经济学人:英国"报销门" 国家反腐制度该何去何从?

 　　Britain Politicians' salaries

　　英国 议员们的薪酬

　　Bargain basement

　　地下廉价部

　　The 2009 MPs' expenses scandal cast a long shadow over British politics. It also led to the creation of an Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) tasked with cleaning up the system. Last year IPSA received new powers to set salaries and pensions. Its initial consultation¹ paper makes for intriguing² reading. Despite their public reputation for Caligulan excess, Westminster legislators are rather modestly remunerated by international standards. And for the past century their pay has stagnated³ relative to that of their constituents⁴. IPSA suggests indexing it to national average earnings⁵ at a ratio of between 1.5 and 4. Currently the ratio hovers⁶ between 2.5 and 2.9, so—controversially—a rise could be on the cards. MPs may need the cash. It has been made harder to file creative expenses claims. And politicians will probably be asked to contribute more to their extremely generous pension schemes in future.

　　2009年议员报销丑闻给英国政治蒙上了一层深深阴影。其另一影响，就是独立议会标准局(IPSA)的成立，该部门负责监督治理内部体制。去年独立议会标准局获得了设置薪酬和养老金的权力。其最初的咨询文件是份有趣的阅读。尽管在公众言里，他们的日子荒淫无度，以国际标准来看，威斯敏斯特议员们的收入相当微薄。所以在过去的一个世纪里，相对于他们的选民来说，这些政客们的工资增长缓慢。IPSA建议将政府工作者的工资收入以1.5至4的比例与国际平均收入水准挂钩。而今，该比例上升至2.5和2.9之间，因此虽有争议，但工资水准有望上升。毕竟议员们需要薪酬养家糊口。申报各式各样创意性的开销单越来越难了。而政客们也可能在未来被要求做出更多的贡献，例如在今后的养老金提案中，议员们需要更加慷慨。

1 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

2 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 stagnated   

v.停滞，不流动，不发展( stagnate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句
• His mind has stagnated since his retirement. 他退休后头脑迟钝了。 来自辞典例句

4 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 hovers   

鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovers in the sky. 一只老鹰在天空盘旋。
• A hen hovers her chicks. 一只母鸡在孵小鸡。