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How many really suffer as a result of labor market problems This is one of the most critical yet contentious social policy questions. In many ways, our social statistics exaggerate the degree of hardship. Unemployment does not have the same dire consequences today as it did in the 1930’s when most of the unemployed were primary breadwinners, when income and earnings were usually much closer to the margin of subsistence, and when there were no countervailing social programs for those failing in the labor market.
Increasing affluence, the rise of families with more than one wage earner, the growing predominance of secondary earners among the unemployed, and improved social welfare protection have unquestionably mitigated the consequences of joblessness. Earnings and income data also overstate the dimensions of hardship. Among the millions with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage level, the over-whelming majority are from multiple earners, relatively affluent families. Most of those counted by the poverty statistics are elderly or handicapped or have family responsibilities which keep them out of the labor force, so the poverty statistics are by no means an accurate indicator of labor market pathologies.
Yet there are also many ways our social statistics underestimate the degree of labor-market-related hardship. The unemployment counts exclude the millions of fully employed workers whose wages are so low that their families remain in poverty. Low wages and repeated or prolonged unemployment frequently interact to undermine the capacity for self-support. Since the number experiencing joblessness at some time during the year is several times the number unemployed in any month, those who suffer as a result of forced idleness can equal or exceed average annual unemployment, even though only a minority of the jobless in any month really suffer. For every person counted in the monthly unemployment tallies, there is another working part-time because of the inability to find fulltime work, or else outside the labor force but wanting a job. Finally, income transfers in our country have always focused on the elderly, disabled, and dependent, neglecting the needs of the working poor, so that the dramatic expansion of cash and in kind transfers does not necessarily mean that those failing in the labor market are adequately protected.
As a result of such contradictory evidence, it is uncertain whether those suffering seriously as a result of thousands or the tens of millions, and, hence, whether high levels of joblessness can be tolerated or must be countered by job creation and economic stimulus. There is only one area of agreement in this debate—that the existing poverty, employment, and earnings statistics are inadequate for one of their primary applications, measuring the consequences of labor market problems.

The author’s purpose in citing those who are repeatedly unemployed during a twelve-month period is most probably to show that()

A. there are several factors that cause the payment of low wages to some members of the labor force
B. unemployment statistics can underestimate the hardship resulting from joblessness
C. recurrent inadequacies in the labor market can exist and can cause hardships for individual workers
D. a majority of those who are jobless at any one time does not suffer severe hardship

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A.And the problem is likely to grow. Over the past 30 years the proportion of children in the U. S. who are overweight has doubled, from 5% to 11% or 4.7 million kids.
B.According to a recent report in the journal Circulation, 19 of 30 children with high blood pressure developed a dangerous thickening of the heart muscle that, in adults at least, has been linked to heart failure. “No one knows if this pattern holds true for younger patients as well, ” says Dr. Stephen Daniels, a pediatric cardiologist who led the study at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. “But it’s worrisome. ”
C.Feed your children nutritious foods three times a day to keep his immune system healthy. Make sure the meals include all the food groups to ensure they are getting plenty of vitamins.
D.Fortunately the abnormal thickening can be spotted by ultrasound. And in most case, getting that blood pressure under control — through weight loss and exercise or, as a last resort, drug treatment — allows the overworked muscle to shrink to normal size.
E.If the doctor finds an abnormal result he will repeat the test over a period of months to make sure the reading isn’t a fake. He’ll also check, whether other conditions, like kidney disease, could be the source of the trouble, because hypertension is hard to be detected. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends annual blood-pressure checks for every child over age 3.
F.High blood pressure isn’t just an issue for adults; keeping kids blood pressure levels in a healthy range is also important. In a new study reported in Hypertension, researchers found that increased exercise duration among kids leads to lower blood pressure levels, however the same cannot be said for increased intensity.
G.Meanwhile, make sure your kids spend more time on the playground than with their PlayStation. Even if they don’t shed a pound, vigorous exercise will help keep their blood vessels nice and wide, lowering their blood pressure. And of course, they’ll be more likely to eat light and, exercise if you set a good example.

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