PBS高端访谈:奥巴马计划调整税收,让中产阶级富裕起来

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: The president's new tax proposal that emerged over the weekend is adding fresh fuel to the ongoing¹ debate over economic mobility² and inequality in this country.

　　It's a plan with many different components³, but at the heart of it, the president is calling for a hike in taxes on wealthier households and using some of that money to boost tax breaks for middle- and lower-income earners.

　　Jeffrey Brown gets some analysis about that framework and the political strategy around it.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: In his State of the Union speech tomorrow night, the president is expected to speak at length about changes to the tax code. His proposal calls for increasing the top tax rate on capital gains for higher-income earners to 28 percent and increasing the amount of inheritance subject to taxes, particularly for wealthier individuals and families.

　　In turn, the president would boost the child care tax credit to $3,000 and add a $500 tax credit for families where both parents work. The plan has a number of other provisions related to education and retirement⁴ benefits also, according to the president, aimed at benefiting middle- and lower-income families.

　　Neil Irwin broke it down for The New York Times' Upshot page, and he joins me now.

　　Neil, one of the interesting things about this moment, right, is the idea that things have changed, right, that the economy is a little better, the unemployment rate is down. Now what?

　　NEIL IRWIN, The New York Times: Yes, some of the old battles, the old debates that characterized the first Obama term, they are really changing.

　　And we're no longer in an era of ultra-high deficits⁶. The deficit⁵ has come down a lot. The economy is getting better, so as you see job growth, the urgency of any kind of stimulus⁷ is really passing. So now the question is, what's next?

　　What is economic policy going to look like in these economic policy debates in the years ahead? And I think what we're zeroing in on is, the question is, how do you deal with inequality? How do you deal with the fact that middle-income Americans have not felt wage gains, have not felt improved standards of living for many years now?

　　JEFFREY BROWN: So, when you look at these particular proposals, you could take the inheritance tax as one particular. But there's methodology here, right, that really tweaks the income levels.

　　NEIL IRWIN: Right.

　　What President Obama is trying to do is zero in on the portion of the tax code that really benefit the ultra-rich, not just the comfortable, the people with a six-figure income, but the people making millions of dollars. One of those is, as you mentioned, what happens with inheritance taxes.

　　Right now, if you have a large inheritance, there's what's called stepped-up capital gains tax basis. So essentially⁸ a rich family can pass along wealth over the generations and more or less never pay capital gains tax on it. The president wants to change that to say that whenever there's a transfer of assets to the next generation, you don't start over again in terms of the capital gains tax.

　　This is one of many provisions that are designed to say the very wealthy have done well through this expansion, through this last generation. We want to take some of that wealth, tax them higher and use it to give working-class Americans a break.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: So, is your reading that this is overtly⁹ aimed at this inequality issue, as opposed to, as we have seen often, presidents talk about using the tax code for economic stimulus, or are they saying, we can do both?

　　NEIL IRWIN: No, look, the stimulus debates are over. This is deficit-neutral. This is not something that is designed to pump more money into the economy. It's not really expanding the reach of government. It is working through the tax code.

　　But it very explicitly¹⁰ is designed to increase taxes on the very rich, increase capital gains taxes, all kinds of taxes on investments, while also funneling¹¹ that money to the working class. And that's a different message from what we have heard out of the president in the past and a sign of the new age that we're in.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: I suppose it's also aimed at countering the old tag, the tag that comes politically of spending — Washington spending more money on programs, on new programs.

　　NEIL IRWIN: Yes, there's no new programs out of this. It's all working through the tax code.

　　That said, Republicans are not going to like this idea. One central message out of the Republican Party for the last generation is that the key to economic growth is lowering the taxes on investment, lowering the capital gains tax. The president wants to reverse that. He wants to raise capital gains taxes. It's hard to see any Republicans supporting this.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Well, rhetorically, at least, the old political argument over taxes is still there and we heard it right away, right after these were announced.

　　But what is new in this new era? What looks new as challenges or opportunities for both Democrats¹² and Republicans? Start with Democrats. Is this a post-Obama era, perhaps?

　　NEIL IRWIN: Yes. So, Democrats are — the one thing we do know is that Barack Obama will not be on the ballot¹³ in 2016.

　　The Democrats have to decide what their message is going forward. And the reality is that in 2012 — or 2014, in the elections that just happened, a lot of Democrats were criticized for not really having a clear vision of the future. All they were is not the Republicans, rather than offering some coherent vision of their own.

　　This is a try from President Obama to offer what that vision might be. We will see if the 2016 nominee¹⁴ from the Democrats embraces this same idea. But either way…

　　JEFFREY BROWN: He's just setting it up in some ways, you're saying, for the Democrats?

　　NEIL IRWIN: Absolutely.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: What about for Republicans? What…

　　NEIL IRWIN: Well, Republicans, it's interesting.

　　We have seen some real change in language and how they're talking about the economy. They seem to acknowledge that there is growth now. It's no longer the crisis situation we were in a few years ago. But Republicans want to show that they have a plan to try and improve conditions for working-class Americans, too.

　　So, out of Jeb Bush, for example, in his initial efforts toward a possible presidential campaign, a lot of language about making the economy work for the middle class and helping¹⁵ everyone rise up through entrepreneurship and free enterprise. So really what we're seeing signs of is the 2016 election being a message, a of which party has the best plan for addressing this problem of working-class Americans not seeing raises over the last 25 years.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: All right, the battle, the tax battle starts tomorrow night, right?

　　NEIL IRWIN: Absolutely.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Neil Irwin of The New York Times, thanks so much.

　　NEIL IRWIN: Thank you.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

3 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

7 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 overtly   

ad.公开地

参考例句：

• There were some overtly erotic scenes in the film. 影片中有一些公开色情场面。
• Nietzsche rejected God's law and wrote some overtly blasphemous things. 尼采拒绝上帝的律法，并且写了一些渎神的作品。

10 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 funneling   

[医]成漏斗形：描述膀胱底及膀胱尿道交接区

参考例句：

12 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》

13 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

14 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。