奥巴马每周电视讲话：总统呼吁改善美国经济大环境

Hi, everybody.
大家好！
As President, my top priority¹ is rebuilding an economy where everybody who works hard has the chance to get ahead.
作为总统，我最首要的职责就是重建一个让所有辛勤工作的人都能取得成功的经济环境。
That's what I'll spend some time talking about on Monday, at the White House Summit² on Working Families.
我将在周一举行的白宫工薪家庭峰会上就此话题谈论我的观点。
We're bringing together business leaders and workers to talk about the challenges that working parents face every day, and how we can address them together.
届时我将与众多企业领导和员工们汇聚一堂，共同探讨工薪父母们每天面对的挑战，并对此提出我们所能实现的解决办法。
Take paid family leave.
带薪产假和探亲假。
Many jobs don't offer adequate leave to care for a new baby or an ailing³ parent, so workers can't afford to be there when their family needs them the most.
多数岗位都不提供足够的假期让员工有时间去照顾新生婴儿或生病的父母，因此，员工无法在他们的家庭急需他们的时候及时到位，因为他们无法承受这一代价。
That's wrong. And it puts us way behind the times.
这不合理。我们没有跟上时代的步伐。
Only three countries in the world report that they don't offer paid maternity⁴ leave.
全世界只有三个国家公开表示不提供带薪产假。
Three. And the United States is one of them.
只有三个。而我们的国家就是其中之一。
It's time to change that.
是时候做出改变了。
A few states have acted on their own to give workers paid family leave, but this should be available to everyone, because all Americans should be able to afford to care for a family member in need.
有少数州已经做出了调整，给员工提供带薪产假和探亲假，但这应该是每个人都能享受到的福利，因为所有美国人民都应该具备照顾需要照料的家庭成员的能力。
Childcare is another challenge.
子女抚养是另一个挑战。
Most working families I know can't afford thousands a year for childcare, but often that's what it costs.
大多数工薪家庭，据我所知，无法承受每年数千美元的子女抚养费用，但通常这都是他们必须的支出。
That leaves parents scrambling⁵ just to make sure their kids are safe while they're at work-forget about giving them the high-quality early childhood education that helps kids succeed in life.
这让父母们很纠结，这些支出只是为了确保他们在上班的时候孩子们有安全的环境，根本谈不上高质量的儿童早期教育去帮助孩子们成长成功。
Then there's the issue of flexibility⁶-the ability to take a few hours off for a parent-teacher conference or to work from home when your kid is sick.
那么，灵活解决问题的方式是，让父母有几个小时的时间去参加一次家长会或是当孩子生病的时候可以在家办公。
Most workers want it, but not enough of them have it.
大多数的员工都需要这些，但并不是大部分人都可以享受到。
What's more, it not only makes workers happier-studies show that flexibility can make workers more productive⁷ and reduce worker turnover⁸ and absenteeism.
更重要的是，这这不仅能让员工更开心，有研究证明，弹性工作时间可以让员工的工作效率更高，并减少员工离职和缺勤。
That's good for business.
企业可以从中获益良多。
At a time when women make up about half of America's workforce⁹, outdated¹⁰ workplace policies that make it harder for mothers to work hold our entire economy back.
在妇女撑起半边天的时代，过时的工作制度让妈妈们的工作更加艰难，也拉了整个经济发展的后腿。
But these aren't just problems for women.
但这不仅仅是针对女性存在的问题。
Men also care about who's watching their kids.
男性也关心谁能够照顾孩子的问题。
They're rearranging their schedules to make it to soccer games and school plays.
他们要不断调正他们的日程表，赶上球赛和校园演出。
Lots of sons help care for aging parents.
很多当儿子的照顾上了年纪的父母。
And plenty of fathers would love to be home for their new baby's first weeks in the world.
很多当父亲的更愿意在孩子出生的第一个星期在家陪伴宝宝。
In fact, in a new study, nearly half of all parents-women and men-report that they've said no to a job, not because they didn't want it, but because it would be too hard on their families.
实际上，有新的研究表明，几乎有一半的父母，男女都包括在内，他们对一份工作说不，不是因为他们不想要，而是同时要顾及家庭会是分艰难。
When that many talented, hard-working people are forced to choose between work and family, something's wrong.
当大量有能力，肯付出的人被迫在工作和家庭之间做选择的时候，可定就有问题了。
Other countries are making it easier for people to have both.
其它国家都在努力让人们更好坚固二者。
We should too, if we want American businesses to compete and win in the global economy.
如果我们想要保持美国企业的竞争力，并在全球经济发展中胜出，我们也应该这么做。
Family leave. Childcare. Flexibility. These aren't frills-they're basic needs.
带薪产假，子女抚养，弹性工作时间。这些不是花架子，而是人们的基本需求。
They shouldn't be bonuses-they should be the bottom line.
这不应该是奖励，而应该是底线。
The good news is, some businesses are embracing family-friendly policies, because they know it's key to attracting and retaining talented employees.
好消息是，有些企业正在向适合家庭工作制度方面转向，因为他们知道，吸引并留住高素质的员工至关重要。
And I'm going to keep highlighting the businesses that do.
我将继续鼓励这些企业的做法。
Because I take this personally.
因为作为个人我认同这一点。
I take it personally as the son and grandson of some strong women who worked hard to support my sister and me.
两位坚强的女性努力工作抚养了我和我妹妹，作为儿子和孙子，我赞同这一点。
As the husband of a brilliant woman who struggled to balance work and raising our young ladies when my job often kept me away.
作为一位努力在工作和抚养我们的女儿们之间艰难平衡的杰出女性的丈夫，因为我的工作将我经常离开他们，我认同这些企业的做法。
And as the father of two beautiful girls, whom I want to be there for as much as I possibly can-and whom I hope will be able to have families and careers of their own one day.
作为两个漂亮姑娘的父亲，我想尽可能多的与她们呆在一起，希望能陪她们到她们自己成家立业的那一天。
We know from our history that our economy grows best from the middle-out; that our country does better when everybody participates; when everyone's talents are put to use; when we all have a fair shot.
历史告诉我们，我们的经济在中产阶级壮大的时候发展的最好；我们的国家在所有人都积极参与建设的时候更强大；当每个人的才能都被发挥出来，当我们都有机会取得成功。
That's the America I believe in. That's the America I'll keep fighting for every day.
这才是我们希望中的美国。这也是我们每天都将为之奋斗的美国。
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
谢谢大家，祝你们周末愉快。

1 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

2 summit   

n.最高点，峰顶；最高级会议；极点

参考例句：

• They climbed up the mountain and reached the summit.他们爬山，最终达到了山顶。
• The summit of the mountain is lost in the cloud and mist.山顶隐没在云雾之中。

3 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

4 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

5 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》

6 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

7 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。

8 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

9 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

10 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。