经济学人272:美国国内形势 共和党掌权

 　　The state of the states

　　美国国内形势

　　Republicans in charge

　　共和党掌权

　　The GOP has more clout¹ in the states than at any time since the 1920s

　　自20世纪20年代以来，老大党在美国有更大的权势。

　　ON ELECTION nights, the results for state legislatures get short shrift. Americans want to know who won the presidency² or which party controls Congress, not whether the Kentucky state Senate turned red. But those not paying attention to recent down-ballot results have missed something big. Republicans now dominate government at the state level (see map). Bolstered³ by victories in last year's mid-term elections, they hold 31 state governorships, to the Democrats⁴' 18. (Alaska's governor, Bill Walker, is an independent, although he was a Republican until 2013.)

　　在选举之夜，对于州立法机关来说，选举结果遇冷。美国民众想知道谁赢得了总统一职，哪一个党派掌控国会，而不是肯塔基州参议院“变成红色”。然而，无视近期的投票结果就已经错过了一些重大事情。共和党现在站在国家级别的高度，控制政府（见地图）。自去年中期大选获胜，共和党已经握有31个州长，而民主党只有18个（尽管阿拉斯加州长比尔·沃克在2013年以前是共和党，但现在他是独立派）。

　　美国国内形势 共和党得势 可可英语.jpg

　　Republicans now control both chambers⁵ in 30 state legislatures, while the Democrats control 11 and eight are split. In 24 states Republican power is unchecked—meaning they control the legislature and the governorship. The party has not had this much clout in the states since the 1920s.

　　如今，共和党控制了两院30个州立法机关，相比而言，民主党则控制了11个，8个处于分裂状态。其中在24个州，共和党的权利未加抑制—这意味着他们控制了立法机关和州长。自20世纪20年代以来，共和党从未具有如此大的影响力。

　　When a clutch of new Republican governors took office four years ago, they acted on their conservative impulses, cutting taxes, trimming welfare and restricting abortion⁶. Scott Walker of Wisconsin became a Republican hero for taking on the public-sector unions: he made state employees chip in more for their pensions, ended the automatic deduction⁷ of union dues from their wages and barred unions from collective bargaining over issues other than pay. The tax cuts of Sam Brownback, the governor of Kansas, were so bold as to earn an unwieldy nickname: Brownbackonomics. Both Mr Walker and Mr Brownback won re-election last year, while Republicans nabbed governorships in Democratic states like Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts. But the tide of conservative legislation may be ebbing⁸. With many states facing big fiscal⁹ challenges, Republican governors have adopted a more moderate tone when laying out their agendas for 2015.

　　四年前，新的共和党州长走马上任，沿用保守态度，实施削减税收、福利项目，限制堕胎。威斯康星州的斯科特·沃克因承接公共部门的公会而成为共和党英雄：工薪阶层投入更多到他们的养老金里，结束了公会自动扣除其工资的模式，禁止除了薪酬问题以外的劳资谈判。堪萨斯州州长萨姆·布朗巴克的减税措施如此大胆，因而获得了一个“雅名”：布朗巴克经济学。沃克先生和布朗巴克先生均在去年的选举中获胜，但共和党却在民主党握有的州（比如伊利诺斯州、马里兰、马萨诸塞等）中觅得州长一职。然而，保守立法的浪潮渐渐褪去。因许多国家面临巨大的财务危机，共和党州长在提出2015年议程时采取了一种更为温和的语调。

　　Take Mr Walker, who has described a proposal to make Wisconsin a “right-to-work” state—ie, to ban deals that make it compulsory¹⁰ for workers at a private company to join a union—as a “distraction”. Faced with a $2.2 billion budget gap over the next two years, the governor has largely abandoned talk of cutting taxes. Republicans hold large majorities in both legislative¹¹ chambers, but they support such fiscal prudence¹².

　　沃克先生已经提议，把威斯康星州建成一个“有权工作”的州，即禁止私企员工义务加入工会；此举被视为“干扰”。未来两年，州长面临22亿美元的鸿沟预算，现几乎放弃了削减税收。虽然共和党议员在两院立法机构有多数优势，但是他们却支持这样的财政审慎。

　　Presidential ambitions may be tempering Mr Walker's conservative zeal¹³, but other Republican governors are following suit. In Arizona, which also faces a budget shortfall, Doug Ducey has scaled back his campaign promise to cut income taxes. Gary Herbert of Utah has told lawmakers to consider raising petrol or sales taxes to pay for highway repairs. Illinois finds itself in the deepest hole of any state, so Bruce Rauner has warned his constituents¹⁴ that they will all need to sacrifice.

　　沃克先生的保守激情对其控制当总统额野心稍有帮助，但是其他共和党州长纷纷仿效。美国亚利桑那州同样面对预算差额，道格·杜西按比例缩减其竞选承诺旨在削减所得税。犹他州的盖瑞·赫伯特已经告诉立法者考虑提高汽油或销售税，支付高速公路的维护费用。伊利诺斯州发现自己陷入深渊，故Bruce Rauner警告他的官员，他们要付出代价。

　　To the newly-elected, Mr Brownback now serves as a cautionary tale. His business- and income-tax cuts, signed in 2012 and 2013, were the most ambitious of any state. He wanted to close loopholes to pay for this, but the legislature refused, leading to an enormous loss of revenue. After a hoped-for economic boom did not materialise, Standard & Poor's, a credit-rating agency, downgraded Kansas's debt, declaring its budget “structurally unbalanced”. Mr Brownback barely eked¹⁵ out a victory last year. In his inaugural¹⁶ address this month he acknowledged that the state has economic problems, but claimed “the solutions are principally cultural and moral”.

　　对于刚获选的布朗巴克先生来说，他现在表现的很谨慎。他的商业和收入税削减计划，分别于2012年和2013年签署，曾是国内所有州中最具野心的一项计划。他想关闭漏洞，为此计划买单；但是，立法机关拒绝该计划，导致了收入亏损。继一项经济复苏计划未能如愿使标普（信誉评价机构）降低堪萨斯州的债务信誉，且称其预算“结构不平衡”。去年，布朗巴克先生获得了小小的胜利。在他本月的就职演讲中，他了解到，该州存在经济问题，但却声称“解决方法主要是通过文化和道德”。

　　John Kasich, the governor of Ohio (who may also be gearing up for a presidential run), has been more pragmatic. Since taking office in 2011 he has balanced the state's budget while cutting taxes and red tape. He also picked a fight with public-sector unions, and lost. That spurred him to adopt a more conciliatory approach. Having won re-election by over 30 points last year, he now wants to cut income taxes even more—but he would pay for it by raising taxes on energy companies, which has incurred¹⁷ the wrath¹⁸ of some on the right.

　　俄亥俄州州长John Kasich（有望参加总统竞选），变得更加现实了。自2011年任职以来，他已经平衡了该州的预算，同时也削减了税收、改善了官僚习气。他挑起了一场与公共部门工会的“战争”，惨败。这激发他采取一种调和的方法。去年多于对手30票而获胜，John Kasich想进一步削减所得税——同时会通过提高能源公司的税收来弥补，此举引起了右派的不满。

　　Mr Kasich has faced fiercer criticism from conservatives for having accepted federal Obamacare dollars to expand Medicaid, the public health programme for the poor, in 2014. But he may have been ahead of the curve. Last month Bill Haslam said he hoped to make Tennessee the tenth state with a Republican governor to expand the programme. (His plan must still pass the legislature.) Five others are thinking about it. Some want to incorporate ideas like cost-sharing or job-training requirements, which would provide political cover. Drew Altman of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research outfit¹⁹, predicts that eventually “most, if not all” of the remaining states will find some way to accept the extra cash and expand Medicaid.

　　Kasich先生因接受来自联邦“奥巴马医改”的资金援助扩大“医疗补助计划”——2014年穷人公共卫生计划。然而，他或许已经引领了潮流。上个月，Bill Haslam表示，他希望把排名位于第十位的田纳西州（州长是共和党议员）加入到此计划中来（他的计划必须通过立法）。其他五位议员正在考虑此事。有人想合并成本分担或职业需求之类的想法，这样可以提供政治掩护。凯瑟家庭基金会（一家调查机构）的德鲁·阿尔特曼预估，最终“大部分，若不是所有”的剩下州将找到其他办法接受额外的资金援助，扩大“医疗补助计划”。

　　Schoolyard brawl²⁰

　　A more difficult test for pragmatic governors is “Common Core”, the national education standards that have been adopted by over 40 states since 2010. Several governors (both Republicans and Democrats) have had to beat back efforts to kill the standards, which activists²¹ denounce as federal overreach or poor policy. Some governors, like Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, have withdrawn²² their support. States run by potential presidential candidates, such as Mr Jindal, seem most likely to backtrack. The issue is already dogging Jeb Bush, a pragmatic former governor of Florida who supports Common Core and has his eyes set on the White House.

　　校园斗殴

　　对实用州长更为困难的测试是“通用核心”，即自2010年被逾40个州采用的国家教育标准。一些州长（既有共和党人也有民主党人）突出重围，取消该标准，激进主义分子谴责其行为是联邦越权或“穷人政策”。像路易斯安那州州长Bobby Jindal已经撤出。总统候选人比如Jindal先生所管理的州最有可能放弃。此事可追溯到杰布·布什佛罗里达州前州长，实用主义者，支持“通用核心”，而且他已经“盯上”白宫了。

　　With just seven states under complete Democratic control, it is easy to forget about the party's governors. But most have also set aside ideology²³ to pursue practical agendas. In California Jerry Brown has held the line on spending, even as the state's university system clamours for cash. Instead of introducing new programmes, Mr Brown has focused on dealing²⁴ with the state's long-term debts. In New York, Andrew Cuomo has vowed²⁵ to tackle inequality and improve education. He has already upset teachers' unions by signalling that he wants to increase the number of charter schools and make it easier to fire bad teachers.

　　因为只有7名州长是民主党议员，所以这些州长很容易被人遗忘。尽管如此，大部分人还是追求实用议程。在加州，杰里·布朗在费用问题上坚决不肯让步，即便州立大学体系叫嚷着要钱。布朗先生集中解决长期困扰该州的债务问题而不是引进新项目。在纽约，Andrew Cuomo已经宣誓解决不平等问题、提高教育质量。同时，他还签署了关于增开委办学校、易于开除平行不好的老师的协议，这让教师工会很困扰。

　　The states are not devoid²⁶ of ideological²⁷ conflict. Twenty-five are suing Barack Obama over his refusal to deport²⁸ certain groups of illegal immigrants. Others are considering voter-ID requirements, drug tests for welfare recipients²⁹ and further curbs³⁰ on unions. A host of anti-abortion bills have been filed: Republicans are trying to build on the 231 new restrictions³¹ adopted since 2010, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice think-tank. Many legislatures are also wrestling with gay marriage; 14 states still do not allow it. But on fiscal issues, at least, tight budgets restrain the radicals³² of the right.

　　这些州并不是没有意识斗争。25名州长控诉布拉克·奥巴马关于拒绝驱逐非法移民的事宜。其他人则在考虑选民身份的要求、福利收据的药检以及对工会的进一步制裁。大量关于反堕胎的法案已经归档：据古赫马特研究所（提倡堕胎合法化的智库），共和党则在试图重塑2010年引进额231项新的限制条例。许多立法机构正在与同性婚姻周旋；14个州依旧不承认其合法性。但是至少，就财经问题而言，紧缩的预算限制了激进分子的权利。

1 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

4 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》

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

7 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

8 ebbing   

（指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• The pain was ebbing. 疼痛逐渐减轻了。
• There are indications that his esoteric popularity may be ebbing. 有迹象表明，他神秘的声望可能正在下降。

9 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

10 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

13 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

14 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》

15 eked   

v.（靠节省用量）使…的供应持久( eke的过去式和过去分词 )；节约使用；竭力维持生计；勉强度日

参考例句：

• She eked out the stew to make another meal. 她省出一些钝菜再做一顿饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She eked out her small income by washing clothes for other people. 她替人洗衣以贴补微薄的收入。 来自辞典例句

16 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

17 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

18 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

19 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

20 brawl   

n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂

参考例句：

• They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
• I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。

21 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

23 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

24 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

25 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

26 devoid   

adj.全无的，缺乏的

参考例句：

• He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
• The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。

27 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

28 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

29 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

30 curbs   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In executing his functions he is not bound by any legal curbs on his power. 在他履行职务时，他的权力是不受任何法律约束的。 来自辞典例句
• Curbs on air travel were being worked out and would shortly be announced. 限制航空旅行的有关规定正在拟定中，不久即将公布。 来自辞典例句

31 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

32 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句