奥巴马总统每周电台演讲:促进经济增长和创造中产阶级工作岗位

Hi, everybody.

嗨，大家好。

Our top priority as a country right now should be doing everything we can to grow our economy and create good, middle class jobs.

我们国家现在的第一要务就是想尽一切办法促进经济增长和创造中产阶级需要的好的工作岗位。

And yet, less than one week from now, Congress is poised¹ to allow a series of arbitrary, automatic budget cuts that will do the exact opposite.

然而，在不到一个星期的时间内，国会已经摆出唱反调的架势，要武断的通过一些自动预算削减。

They will slow our economy.

他们要减缓我们的经济发展。

They will eliminate good jobs.

他们会让我们失去好的工作岗位。

They will leave many families who are already stretched to the limit scrambling² to figure out what to do.

他们会让无数被逼到极限的家庭不知所措。

But here's the thing: these cuts don't have to happen.

但目前的问题是，这样的削减本来是不该发生的。

Congress can turn them off anytime with just a little compromise.

国会只要稍作妥协，就可以在任何时候避免这种情况。

They can pass a balanced plan for deficit³ reduction.

他们可以通过一项平衡的方案降低赤字。

They can cut spending in a smart way, and close wasteful⁴ tax loopholes for the well-off and well-connected.

他们可以以更合适的方式削减支出，终结有利于富人和权贵人士们的浪费性税法漏洞。

Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans in Congress have decided⁵ that instead of compromising—instead of asking anything of the wealthiest Americans—they would rather let these cuts fall squarely on the middle class.

不幸的是，国会的共和党人显然是要坚持到底拒不妥协，他们宁可将所有的减支重担完全让中产阶级承担，也不愿对富人们提任何要求。

Here's what that choice means.

这样的决定意味着，

Once these cuts take effect, thousands of teachers and educators will be laid off, and tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble⁶ to find child care for their kids.

一旦这些削减发生，数千名教师以及教育工作者将被辞退，数万父母将为孩子的教育问题而苦苦挣扎。

Air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks, causing delays across the country.

航空管理员和机场安检人员将面临裁员的危机，由此将带来全国范围的航班延误。

Even President Bush's director of the National Institutes of Health says these cuts will set back medical science for a generation.

甚至布什总统任命的国家卫生研究院院长也表示这样的支出削减将使得医学研究被拖后一代人的时间。

Already, the threat of these cuts has forced the Navy to delay the deployment⁷ of an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf⁸ – affecting our ability to respond to threats in an unstable⁹ part of the world.

这些削减的威胁已经迫使我们的海军推迟向波斯湾派遣一艘航母—削弱了我们应对世界上不安定地区威胁的能力。

And just this week, the Pentagon announced that if these cuts go through, almost 800,000 defense¹⁰ employees – the equivalent of every person in Miami and Cleveland combined – will be forced to take unpaid¹¹ leave.

就在这周，五角大楼宣布如果这些削减继续，将有800,000位国防雇员—相当于迈阿密和克利夫兰两个城市的人口总和—被迫停薪休假。

That 's what this choice means.

以上就是这种决定的后果。

Are Republicans in Congress really willing to let these cuts fall on our kids' schools and mental health care just to protect tax loopholes for corporate¹² jet owners?

难道国会的共和党人真的希望为了保护利于公司高管的税收漏洞而让幼儿园和医疗保健面临支出削减的困境吗？

Are they really willing to slash¹³ military health care and the border patrol just because they refuse to eliminate tax breaks for big oil companies?

难道他们真的希望砍掉军队医疗和边境巡逻的支出，仅仅因为他们拒绝减少对大型石油公司的税收优惠吗？

Are they seriously prepared to inflict¹⁴ more pain on the middle class because they refuse to ask anything more of those at the very top?

难道他们真的打算给中产阶级带来更多痛苦仅仅因为他们拒绝向权贵阶层提出更多要求吗？

These are the questions Republicans in Congress need to ask themselves.

这是国会的共和党人应该扪心自问的。

And I'm hopeful they'll change their minds.

我期待着他们能改变自己的看法。

Because the American people have worked too hard for too long to see everything they've built undone¹⁵ by partisan¹⁶ recklessness in Washington.

因为，长久以来辛勤工作的美国人民不能眼睁睁的看着他们建设的一切被华盛顿的党同伐异毁于一旦。

I believe we should work together to build on the more than $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction we've already achieved.

我相信我们应该共同努力在削减2.5万亿财政赤字的基础上更进一步。

But I believe we should do it in a balanced way—with smart spending cuts, entitlement reform, and tax reform.

但我希望我们能通过平衡的方式进行，通过更巧妙的支出削减，福利改革以及税收改革。

That's my plan.

我的计划是，

It's got tough cuts, tough reforms, and asks more of the wealthiest Americans.

进行严格的支出削减，严厉的改革，让富豪们承担更多义务。

It's on the White House website for everyone to see.

这也是你们在白宫的网站上所看到的。

And it requires Democrats¹⁷ and Republicans to meet half way to resolve the problem.

这需要民主党和共和党互相妥协来解决这一问题。

That 's what the American people expect.

这是美国人民期待的。

And that's what you deserve.

也是大家理所应得的。

We just need Republicans in Washington to come around.

我们需要的只是华盛顿的共和党人能伸一把手。

Because we need their help to finish the job of reducing our deficit in a smart way that doesn't hurt our economy or our people.

因为我们需要他们帮助我们用巧妙的方式削减财政赤字而不危害到我们的经济和人民生活。

After all, as we learned in the 1990s, nothing shrinks the deficit faster than a growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs.

一如我们在上个世纪90年代就得到的经验，削减赤字，任何东西都没有创造一个稳定中产阶级的不断发展的经济更快更有效。

That has to be our driving focus.

这才是我们的推动力，

That has to be our North Star.

我们前进的北极星。

Making America a magnet for good jobs.

让好的工作岗位向美国回流。

Equipping our people with the skills required to fill those jobs.

让人民掌握这些工作岗位所需的技能。

Making sure your hard work leads to a decent living.

让辛勤的劳动能换来体面的生活。

That' s what this city should be focused on like a laser.

这才是华盛顿应该像激光一样集中精力关注的事情。

And I'm going to keep pushing folks here to remember that.

我将持续提醒这里的人牢记这一点。

Thanks.

谢谢大家。

1 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

2 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

7 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

12 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

13 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。

14 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

15 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

16 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。

17 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》