奥巴马每周电视讲话：总统希望所有人都受益于自由市场

Hello, everybody. One of America's greatest strengths is our free market. A thriving private sector¹ is the lifeblood of our economy-it's how we create jobs, expand opportunities, and give everybody a shot at success. It's what has made America the strongest country on Earth.
大家好！美国强大的力量之源就是自由市场。繁荣的私营企业是我们经济发展的命脉，这样的基础让我们创造就业、增加机遇，让每个人都有机会获得成功。这也让美国成为地球上最强大的国家。
The most essential ingredient in a healthy free market is competition. But right now, too many companies are engaging in behaviors that stifle² competition-like blocking new competitors from entering the market or limiting the information and options that give consumers real choice. As a consequence, the rest of us pay higher prices for lower quality products and services. Workers receive lower wages than they otherwise would. Small businesses and entrepreneurs can get squeezed out of the market. And none of that is fair-or good for our economy.
一个健康、自由市场环境中最重要的元素就是竞争。但是现在，太多的公司存在各种扼杀竞争的行为，比如说阻止新的竞争者进入市场，或阻碍信息交流不给用户提供真正需要的选项。随之而来的就是，我们付着高价钱，却享受着低水准的产品和服务。劳动者的工资也比他们应得的少。中小企业和企业主们被挤出市场。这些都是不公平的，对我们的经济发展也没有好处。
The deck should not be stacked in favor of the wealthiest individuals and the biggest corporations, against working Americans. That's why my administration is doing everything we can to reverse this trend and promote more competition in the marketplace. In addition to enforcing the rules on the books, I've directed federal agencies to identify anti-competitive behavior in different industries, and find new and specific ways to promote competition.
发展的平台不能被把持在少数最富有的人以及少数大公司手中，不能损害工薪阶层的利益。因此，本届政府正在尽一切努力，扭转这一趋势，促进市场竞争。为巩固竞争环境，我们要依照法律规范，加强执法，我已经指示联邦相关机构，甄别各行各业存在的反竞争行为，探索新的可行方式，促进竞争。
One industry that's ripe for change is cable TV. Right now, 99 percent of cable and satellite TV customers rent set-top boxes from their providers. According to one survey, this costs households an average of more than $230 per year. We spend some $20 billion to rent these devices. While we have almost unlimited³ choice in what we watch on television, from traditional programming to online content, there's next to no competition to build a better, user-friendly product that allows you to easily access all this content in one place. So most consumers just rent whatever the cable company offers. Because we have to. That means companies have little incentive⁴ to innovate⁵. As a consequence, we need multiple devices and controllers to access content from different sources. That makes no sense.
其中应该尽快变革的就是有线电视行业。当前，99%的有线卫星电视用户是从运营商租用机顶盒。根据一项调查显示，每户家庭每年的平均租用成本超过230美元。我们每年要花200亿来租用这些设备。由于我们通过电视看什么应该是完全不受限制的，从传统电视节目到在线视频，但是这个领域几乎没有竞争来促生更好的、与用户更友好的产品，让我们可以方便的通过一个设备看到所有想看的内容。因此，有线电视运营商那里提供什么设备，大部分的用户也就租用什么设备。因为我们不得不这么做。也就是说，这些公司之间几乎没有任何创新的驱动力。随之而来的就是，我们需要各种各样的设备和遥控器，来接入各种来源的内容。这太不合理了。
So my administration has encouraged the FCC to remove the barriers to competition that prevent new players from offering innovative⁶ cable box options to consumers.
因此，本届政府已经在推动FCC取消这些阻碍竞争的障碍，让新的竞争者可以为用户提供具有创新意义的有线电视机顶盒。
We know this works. For years, Americans had to rent our telephones from the phone company. This was a while ago, but when the FCC finally unlocked competition for home phones, the marketplace was flooded with all kinds of phone options with new features, and at different price points. Consumers suddenly had many options. And the whole industry moved forward as a result. The same can happen with cable boxes, and in dozens of areas of our economy-all of which can make a difference in your everyday life.
我们知道这样做是有用的。曾几何时，美国人民不得不从电话公司租用电话机。这个时期已经过去了，但是当FCC最终开启家用电话竞争之后，市场上涌入了各种各样的电话，拥有各种新的功能，各个级别的价格都有。这样，消费者一下子就有了多种多样的选择。整个产业也迅速向前发展。因此，同样的改变也可以在有线电视机顶盒上发生，包括众多其它行业也是如此，这些改变将为大家的生活带来不一样的变化。
The bottom line is, competition is good for consumers, workers, businesses, and our economy. So I'm going to keep doing everything I can to make sure that our free market works for everyone. Thanks, and have a great weekend.
最重要的就是，竞争对消费者、劳动者、企业以及我们的整个经济发展都是有利的。因此，我将继续尽我所能，确保自由市场服务于每一个人。谢谢大家！周末愉快！

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

3 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

4 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

5 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。

6 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。