VOA标准英语2011--Supercommittee Failure to Rein In US Debt Threatens Global Recovery

Supercommittee Failure to Rein¹ In US Debt Threatens Global Recovery

A so-called U.S. Congressional "supercommittee" has less than one week before a deficit²-cutting deadline on November 23. Some economists⁴ say the prospects⁵ for success are poor while others say failure is not an option. Many are urging the bipartisan committee of six Republicans and six Democrats⁶ to make big changes to get the huge U.S. debt under control. Economists say failure could seriously hurt the world's largest economy, and countries that do business with it.

With an economy about one fourth the size of the world's GDP (gross domestic product), any threat to the U.S. economy is a potential threat to other countries that do business with it. Jason Peuquet, a policy analyst⁷ at the New America Foundation says it does not take a large economy to see how interconnected the world has become.

"We saw that one smaller country in the EU, Greece, could really almost bring down Europe and threaten the global economy," he said. "So if we can see that in just one smaller country, imagine what would happen in the world's largest single economy, the United States."

Some say U.S. debt - now edging close to $15 trillion - is growing too fast. That's why economists say the congressional committee tasked with trimming the nation's deficit must act decisively. Unless politicians deal with the problem now, Diane Lim Rogers, chief economist³ at the Concorde Coalition⁸, says worries about the nation's ability to repay its debts will make the U.S. less attractive to investors⁹.

"The scary part from an economic perspective is we're not going to know we've reached that point where we've borrowed so much that we're not looking like a safe investment," she said. "We're not going to know that until it happens - very rapidly. It's sort of like you don't known you're near the edge of the cliff until you're already off the cliff."

Like Greece and Italy, experts say if that happens, interest rates on U.S. securities will spike¹⁰, making it costlier¹¹ for the country to repay its debts. Lim Rogers says it's a burden the next generation would be forced to carry.

That's why New America Foundation's Peuquet says the supercommittee can not afford to fail.

"Extending the deadline would be much better than failure, because it keeps the conversation going," he said. "We've got the focus of the world, the markets, businesses, the American public. And this is a real opportunity, so we hope the supercommittee recognizes that."

Failure to reach a deal by November 23 would trigger automatic spending cuts worth more than one trillion dollars. Those cuts would come primarily from defense¹² and domestic spending programs - without the benefit of new revenue.

"So it's a spending side only approach, it leaves us with a very spending heavy strategy for deficit reduction at a time when we're still struggling to come out of our recession," said Diane Lim Rogers.

Such "brute¹³ force" spending cuts could hurt social programs for unemployed¹⁴ and lower income Americans and hamper¹⁵ the country's military readiness.

Some economists warn a political deadlock¹⁶ could also lead to another downgrade of U.S. debt, sending markets into a tailspin that would further weaken the world's economy.

1 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

2 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。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

6 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》

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 costlier   

adj.昂贵的( costly的比较级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather. 鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。 来自互联网
• Disagreements among creditors can be costlier still. 债权人之间的分歧会加大重组的费用。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 brute   

n.野兽，兽性

参考例句：

• The aggressor troops are not many degrees removed from the brute.侵略军简直象一群野兽。
• That dog is a dangerous brute.It bites people.那条狗是危险的畜牲，它咬人。

14 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

15 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

16 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。