经济学人331:共和党的预算草案

 　　THE Republican majority in the House of Representatives called its budget proposal “The path to prosperity: A blueprint¹ for American renewal”. Whether it would live up to that billing we will never know, as Democratic opposition³ in the Senate will prevent it from being enacted⁴. But by recanting on the budget deal they struck with the Democrats⁵ last year, and by renewing pledges to slash⁶ spending and overhaul⁷ popular government programmes, the Republicans have certainly paved the path to partisan⁸ rancour and Democratic attack ads.

　　美国众议院中的共和党大多数派称其预算草案为“通往繁荣之路：美国复兴的蓝图”。我们可能永远不会知道共和党能否实行得了这个议案，因为参议院的民主党会阻止这个议案被颁布。但是，通过去年宣布放弃为打击民主党而制定的预算案，和提出重新削减开支并彻底改革大众的政府计划，共和党必定已铺平了与民主党竞争的道路。

　　The plan, unveiled on March 20th by Paul Ryan, the chairman of the Budget Committee, is similar to the one he put forward last year. It aims to cut spending by more than $5 trillion over the next decade relative to the budget the president proposed last month. That would bring the deficit¹⁰ to below 2% of GDP by 2015, and the budget into balance by around 2040.

　　这个预案是由预算委员会主席保罗?瑞恩于3月20日提出的，与其去年提出的预案相似。相对于上月总统提出的预算而言，此预案计划削减五万亿美元的开支。这将使赤字到2015年时降到不到GDP的2%，使预算在2040年左右达到平衡。

　　The proposal would also dramatically cut taxes for businesses and individuals—a move it claims could be paid for by eliminating exemptions¹¹ and deductions¹². It also rehashes Mr Ryan’s scheme to stop the government paying directly for health care for the elderly via Medicare, and instead hand out that could be used to buy private insurance. But to ease suspicions that this is simply a ruse¹³ to foist¹⁴ rising costs on blameless grannies, Mr Ryan now says that the vouchers¹⁵ could be used to remain in a version of the current Medicare programme; this, however, may cost people money if competition from private providers succeeds in undercutting Medicare.

　　这项提案也会大幅度削减企业所得税和个人所得税——并宣称会通过消除免税额和扣除额来补偿这部分税款。在这项提案中，瑞恩先生改变了原计划阻止政府通过医疗保险向老年人直接支付医疗保健费用，而是建议发放可以用来购买私人保险的抵用券。但是为了避免让人怀疑这是蒙骗无辜老人钱的伎俩，瑞恩先生现补充说抵用券可能以一种形式存在于目前的医疗保险规划中。然而，如果私人保险企业之间的竞争促使他们廉价出售医疗保险，可能会让人们花很多钱。

　　The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office calculates that the proposed spending cuts are even more swingeing this time round. Only Social Security (the public pension scheme) would remain on its present trajectory¹⁶. The projected growth in Medicare would be crimped, while outlays¹⁷ on Medicaid, the government health-care scheme for the poor, would be halved¹⁸ as a share of GDP by 2050. Everything else (such as foreign aid, assistance to veterans and federal funding for schools and roads) would be cut by over two-thirds.

　　中立的国会预算局预测此次提议的开支削减要更严厉。只有社会保障制度（公众退休金计划）得以正常运行。医疗保险原计划的增长可能会缩减，然而作为GDP一部分，医疗补助计划的开支和政府为穷人制定的卫生保健计划到2050年可能会被缩减一半。其他内容（如国外援助，对退伍军人的援助及向学校和道路发放的联邦基金）则可能缩减2/3。

　　Democrats are delighted that Mr Ryan is returning to the limb he put his party out on last year, when House Republicans overwhelmingly backed his budget proposal only to be lambasted by Democrats for “ending Medicare as we know it” and prioritising tax cuts for the rich over benefits for the poor. A Democrat² who stuck to that script won a by-election in what had long been a safe Republican seat in upstate New York last year. The party has already launched a similar campaign this year, denouncing the Republicans’ “Medicare madness”. Republicans, for their part, insist that their forthright¹⁹ stance, in contrast to the Senate Democrats’ failure to pass a budget for the past three years, will earn them respect from voters. Mitt⁹ Romney, the probable Republican nominee²⁰ seems to agree: he has heartily²¹ endorsed²² Mr Ryan’s approach.

　　民主党乐见瑞恩先生又使共和党像去年那样重新陷于困境，那时议院共和党人以压倒性的姿态支持他的预算草案，却被民主党以“正如我们都知道的那样会终结医疗保险制度”和以削减富人缴税为先而不是造福于穷人为理由痛斥。一位民主党人去年因坚持这份提案而赢得了递补选举，稳稳地称为了纽约北部的一名共和党人。民主党今年又发起了一场类似的竞选，公开谴责共和党是“医疗保险制度疯子”。对于共和党人来说，则坚持认为他们鲜明的立场会为他们赢来选民的尊重，这与参议院民主党人三年都未能通过一项预算形成鲜明对比。大有希望的共和党候选人米特?罗姆尼似乎非常同意这点——他热切支持瑞恩先生的提案。

　　Whatever the plan’s electoral merits, it has also set off a more obscure but potentially even more significant battle within Congress. It attempts to unpick the deal sealed last year by the president, the House and the Senate to raise the limit Congress imposes on government debt in exchange for spending cuts. The Republicans are now proposing cutting $19 billion more next year than agreed. They also want to undo²³ part of the fail-safe mechanism²⁴ that was supposed to induce both parties to compromise on a scheme to reduce the deficit. If no agreement was reached, spending dear to both sides (on defence, in the Republicans’ case, and on almost everything else, in the Democrats’) was to be cut by $1.2 trillion. No deal has been reached, but Mr Ryan’s plan calls for the military cuts (alone) to be restored.

　　不管这个提案的竞选优点是什么，它都已经引发了一场更隐晦却更具有潜在意义的国会内部争斗。它试图重提去年总统否决的提案，参众两院以提高国会补助政府债务的限额交换开支削减计划。共和党现在提出下一年度比原定多削减190亿美元；他们也想取消部分容错机制，该机制被认为会诱使两党为降低赤字在某个计划上达成妥协。如果打不成任何协议，两党高昂的开支（共和党为了防卫；而民主党则出于其他目的）将被削减1万2千亿美元。目前尚未达成任何协议，但是瑞安先生的提案已提出恢复（单独）裁军。

　　The Democrats in charge of the budgeting process in the Senate have already declared any departure from the debt-ceiling deal unacceptable. But plenty of Republicans in the House feel that Mr Ryan is not going far enough. That sets the stage for another fiscal²⁵ showdown when the current fiscal year ends on October 1st, a month before elections in which all members of the House, a third of senators and the president all face the voters.

　　参议院中负责预算编制过程的民主党人已宣布任何违背债务限额的提案是不被接受的。但是众议院中的许多共和党人认为瑞恩先生并没有很严重的违背这点。这为当前财年于10月1号结束后的下一个财政决战铺了台阶，而在那时后的一个月里，所有众议院的成员，1/3的参议员和总统都得直面选民。

1 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

7 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

8 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

9 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

10 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

11 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

12 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

13 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

14 foist   

vt.把…强塞给，骗卖给

参考例句：

• He doesn't try to foist his beliefs on everyone.他不会勉强每个人接受他的信念。
• He tried to foist some inferior goods on me.他企图把一些劣质货强售给我。

15 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

16 trajectory   

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

• It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
• The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

17 outlays   

v.支出，费用( outlay的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• For MU, there were no upfront risks or cash outlays. 对摩托罗拉大学而言，没有风险或现金费用。 来自互联网

18 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 forthright   

adj.直率的，直截了当的 [同]frank

参考例句：

• It's sometimes difficult to be forthright and not give offence.又直率又不得罪人，这有时很难办到。
• He told me forthright just why he refused to take my side.他直率地告诉我他不肯站在我这一边的原因。

20 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

21 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

22 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

24 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

25 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。