财富杂志 萎缩的中产阶级(3)

The loan comparison site LendingTree, drawing on data from the Federal Reserve, reports that as a percentage of disposable income,

借贷对比网站LendingTree根据美联储的数据报告称，作为可支配收入的一部分，

Americans' non-housing-related debt is higher than it has been since measurement began a half-century ago.

美国人的非住房债务比半个世纪前开始衡量以来的任何时候都要高。

Collectively speaking, our outstanding consumer debt, says the site, is equivalent to more than 26% of our income.

该网站表示，总的来说，我们未偿还的消费债务相当于我们收入的26%以上。

With interest rates low, that burden is still a pinch for many, rather than a gouging¹ bite—but unlike with our skyrocketing federal debt,

在利率较低的情况下，这一负担对许多人来说仍然微不足道，而不是一种大出血——但和我们的飙涨的联邦债务不同，

this cascading² obligation is still achingly personal, with reminders³ coming in the mail month after month.

这一连串的债务仍然是令人心痛的个人责任，月复一月都会有邮件提醒。

In December, the personal finance site NerdWallet reported that average revolving⁴ credit card balances for households with debt—

在12月，个人理财网站NerdWallet报告称，对有债务的家庭而言，平均循环信用卡欠款——

the "You Owe This Amount" figure that carries over from one billing statement to the next—totaled $6,929.

从一个账单结转到另一个账单的欠款金额——总计6929美元。

Even those without a credit card overhang, or massive student loan debt, find themselves facing a gauntlet of recurring⁵ charges each month.

即使没有信用卡透支或巨额学生贷款债务的人，也会发现他们自己面临着每月经常性费用收费的挑战。

The cost of health insurance and medical care have each risen much faster than paychecks have.

医疗保险和医疗费用的增长都比工资的增长快得多。

Over the past decade, out-of-pocket costs to workers from higher insurance deductibles have climbed eight times as much as wages, notes the Kaiser Family Foundation.

凯瑟家族基金会指出，过去几十年里，在更高的保险免赔额中，工人们自付费用的涨幅是工资的8倍。

More than a quarter of adults did without needed medical care in 2017 because they couldn't afford it, says the Fed.

Fed表示，2017年，超过四分之一的成年人没有得到必要的医疗服务，因为他们负担不起。

Yes, housing costs nationwide have moderated—but, importantly, not in the places where the jobs are.

没错，全国的住房成本都有所下降——但重要的是，工作所在地的住房成本并没有。

Want to work for a Silicon⁶ Valley startup or a biotech firm in Boston?

想在硅谷创业公司或波士顿生物技术公司工作？

Six in 10 renters making up to $75,000 a year will pay upwards⁷ of 30% of their income in rent in San Jose;

根据哈佛大学住房研究联合中心，在圣何塞，每10个年薪75000美元的租户中，

four in 10 will do so in Boston, according to Harvard's Joint⁸ Center for Housing Studies.

就有6人的房租超过了收入的30%；在波士顿，该数据为十分之四。

Here—in housing, health care, and the cost of college, too—is where the super-inflation hits hardest for a significant share of the nation today.

这——还有住房、医疗保健和大学学费——正是超级通货膨胀对美国相当一部分人打击最严重的方面。

"And it's quite hard to find three areas of consumption that define the middle class standard of living more than affording a decent home,

布鲁金斯的Reeves表示，“很难找到比一个体面的家庭、送孩子上大学

or being able to send your kids to college or cover health care costs should any of your family fall sick," says Reeves of Brookings.

或支付家人生病时的医疗费用更能定义中产阶级生活标准的三个消费领域。”

This tripartite gap, in particular, may well be what has convinced many younger Americans

尤其是这种三方差距，很可能使很多美国年轻人相信，

that they won't ever reach one critical milestone⁹ in the Great American Journey—living better than their parents did.

他们永远无法到达伟大美国旅程中的一个里程碑——比他们的父母过得更好。

(Only half of the 15- to 26-year-olds in a recent poll by the Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research thought they would.)

（在AP-NORC公共事务研究中心近期对15到26岁年轻人的民意调查中，只有一半的人认为他们将比父母过得更好。）

1 gouging   

n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. 银行和信用卡公司被指控欺诈顾客。 来自辞典例句
• If back-gouging is applied, grinding to bright metal is required. 如果采用火焰气刨，则应将其打磨至可见光亮的金属表面。 来自互联网

2 cascading   

流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流

参考例句：

• First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

3 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

4 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

5 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

6 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

7 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。