来规避这个问题。

Some allow people to continue receiving benefits for a given period

有些政府允许人们在 找到工作后的一段时间内

after finding a job,

继续领取福利，

while others phase out benefits gradually as income increases.

另一些政府则随着收入的 增加而逐渐取消福利。

These policies still remove some financial incentive to work,

这些政策仍然移除了一些 工作的经济鼓励，

but the risk of a welfare trap is lower.

但陷入福利陷阱的 风险较低。

Other governments provide benefits like education, childcare, or medical care

其他政府为所有公民 平等提供教育、儿童保育

equally across all their citizens.

或医疗等福利。

One proposed solution takes this idea of universal benefits even further.

一个提议将这一福利普及的 想法进一步推广。

A universal basic income would provide a fixed benefit to all members of society,

全民基本收入将为社会 所有成员提供固定福利，

regardless of wealth or employment status.

无论其财富或就业状况如何。

This is the only known policy that could entirely remove welfare traps,

这是唯一可以完全消除 福利陷阱的已知政策，

since any earned wages would supplement the benefit rather than replace it.

因为任何挣来的工资都会 补充福利，而不是取代福利。

In fact, by creating a stable income floor below which no one can fall,

事实上，通过创造一个 稳定的收入底线，

basic income might prevent people from falling into poverty in the first place.

可能会从一开始就 防止人们陷入贫困。

Numerous economists and thinkers

自18世纪以来， 无数经济学家和思想家

have championed this idea since the 18th century.

一直支持这一观点。

But for now, universal basic income remains largely hypothetical.

就目前而言，普遍基本收入 在很大程度上仍然是假设性的。

Although it's been tried in some places on a limited scale,

虽然在一些地方进行了 有限规模的试验，

these local experiments don’t tell us much about how the policy

但这些地方的试验 并没有告诉我们这项政策

would play out across an entire nation— or a planet.

甚至在整个国家或全球的效果如何。

Whatever strategy governments pursue,

无论政府采取何种战略，

solving the welfare trap requires respecting people’s agency and autonomy.

解决福利陷阱都需要 尊重人民的代理权和自主权。

Only by empowering individuals to create long-term change

只有赋予个人权力，

in their lives and communities

使其生活和社区发生长期变化，

can we begin to break the cycle of poverty.

我们才能开始打破贫困的循环。