单选题 For the typical American, the past decade has been economically brutal, the first time since the 1930s, according to some calculations, that inflation-adjusted incomes declined. While there are many causes, from declining unionization to the changing mix of needed skills, globalization has had the greatest impact. The phenomenon that free traders like me adore has created a nation of winners (think of those low-priced imported goods) but also many losers. Nowhere have these pressures been more intense than in the manufacturing sector.
A typical General Motors worker costs the company about $56 per hour, which includes benefits. In Mexico, a worker costs the company $7 per hour, and in India, $1 per hour. Pressed by high unemployment and eager to keep jobs in this country, the United Auto Workers agreed that companies could cut their costs by hiring some workers at $14 an hour, with lower benefits. In these troubled times, any jobs are surely welcome. But we need to reverse the decline in incomes, and this requires a more thoughtful approach than the pervasive, politically attractive happy talk sentimentally centered on restoring lost manufacturing jobs.
So let"s start by acknowledging that just as it occurred decades ago with agriculture, the declining role in our economy of manufacturing, which over the last half-century is down from 32 percent of the work force to 9 percent, will continue. Let"s also recognize that retreating into protectionism would turn a win-lose into a lose-lose. And even if organized labor could force wage rates back up, that would hardly help domestic manufacturing compete against lower-cost imports.
Instead, we should follow the example of successful high-wage exporters in concentrating on products where we have an advantage, as Germany has done with products like sophisticated machine tools. While America still leads in sectors like defense and aviation, our greatest strength, and a source of high-paying jobs, lies in service industries with high intellectual content, like education, entertainment, digital media, and yes, even financial services. Facebook, Google and Microsoft are all American creations, as are the global credit card companies American Express, Visa and MasterCard.
Achieving higher wages also requires a greater commitment to education. Following the German model of greater emphasis on engineering and technical training would also be advantageous. And there is the tricky question of what role government should play. While countries like China have put large resources behind industries they want to nurture, we should resist the temptation to plunge deeply into industrial policy. Particularly in its current dysfunctional condition, Washington is ill-equipped to pick winners and should concentrate its capital on infrastructure and other public investments that the private sector won"t make.
To assist the private sector, particularly young companies, which are the biggest source of new hiring, tax incentives could be used to foster the creation of well-paying jobs. With global competition and its pressure on American wages intensifying, American workers deserve a more focused approach from Washington.

单选题 The example of the General Motors worker illustrates ______

单选题 Faced with the loss of job opportunities, the author advocates ______

单选题 America can balance the undesirable effect of globalization by ______

单选题 Should America learn from China concerning the government"s role?

单选题 Under the present circumstances, the government should ______