美国通货膨胀--农民负担加重

Two of the topics that have dominated the news in recent days are inflation, the rise in prices of the stuff we buy, and the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

最近几天占据新闻头条的两个话题是通货膨胀，我们购买的东西价格上涨，以及新冠病毒变体奥密克戎。

What happens when you put these two together?

把这两个话题放在一起会发生什么?

That's what economic analysts are trying to figure out.

这正是经济分析人士试图弄清楚的。

To be clear, no one knows yet what kind of impact Omicron is going to have.

需要明确的是，目前还没有人知道奥密克戎会产生什么样的影响。

The World Health Organization says the Delta variant, a previous mutation of corona virus, is still causing most of the infections worldwide.

世界卫生组织表示，德尔塔病毒变体，即冠状病毒之前的一种变异，仍是世界范围内的大部分感染的原因。

And as it began the spread earlier this year, Delta caused a lot of the problems we're still seeing with the supply chain.

今年早些时候，病毒开始蔓延，德尔塔病毒在供应链上造成了很多问题，我们至今仍能看到这些问题。

That's included factory shutdowns, shortages of manufacturing materials, and store shelves with less inventory.

这包括工厂关闭、制造材料短缺和商店货架库存减少。

And the U.S. Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank, says the supply chain disruptions made the inflation problem worse.

美国中央银行美国联邦储备委员会说，供应链中断使通货膨胀问题更加严重。

Earlier this year, officials said rapidly rising prices would be transitory, or temporary, now the Fed's chairman is indicating that America's inflation may not settle down any time soon.

今年早些时候，官员们说快速上涨的价格将是暂时的，现在美联储主席暗示美国的通货膨胀可能不会很快稳定下来。

And a big reason why is that supply issues are hard to predict.

一个重要的原因是供应问题很难预测。

They're not spread out evenly among factories, shipping, trucking, warehouses, and fears about the Omicron variant may add to the complexities of the problem.

它们在工厂、航运、卡车运输和仓库之间的传播并没有规律，对奥密克戎变异病毒的担忧可能会增加问题的复杂性。

Because if it spreads like Delta did, or sickens groups of people who work closely together, more factory closures could be on the horizon and people may be hesitant to work with others in close quarters.

因为如果该病毒像德尔塔病毒一样传播，会让在一起工作的人生病，更多的工厂可能会即将关闭，人们可能会犹豫是否要与他人近距离合作。

With a shortage of workers already causing challenges in several different fields, anything that keeps more people from working could only make things worse.

劳动力短缺已经在几个不同的领域造成了挑战，任何阻止让更多人工作的事情只会让情况变得更糟。

But again, it's not known if Omicron will sicken people the way Delta did or if existing treatments and vaccines will work against the disease.

但是，现在还不知道奥密克戎是否会像德尔塔那样让人生病，也不知道现有的治疗方法和疫苗是否对这种疾病有效。

So, it's hard to predict any sort of future economic impact at this point.

因此，目前还很难预测未来的经济影响。

The current impact continues to take a toll, especially on the nation's farmers.

目前的影响继续造成损失，特别是对国家的农民。

As Jim Jones finishes the sweet potato harvest on his North Carolina farm, skyrocketing costs are slicing through his profits.

当吉姆·琼斯(Jim Jones)在他的北卡罗来纳州农场完成红薯收获时，飞涨的成本正在削减他的利润。

Are you seeing any more money from this inflation?

你能从这次通货膨胀中看到更多的钱吗？

No. No. We're actually paying for it.

不。 不。 我们实际上在付钱。

The price of fertilizer, fuel and labor are way up with no ceiling in sight.

化肥、燃料和劳动力的价格正在大幅上涨，看不到任何上限。

How did your profit change this year ?

你们今年的利润有什么变化?

I would say maybe 10-15 percent.

我认为可能是10-15%。

What about looking ahead to next year?

展望明年怎么样?

Add -- add that much more to it again.

再加，再加很多。

Despite those mark-ups at the market, many farmers say the price they receive for their crop isn't going up.

尽管市场上有这些加价，但许多农民表示，他们的作物价格没有上涨。

So, your price is staying the same.

所以，你的价格保持不变。

My price is staying the same, or a little lower.

我的价格保持不变，或者稍微低一点。

Why don't farmers just raise the price of their crops?

为什么农民不提高农作物的价格呢?

Farmers are -- are price takers not price makers.

农民是价格接受者，而不是价格制定者。

Patty Edelburg is Vice-President of the National Farmers Union.

帕蒂·埃德尔伯格是全国农民联盟副主席。

Who's making the money from that inflation?

谁从通货膨胀中赚钱呢?

Much more the middle-man than anybody else.

比起其他任何人，只能是中间人。

The USDA confirms that in many cases, processors and distributors that get food from the farm to store shelves are the ones passing along their surging costs.

美国农业部证实，在许多情况下，将食品从农场运到商店货架上的加工商和分销商是将飙升的成本转嫁给消费者的人。

With materials and ingredients still stuck on cargo ships, and a shortage of labor and truckers driving up wages and costs.

材料和原料仍然被困在货船上，劳动力和卡车司机的短缺推高了工资和成本。

So to some extent, we're also trying to pay for the uncertainty in the marketplace right now.

因此，在某种程度上，我们也在努力为市场的不确定性付出代价。