Commencement (毕业典礼) is a time for idealism. But economic reality is cruel everywhere; especially for new graduate. They have been told repeatedly that a college degree is an open sesame(芝麻) to the global economy. But that’s not necessarily so, according to new research by two economists at he Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank Levy and Peter Temin. It is true that people with college degrees make more money than people without degrees. The gap has narrowed somewhat in recent years, which is disturbing. But the earning power of college graduates still far outpaces that of less-educated workers. The bad news, though, is that a college degree does not ensure a bigger share of the economics pie for many graduates. In recent decades Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show, only college-educated women have seen their income grow in line with economy wide gains in productivity. The earnings of male college graduates have failed to keep pace with productivity gains. Instead, a huge share of productivity growth, which expands the nation’s income, is going to Americans on the top of the income scale. In 2005, the latest year with available data, the top of 1 percent of Americans---whose average annual income was $ 1.1 million--- took in 21.8 percent of the nation’s income, their largest share since 1929. Administration officials, and other politicians and economists, often, believe that income inequality, reflects an education gap. But Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin show that in the case of men, the average bachelor’s degree is not enough to catch the rising tide of the global economy. They argue that the real reason that inequality is worsening is the lack of strong policies that broadly distribute economic gains. In the past, for example, a more progressive income tax and unions promote equality. Positive measures have been eroding and new ones have not yet emerged, making the income gap even greater. Mr. Levy and Mr. Temin conclude that only a new government policy can restore general prosperity. That’s a challenge to the nation’s leader and today’s graduates. America needs them to contribute to the development of the nation in global economy. 小题1:The passage is mainly about that _______.
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