2020年经济学人 疫情下的租房驱逐保护令(2)

A deus ex machina of sorts has come from the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the federal public-health agency that is occasionally the target of the president’s scorn. Arguing that evictions hasten the spread of the virus, it issued a sweeping² moratorium³ starting on September 4th that applies to most renters nationwide (excepting American Samoa, which has been spared even a single case of covid-19). This came after an executive order from President Donald Trump⁴ that sought to “take all lawful⁵ measures to prevent residential⁶ evictions and foreclosures”. To qualify, renters must certify⁷ that they earn less than $99,000 and are unable to pay even after seeking government assistance. However, they must still make “timely partial payments” and will still owe back-rent.

美国疾病控制中心已经有了某种扭转乾坤的力量，尽管特朗普总统偶尔对这个联邦公共卫生机构表示轻蔑。美国疾病控制中心认为驱逐加速了病毒的传播，并为此颁布了一项全面禁止驱逐令，该法令于9月4日生效，且适用于全国大多数的租客。（美属萨摩亚除外，该国未出现新冠肺炎确诊病例）。此前，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普发布了一项行政命令，要求“采取一切合法措施，暂停驱逐房客和暂停止赎”。租房者必须证明自己的收入低于9.9万美元，并且即使寻求政府援助后也无法支付租金，才算符合条件。然而，他们仍需“及时支付部分房租”，且仍旧拖欠租金。

The public-health rationale for the decision is straightforward⁸. A team of epidemiologists at Harvard, the University of Illinois and the University of Pennsylvania has published a model estimating that even a low eviction¹ rate (0.25% of households per month) would increase caseloads by 1.5% by the end of the year. But a high eviction rate (2% of households per month) would increase cases by 13%. The nonmedical consequences of pausing evictions could prove equally important. Studies of the last recession showed that moving several times a year was associated with worse performance at school, the effects of which linger over a lifetime. And since evictions are caused by a failure to pay rent, reduced housing costs may allow increased spending on other necessities for struggling families.

美国政府这一决策的公共卫生理由直截了当。哈佛大学、伊利诺伊大学和宾夕法尼亚大学的流行病学家团队发表了一个模型，预估即使是低驱逐率的情况（每月有0.25%的家庭被驱逐），也会导致年底病例新增1.5%。而高驱逐率的情况下（每月有2%的家庭被驱逐），年底病例新增13%。禁止驱逐令引发的非医疗方面的后果可能同样重要。由上一次经济衰退的研究表明，每年多次搬家会导致学校成绩表现不佳，这种影响会持续一生。而且，困难家庭由于无法支付租金而受到驱逐，住房成本降低了，但随之可能会花费更多的钱在其他必需品上。

1 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

6 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

7 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

8 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。