美国国家公共电台 NPR Is A Corporate Tax Cut Really What The Economy Needs Right Now?

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Let's ask if a Republican tax cut really does what's advertised. The centerpiece of the GOP plan is a tax cut for corporations, a rate that's now 35 percent and would fall to 20. Various tax deductions¹ would go away to help finance the drop. Supporters insist the corporate² tax cut would bring economic growth and jobs. So will it? Here's NPR's Jim Zarroli.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE³: President Trump⁴ and other Republicans justify⁵ the corporate tax cut this way - they say, if you cut taxes, businesses will have more money to spend. Companies such as Apple will bring back some of the billions of dollars they've stashed⁶ overseas, and then they'll hire more. They'll invest in factories and equipment. Here was Counselor⁷ to the President Kellyanne Conway speaking on Fox News last week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KELLYANNE CONWAY: When our businesses pay less in taxes, they reinvest that money into their companies. They create new jobs. They save and secure the jobs that exist. They start paying more in benefits and different benefits, and they invest in inventory⁸.

ZARROLI: And Republicans say when companies invest more in their factories and infrastructure⁹, they become more productive, and when companies become more productive, they pay higher wages, even to low-skilled employees. A recent report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers¹⁰ predicted that cutting corporate taxes would raise annual household incomes $4,000 on average and probably even more than that. Economist¹¹ Kimberly Clausing of Reed College says, on the surface, the logic¹² sounds airtight.

KIMBERLY CLAUSING: The principle makes a lot of sense, the thought that you increase investment and that investment increases the productivity of your workers and then your workers get paid more in consequence.

ZARROLI: But Clausing says the reality is a lot more complicated. She believes the relationship between tax cuts and growth is difficult to prove.

CLAUSING: There's no evidence that corporate tax cuts unleash¹³ a big wave of economic growth or wage increases.

ZARROLI: Clausing says an economy the size of the United States has too many moving parts. So when the economy accelerates, it could be because of tax cuts or it may be something else entirely¹⁴. Clausing and other economists¹⁵ are skeptical¹⁶ about the promises Republicans are making for another reason. Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute says tax cuts make a certain sense in a recession when business profits are falling and companies have trouble borrowing money.

JOSH BIVENS: But that doesn't describe the U.S. economy today. We have very low interest rates and very high post-tax corporate profits.

ZARROLI: In other words, he says most corporations have access to pretty much all the money they need right now, but they're not investing all that much, and they're not paying their workers much more.

BIVENS: So we have exactly what the corporate tax cut is trying to engineer - really high post-tax profit rates. And yet, it has not resulted in more investment. And so the idea that we just want to do more of the same thing that has not spurred investment strikes me as not correct.

ZARROLI: Bivens says all this points to a much larger and more formidable problem for the economy. After the longest post-war expansion on record, companies don't see a lot of opportunities out there to sell more. And in a world of tough global competition, they're not really raising wages all that much. So he says giving them even more money by cutting their taxes isn't going to address the real problems the economy faces. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF DO MAKE SAY THINK'S "AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE")

1 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

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 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

6 stashed   

v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起

参考例句：

• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。
• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

8 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

13 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

14 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

15 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。