2016年经济学人 肯萨斯和密苏苏里 新边境之战

 

Kansas and Missouri

肯萨斯和密苏苏里

The new border war

新边境之战

Missouri calls for an economic truce¹ with Kansas

密苏苏里提出与肯萨斯达成经济休战协定

I hear the tax breaks are good in Kansas

听说肯萨斯州有好的税收减免政策

MISSOURI and Kansas are old rivals. In the 1850s thousands of Missourians rode into Kansas, seized polling stations at gunpoint and fraudulently elected pro-slavery candidates. The efforts of these “border ruffians” were a prelude² to the civil war.

密苏苏里和肯萨斯是一对老冤家。在1850年代，千万密苏苏里人涌入肯萨斯州，抢占他们枪口下的投票站，公然欺骗地投选支持奴隶制的候选人。这些边境恶棍的努力同样阻止了内战的爆发。

Today the rivalry³ is less bloody⁴. Both states offer tax incentives⁵ to lure⁶ in companies from elsewhere. Because they share a large metropolitan⁷ region, Kansas City, many firms qualify for such breaks simply by shifting a mile or two over the border.

如今的对抗少了点血腥。双方都拿出税费刺激计划，吸引四面八方的公司。由于大都市肯萨斯城横跨两州，许多公司为了有资格拿到这样的税收减免，会通常把公司移一两英里跨过边界。

Looking at the biggest type of sweetener, the Hall Family Foundation, a charity, estimates that over the past five years the two state governments have forgone⁸ $217m in taxes. Some 3,289 jobs have been tempted⁹ across the metropolitan border to Kansas; Missouri has won 2,824 jobs back. Kansas can therefore claim to be “winning”. But local reports suggest that CBIZ, a Kansan consulting firm, is considering moving to Missouri; that would erase¹⁰ this lead.

霍尔家族基金会慈善组织推测，在过去的五年间，两州政府分别放弃了2亿1700万的税收。肯萨斯州吸引了大约3289个职位，密苏苏里州则抢到了2824个，因此肯萨斯可以说是胜利的一方。但当地媒体表示，肯萨咨询公司CBIZ有意移到密苏苏里州，如果一旦成功，领先将会不复存在。

None of this border-ruffianry creates new jobs. Locals gripe that when, for example, AMC Theatre recently moved its headquarters out of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, its staff simply had a longer commute¹¹ to work. Sly James, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, describes the new border war as “short-sighted”. Kevin Collison, a reporter for the Kansas City Star, calls it “cannibalistic”.

边境恶棍们并没有创造新的就业机会。当地人抱怨称，最近AMC电影院从密苏苏里肯萨斯城市中心迁走时，只不过它的员工们花费在上下班的时间更长了些。该市市长斯莱·詹姆斯认为这是一场没有远见的边境之战。肯萨斯城星光的一名记者Kevin Collision称之为自相残杀。

A few years ago local business leaders from 17 companies, including Sprint¹² and Hallmark Cards, wrote to Jay Nixon, the governor of Missouri, and Sam Brownback, his counterpart in Kansas, to warn them that the rift¹³ was harming the area. In the past month, a truce has started to look likelier. Majorities in the Missouri House and Senate have approved versions of a bill that would bar incentives for businesses near the border to hop¹⁴ over it. The catch, though, is that this law will go into effect only if Kansas reciprocates¹⁵. There is a two-year window for a deal to be done.

几年前，包括来自Sprint和Hallmark Cards在内的当地17家公司的总裁们向密苏苏里州长杰·尼克森联同肯萨斯州州长萨姆·布朗巴克写信警告这种裂痕正危害着这个地方。过去数月里，双方好像可以签署一份休战协定。多数密苏苏里议员同意签署一项法案旨在禁止边界贸易刺激方案。然而该方案有一缺陷，要想该法案有效，必须得到肯萨斯州同样的做法。在达成协议之前有两年的窗口期。

Missouri Senator Ryan Silvey, a Republican who is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill, says he is confident the House will soon pick up and pass his version. Over in Kansas, Mr Brownback is guardedly optimistic. He says he has thought for some time that “ceasefire negotiations” were needed, and that this bill is a “necessary condition for us to negotiate”. Mr Brownback says that ceasefire discussions ought to consider all the tools used to encourage economic development on both sides of the border. These would include income and property taxes.

密苏苏里州民主党议员莱恩·希尔威尔支持这项法案，他表示对国会审议通过这样法案有信心。而肯萨斯州方面，布朗巴克对此保持着谨慎的乐观，他说停火谈判的必要性已经在他脑子里有一段时间了，这部法案为我们谈判提供了必要的条件。停火谈判应该考虑边界双方共同的经济发展刺激方式。这其中就包括财产和所得税。

It is difficult to understand why either state would want to continue throwing money at a scheme that benefits only the companies that move. Mr Silvey explains: “When people feel like they are locked in competition they just want to win, even when the competition is stupid.” Since Missouri's annual budget is $26 billion to Kansas's $14 billion, some Missourians ask why their state does not simply outspend its neighbour to win the war. Mr Silvey says that if an agreement is not reached in the next few years, his colleagues will want to “go with both barrels” and steal more business from Kansas. Move quickly Kansas, or the border ruffians may yet ride again.

我们仍然弄不清楚，为什么苏肯两州会继续撒钱来支持只有迁移的企业才会受益的方案。希尔威尔解释道，当人们感觉到自己受困于竞争，他们总是很想赢，尽管这是一场傻傻的斗。相比140亿美元的年度预算，密苏苏里州每年有达260亿美元预算。一些密苏苏里人问，为什么就不能仅仅靠相对高的预算来赢得胜利。他指出，如果未来几年内仍达成协议，他的同僚们会带着枪，从肯萨斯州抢些生意。肯萨斯快快行动！边境恶棍又要来了！

1 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

2 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

3 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

4 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

5 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

7 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

8 forgone   

v.没有也行，放弃( forgo的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Tax expenditures are the revenues forgone due to preferential tax treatment. 税收支出是由于税收优惠待遇而放弃的收入。 来自互联网
• The alternative forgone is called the opportunity cost. 这种选择性的放弃就叫做机会成本。 来自互联网

9 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

10 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

11 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

12 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

13 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

14 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

15 reciprocates   

n.报答，酬答( reciprocate的名词复数 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的第三人称单数 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动

参考例句：

• The engine reciprocates the propeller. 引擎往复推动螺旋桨。 来自互联网
• Terry intuitively reciprocates and becomes frustrated and conflicted by his decidedly unprofessional feelings for her. 特里也直觉地感到了这一点，而且为自己这种显然非职业的情感感到沮丧和矛盾。 来自互联网