奥巴马总统每周电台演讲:总统呼吁社会各界为中产阶级减税而努力

Hi, everybody.

嗨，大家好！

Four years after the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, our economy is growing again and creating jobs.

在我们人生中最糟糕的经济危机爆发4年之后，我们的经济开始再次增长并且正在创造就业机会。

But we have much more to do.

但是我们还有更多事情要做。

Our task now is to build on that progress.

我们的现阶段首要任务就是建立在这个进步的基础上。

Because this nation only succeeds when we've got a growing, thriving middle class.

因为只有我们拥有一个增长且繁荣的中产阶级，这个国家才能成功。

That's what drives me.

这就是驱使我之所在。

That's what I campaigned on for the past year.

这就是我在过去一年竞选的目的。

That's what will guide me in our work over the next four years.

这就是在接下来的4年中指引我工作的明灯。

And I'm willing to work with anyone of any party to move this country forward.

我愿与任何政党的任何人合作使这个国家前进。

Because soon, we face a very clear deadline that requires us to make some big decisions on jobs and taxes; on investments and deficits².

因为我们马上就要面对一个非常明确的底线，要求我们对就业和税收，投资和赤字做出一系列重大决定。

Both parties voted to set this deadline.

两党都投票赞同解决这一底线。

And I believe both parties can work together to make these decisions in a balanced and responsible way.

我相信两党可以齐心合作以平衡和负责的方式做出这些决定。

When it comes to taxes, for example, there are two pathways available.

比方税收问题，我们有两个选择。

One says, if Congress fails to act by the end of the year, then everybody's taxes automatically go up—including the 98% of Americans who make less than $250,000 a year.

一种方法是如果国会到年底还没有任何举措，那么每个人的税收都要相应增加—包括98%的年收入低于250,000美元的美国人。

Our economy can't afford that right now.

现在我们的经济已经不能负担。

You can't afford that right now. And nobody wants that to happen.

你们现在同样也负担不起。没有人希望这种情况发生。

The other path is for Congress to pass a law right away to prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of anyone's income.

另一种方法是国会马上通过一项法案首先防止每个收入250,000美元的人赋税增加。

That means all Americans—including the wealthiest Americans—get a tax cut.

这意味着所有美国人—包括最富有的美国人—赋税都会被减少。

And 98 percent of Americans, and 97 percent of all small business owners, won't see their income taxes go up a single dime³.

而至于98%的美国人和97%小企业主们会发现他们的赋税没有增加一毛钱。

The Senate has already passed a bill like this.

参议院已经通过了一个类似的议案。

Democrats⁴ in the House are ready to pass one, too.

众议院的民主党人也准备通过这个法案。

All we need is for Republicans in the House to come on board.

我们所需要的全部就是众议院的共和党人与我们保持同一阵线。

We shouldn't hold the middle class hostage while Congress debates tax cuts for the wealthy.

在国会讨论为富人减税问题时，我们不能拿中产阶级做为“人质”。

Let's begin our work by actually doing what we all agree on.

让我们就从实际上都赞同开始吧。

Let's keep taxes low for the middle class.

让我们使中产阶级的赋税降低。

And let's get it done soon—so we can give families and businesses some good news going into the holiday season.

让我们尽快行动—以便我们可以在即将来临的节日里给很多家庭和企业带去一些好消息。

I know these challenges won't be easy to solve. But we can do it if we work together.

我知道这些挑战不容易解决。但是如果我们齐心合力，一定能解决。

That's why on Friday I sat down with Congressional leaders to discuss how we can reduce our deficit¹ in a way that strengthens our economy and protects our middle class.

这就是为什么在周五我与国会领导人们坐在一起讨论如何在加强我们的经济和保护我们中产阶级的同时减少赤字。

It was a constructive⁵ meeting. And everyone agreed that while we may have our differences, we need to come together, find solutions and take action as soon as possible.

这是一个建设性的会议。每个人都赞同虽有分歧，但我们仍需齐心合力，找到解决方案并且尽快采取行动。

Because if anything, that's the message I heard loud and clear in the election.

因为如果有，那么我在竞选中听到的最嘹亮及最清晰的声音就是：

Work as hard as you can to make our lives better. And do it together.

竭尽我们所能努力工作以使我们的生活更加美好。并且齐心协力。

Don't worry about the politics. Just get the job done.

不要担心政治。只关心如何解决问题。

Everywhere I went in that campaign—from farms in Iowa to the Vegas strip; from Colorado's Rockies to the Florida coast—I was inspired by the grit⁶ and resilience of the American people, by your hard work and sense of decency⁷.

在竞选中我去过的诸多地方—从艾奥瓦州的农场到维加斯；从科罗拉多州的落基山脉到佛罗里达州的海岸—我都深深受到美国人民刚毅和坚韧的激励，并被你们的勤奋和正直所感染。

And it makes me want to work even harder for you.

而那让我深感要为你们更加努力工作。

I saw it again this week in New York, where our fellow citizens are going through a really tough time, but are helping⁸ each other through it. And we're going to be there to help them rebuild.

本周我在纽约再次看到我们的市民们正在走出艰难时刻，而且是互相帮助携手走出困境。我们将会帮助他们重建。

Every single day, the good people of this country work as hard as you can to meet your responsibilities.

每一日，我们善良的人民都在尽心尽力履行自己的职责。

Those of us you sent to Washington are going to do the same.

我们这些你们派去华盛顿的人将会做和你们一样的事情。

Thanks and have a great weekend.

谢谢你们，祝大家周末愉快。

1 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。

2 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

3 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

4 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》

5 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

6 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

7 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。