VOA慢速英语2016 下一位美国总统面临的经济问题

Next US President Faces Economic Concerns 下一位美国总统面临的经济问题

Many Americans want the presidential election campaign to end as quickly as possible.

美国民众都盼望总统大选能够早日结束。

Political observers say it has been one of the most negative campaigns in many years. The top two candidates have little, if anything, good to say about each other.

政治观察员表示，此次选战可能是多年来负面评价最多的选战之一。主流政党的两名候选人对彼此都没嘴下留情。

Some observers have already begun to think about what will happen after the election. They say it will be very difficult to lead the government in one of the largest economies in the world at a time of economic uncertainty¹.

一些观察员早已开始考虑选举之后的局面了。他们认为，在经济尚不稳定情况下，掌局作为世界最大经济体之一的政府绝非易事。

William Galston was an aide to Bill Clinton when he served as president.

威廉·加尔斯顿（William Galston）是前总统比尔·克林顿的助手。

“Very simply, elections have consequences. You are being hired to do a job and the American people’s understanding of what they’re hiring you to do is based on what comes out of your mouth during the campaign.”

“很简单，选举是有后果的。你受雇来做这份工作，而美国民众认为，之所以选择你是因为你在选战期间所许下的诺言。”

Galston notes that if Donald Trump² is elected president, he will be forced to announce the full cost of building a wall between the United States and Mexico. Building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants is one of Trump’s main campaign promises.

加尔斯顿指出，如果唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）当选，他将被迫公布美国与墨西哥的筑墙成本。筑墙阻挡非法移民是特朗普主要竞选承诺之一。

The Republican Party presidential candidate has said that the project would cost $12 billion. But independent estimates suggest it would cost more than three times that much.

特朗普称，筑墙项目将耗资120亿美元。而据独立的第三方预估，实际的筑墙成本比这三倍还要多。

Galston says Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party’s candidate, would have other questions to answer if she is elected. Clinton would be forced to explain how much her planned programs would cost and how she would put them in place.

加尔斯顿表示，若民主党总统候选人希拉里·克林顿（Hillary Clinton）当选，同样需要面对棘手的问题。希拉里需要向民众解释她的计划所需花费以及如何将资金落实到位。

“She’s talked about a children(’s) family policy. She’s talked about a big infrastructure³ program. She’s talked about comprehensive immigration reform. These are all the sorts of things that the American people will hold her responsible for doing.”

“她谈及儿童家庭计划、规模庞大的基础设施工程及全面的移民改革等。这些计划都是美国民众希望她负责任去实现的。”

Maya MacGuineas is the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The group is non-partisan, meaning it stays away from party politics.

玛雅·麦克基尼（Maya MacGuineas）是联邦预算问责委员会主席。该机构属于无党派组织，即党派政治对其没有影响。

MacGuineas says whoever wins the presidency⁴ will have a difficult time keeping campaign promises. 

麦克基尼表示，无论谁赢得总统选举，履行其竞选承诺皆非易事。

“Donald Trump, for instance, has promised not to fix entitlement programs -- Medicare and Social Security. Hillary Clinton has promised not to raise taxes on any family making below $250,000. Well that sounds nice, but if you want to spend as much as she wants to, you can’t fix this problem from just taxing the rich alone.”

“唐纳德·特朗普曾承诺不会变更政府福利项目——医保和社保。而希拉里·克林顿承诺不会提高收入低于25万美元的家庭的税款。理想很丰满，但如果真想随心所欲地消费，单靠向富人征税来是解决不了问题的。”

She also says the next president will also have to deal with slow economic growth and a job market that worries many Americans.

她还称，下任总统还得处理经济增速放缓以及民众担忧的就业市场等问题。

In addition to slow-rising wages and growing income inequality, the federal government must deal with its growing debt. Experts believe it will be $20 trillion by the end of the year.

除了涨薪慢和收入不均的问题，联邦政府还需解决日益累积的债务问题。专家称，到今年年底，政府债务将高达20万亿美元。

“Hillary Clinton, basically, would keep the status quo. Donald Trump would make it worse. So Hillary Clinton comes out significantly ahead, but neither of them has a plan to do what we’re looking for and therefore nobody gets a passing grade.”

“总体来说，克林顿至少能够维持现状。而特朗普只会雪上加霜。因此，克林顿一直处于明显领先优势，但是二人都没有民众所期待的解决方案，所以他俩都不及格。”

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says Trump’s plan would add $5 trillion to the debt. It says Clinton’s would add about $200 billion. Neither candidate has a plan to reduce the budget deficit⁵. 

美国尽责联邦预算委员会称，特朗普的计划或导致政府增加5万亿美元的债务。而希拉里的计划可能会增加2000亿美元债务。两位候选人都没有提出减少预算赤字的计划。

Words in This Story

negative – adj. harmful or bad; not wanted

uncertainty – n. the quality or state of being uncertain; something that is doubtful or unknown; something that is uncertain

consequence – n. something that happens as a result of a particular action or set of conditions

infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region or organization to function properly

comprehensive – adj. including many, most or all things

entitlement program – n. a government program guaranteeing access to some benefit by members of a specific group and based on established rights or by legislation

status quo – n. the current situation; the way things are now

passing grade – n. showing that you completed a test or class in an acceptable way

1 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

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。