Final answer:
Information technologies have abetted economic inequality by substituting and outsourcing middle-income jobs, thereby exacerbating disparities between high- and low-wage positions.
Step-by-step explanation:
As Taylor notes, information technologies have abetted economic inequality by destroying middle-income jobs. The word 'abetted' means to aid, help, or encourage someone to do something, often something wrong. In this context, it suggests that information and communication technologies (ICT) have contributed to an increase in economic inequality by making middle-income jobs less available, often replacing them with either high-paying, skill-intensive jobs or low-paying, unskilled ones.
This phenomenon is due to a shift in the demand for labor, where technology can substitute for middle-income jobs, such as certain kinds of bookkeeping and telephone jobs, and enable the outsourcing of other jobs. This creates greater inequality as the market for high-wage labor shifts to the right, increasing the productivity and oversight capability of high-wage labor, while the market for low-wage labor shifts to the left, offering fewer opportunities and lower wages.