Obama Aide Outlines Economic Agenda
奥巴马助手介绍其经济刺激计划

　
A senior advisor to Barack Obama says the president-elect will pursue an ambitious, far-reaching economic agenda to pull the United States out of recession and lay the foundation for long term economic growth.

美国当选总统奥巴马的一位高级顾问说，奥巴马将采取一套雄心勃勃、影响深远的经济措施，帮美国走出经济衰退，并为长期的经济增长打下基础。

The U.S. economy has deteriorated significantly since Barack Obama won the November 4th election, with higher unemployment, plunging consumer spending, and further readings of negative growth. With that deterioration comes a question: will the worsening conditions force the incoming president to jettison the economic strategy he laid out during the campaign and formulate a new one?

自从奥巴马在11月4号赢得总统选举以来，美国经济形势大幅恶化，失业率增高、消费者支出骤减、对未来经济前景的预测也持续低迷。这种形势引发了一个问题，那就是：经济局势的恶化是否会迫使奥巴马放弃他在竞选时设计的经济战略，转而制定一套新的经济措施呢？

For now, the answer appears to be no.

目前，这个问题的答案似乎是“不会”。

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press program, a senior Obama advisor, David Axelrod, said the president-elect remains committed to reforming America's tax code and spurring job creation through federal activism.

奥巴马的高级顾问阿克塞尔罗德在美国全国广播公司“面对媒体”节目上说，奥巴马依然致力于改革美国的税法，并通过联邦行动来创造就业机会。

"Every economist from left to right agrees that we have to do something big in terms of job creation, but we want to do it in a way that will leave a lasting footprint. So we are talking about investing in alternative energy projects that will help us achieve energy independence. We are talking about rebuilding the nation's classrooms, and of course infrastructure: rebuilding our crumbling bridges and roads and waterways. These are things that will put people to work, but will also strengthen our economy in the long run," said Axelrod.

他说：“不论是自由派还是保守派的经济学家都认为，我们必须采取果敢的行动来创造就业，不过，我们希望能以一种影响深远的方式来创造就业。因此，我们在考虑对替代性能源项目投资，这将帮我们获得能源独立。我们在考虑重建美国的学校系统，当然还有重建基础设施，包括重建老旧的桥梁、道路和水路。这些项目将使人们得到工作，而且从长远角度来看还能增强我们的经济。”

Axelrod said Mr. Obama will also fulfill a campaign promise to pursue a middle class tax cut as part of an overall plan to make America's tax code more progressive. The total cost of the Obama economic stimulus program is expected to run in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

阿克塞尔罗德说，奥巴马还将兑现他在竞选时作出的承诺，削减中产阶级的税收，以此作为进一步推动美国税法全盘计划的一部分。预计奥巴马的经济刺激计划总支出将耗资数千亿美元。

As president, Mr. Obama will have expanded Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress to help enact his agenda. But he will lack the supermajority required to prevent Republicans from using a parliamentary maneuver, known as a filibuster, to block legislation.

民主党扩大了在国会参、众两院的多数席位，奥巴马作为总统，可以利用这一点帮助他的经济纲领成为法律。不过，他将不会拥有防止共和党使用冗长讲话所需的“特别多数”优势。冗长讲话是议员们使用的一种策略，可以被用来阻挠议案的通过。

Many Republican legislators remain opposed to tax increases of any kind, particularly during a recession. They argue that Mr. Obama's plan to allow the expiration of temporary tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration amounts to a massive tax hike.

许多共和党议员依然对任何形式的加税都表示反对，特别是在经济衰退期加税。他们辩称，奥巴马计划允许布什政府通过的临时减税法期满，这等于是大规模加税。

Speaking on ABC's This Week program, Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said, more than government stimulus, what the economy needs is an unfreezing of tight credit so that the private sector can become productive again.

田纳西州共和党参议员考克在美国广播公司“本周”节目中说，美国经济需要的不只是政府刺激，还需要解冻紧缩的信贷市场，这样私营企业才能恢复活力。

"The biggest thing we can do, and what I am seeing here in my home state, is get the credit markets functioning so that local banks are functioning and lending money to small businesses that create the jobs that all of us care so much about," said Corker.

他说：“我们可以做的最有影响力的事情，也是我在田纳西看到的，就是让信贷市场发挥作用，这样，地方银行就能正常运转，向能创造就业机会的小企业发放贷款。而新增的工作机会正是我们都十分关心的。”

But Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown expressed the views of many Democrats: that the economy cannot recover without receiving a significant boost, and that the only entity capable of providing it right now is the federal government.

不过，俄亥俄州参议员布朗说出了许多民主党人的观点，那就是：美国经济在得不到大规模拉动的情况下是无法复苏的，而目前唯一有能力拉动经济的就是联邦政府。

Brown also spoke on This Week, saying "When you see what has happened with consumer spending, in Christmas especially, with [low] holiday sales, and you understand that 70 percent of the economy is all about consumer spending, we need a real stimulus to get people to spend money. And that means putting money in infrastructure, water and sewer."

布朗也参加了“本周”节目。他说：“当你看到消费者支出的情况，特别是在圣诞节期间节日销售低迷的情况，你就会明白，美国经济的70%是消费者支出。我们需要一个真正的刺激计划，让人们进行消费。这意味着投资基础设施、供水和排水系统等。”

The U.S. economy is believed to have been in a recession since December of last year. What began with a rash of home foreclosures accelerated into a full-blown credit and financial crisis that has spread around the world, prompting what many economists anticipate will be a deep global recession.

据信，美国经济从去年12月开始就进入了衰退期。最初的房屋丧失抵押赎回权风潮，急剧恶化成蔓延到全世界的全面信贷和金融危机，使许多经济学家推测，世界各国将进入漫长的经济衰退期。