2007年VOA标准英语-US Official Calls for Tough Fiscal Decisions

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
12 September 2007

David Walker

The United States is courting fiscal¹ disaster unless it makes tough choices, according to David Walker, who heads the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Walker, the U.S. Comptroller General, has been taking his message across the country with other financial analysts². Mike O'Sullivan spoke³ with them in Los Angeles.

For two years, David Walker has been visiting American cities with a group of financial colleagues from the left and right, including Isabel Sawhill of the liberal Brookings Institution, Alison Acosta Fraser of the conservative Heritage Foundation, and Robert Bixby of the Concord⁴ Coalition⁵, a non-partisan organization.

In Los Angeles, one stop on their so-called Fiscal Wake-up Tour, they held a public meeting hosted by the group Town Hall Los Angeles. Before they spoke, they sat down with Voice of America.

Comptroller General Walker says growth will not eliminate the expanding U.S. debt. "For a while, there were people who said, do not worry about it, we will grow our way out of the problem. Other people said deficits⁶ do not matter. I think those people, by and large, are not being taken seriously any more," he said.

Walker says deficits have come down for three years in a row, but the good news is deceptive⁷. He says the United States has annual tax revenues equaling 18 percent of its gross domestic product, but spends 20 percent of GDP on government programs. He says the country's liabilities and unfunded commitments have reached $50 trillion, or $440,000 per household.

"The real problem is not the past, is not the present. It is where we are headed, because we have got a tsunami⁸ of spending that could swamp the ship of state if we do not end up start making some tough choices. And the key is, the next president needs to make this a priority," he said.

Walker says the country needs to reform its Social Security retirement⁹ program and its Medicare and Medicaid public health systems for the elderly and poor. Together they make up 40 percent of the federal budget. He says the nation also needs to revise its tax system.

Robert Bixby of the Concord Coalition says the issue is moral as well as economic. "What we are doing with our fiscal policies is dumping a load of debt onto future generations, and that is generationally unfair. Our ancestors did not do that for us. They always left us a good strong country. It does not matter whether you are a Democrat¹⁰ or Republican, liberal or conservative. The numbers do not add up," he said.

The analysts disagree on specific solutions, but they agree that time is running out. Alison Acosta Fraser of the Heritage Foundation says the panel hopes to make the economy a key issue in the 2008 presidential election. "Previously¹¹ it has been politically extremely difficult for any elected official to talk about solutions to these challenges. We are creating an environment where it is not only OK, but it is demanded of anyone who wants to come to office in Washington DC, for them to talk about these problems, acknowledge them, and then start talking about some real serious solutions," she said.

Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings Institution says few candidates have been willing to tackle economic issues. "You have most of the Republican candidates for the presidency¹² saying, 'I will never raise your taxes'. In fact, many of them are talking about lowering taxes further. You have Democrats¹³ saying, 'I will never touch your Medicare or your Social Security'. That will not do the trick," she said.

She says the country needs both program cuts and added revenue, and candidates who will address the problem head-on.

Sawhill says there are national security implications of the growing U.S. indebtedness. The United States consumes more than it produces, and does so by borrowing, often from other governments or central banks.

China, for example, holds $420 billion in U.S. Treasury¹⁴ securities, and oil-producing nations also hold large sums of U.S. debt. She says that leaves the United States vulnerable to economic pressure in future international disputes.

1 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。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

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 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

8 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

9 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。

10 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 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。

13 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》

14 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。