美国总统奥巴马每周电台演讲2013.02.24

译文来自恒星网友: 刘浩男的日志

Hi, everybody. Our top priority as a country right now should be doing everything we can to grow our economy and create good, middle class jobs.

大家好。我们国家当前的第一要务就是尽一切可能发展我们的经济和创造就业机会，中产阶级就业机会。

And yet, less than one week from now, Congress is poised to allow a series of arbitrary, automatic budget cuts that will do the exact opposite. They will slow our economy. They will eliminate good jobs. They will leave many families who are already stretched to the limit scrambling to figure out what to do.

然而，不到一周后，国会就会不痛不痒地看着不顾一切的预算削减自动生效，其结果将与我们的希望背道而驰。这些将放缓我们的经济增长。这些将减少很多好的就业机会。这些将使很多已经接近这个底线的家庭饱受煎熬，不知所措。

But here’s the thing: these cuts don’t have to happen. Congress can turn them off anytime with just a little compromise. They can pass a balanced plan for deficit reduction. They can cut spending in a smart way, and close wasteful tax loopholes for the well-off and well-connected.

但是事情是这样的：这些削减必要的非得发生。国会只要做出一点点妥协就可以在任何时候改变这些。他们可以通过一个统筹兼顾的赤字削减计划。他们可以用明智的方法削减开支，堵塞有利于富可敌国、神通广大的那些人的造成巨大浪费的税法漏洞。

Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans in Congress have decided that instead of compromising – instead of asking anything of the wealthiest Americans – they would rather let these cuts fall squarely on the middle class.

不幸的是，国会共和党议员显然已经决定非但不妥协—非但不要求最富有的美国人做出任何付出—他们还让这些削减造成的负担恰恰落到中产阶级肩上。

Here’s what that choice means. Once these cuts take effect, thousands of teachers and educators will be laid off, and tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble to find child care for their kids. Air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks, causing delays across the country. Even President Bush’s director of the National Institutes of Health says these cuts will set back medical science for a generation.

我来说说他们的选择意味着什么。一旦这些削减生效，成千上万的教师和教育工作者将被迫下岗，成千上万的父母们只好争先恐后地找托儿所照看他们的孩子们。航空管理人员和机场安保人员将有人被裁减，造成全国范围的航班晚点和取消。就连布什总统的国家健康研究所所长也说这些削减将使医学科研倒退30年。

Already, the threat of these cuts has forced the Navy to delay the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf – affecting our ability to respond to threats in an unstable part of the world. And just this week, the Pentagon announced that if these cuts go through, almost 800,000 defense employees – the equivalent of every person in Miami and Cleveland combined – will be forced to take unpaid leave.

这些削减的威胁已经迫使我们的海军推迟向波斯湾派遣一艘航母—削弱了我们应对世界上不安定地区威胁的能力。就在这周，五角大楼宣布如果这些削减继续，将有800,000位国防雇员—相当于迈阿密和克利夫兰两个城市的人口总和—被迫停薪休假。

That ’s what this choice means. Are Republicans in Congress really willing to let these cuts fall on our kids’ schools and mental health care just to protect tax loopholes for corporate jet owners? Are they really willing to slash military health care and the border patrol just because they refuse to eliminate tax breaks for big oil companies? Are they seriously prepared to inflict more pain on the middle class because they refuse to ask anything more of those at the very top?

这个现在就是意味着这些。国会的共和党议员们难道就是为了保护有利于私家飞机拥有者们的税法漏洞而让这些削减造成的负担落在我们的孩子们的学校和精神健康医院的肩上吗？他们难道就是为了拒绝取消对大石油公司的税费减免而大幅削减军人健康中心和边防巡逻的经费吗？他们难道就是为了拒绝要求最富有的那些人付出一些而蓄意让中产阶级承受更多痛苦吗？

These are the questions Republicans in Congress need to ask themselves. And I’m hopeful they’ll change their minds. Because the American people have worked too hard for too long to see everything they’ve built undone by partisan recklessness in Washington.

这些问题是国会的共和党议员们一个扪心自问的。我对他们回心转意充满希望。美国人民如此长久地辛勤劳作，他们绝不能容忍他们打造的一切被华盛顿的草率的党派之争毁于一旦。

I believe we should work together to build on the more than $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction we’ve already achieved. But I believe we should do it in a balanced way – with smart spending cuts, entitlement reform, and tax reform. That’s my plan. It's got tough cuts, tough reforms, and asks more of the wealthiest Americans. It's on the White House website for everyone to see. And it requires Democrats and Republicans to meet half way to resolve the problem. That ’s what the American people expect. And that’s what you deserve.

我坚信我们应该共同努力在已经削减二万五千亿美元赤字的基础上更进一步。但是我坚信我们应该走统筹兼顾之路—通过明智的开支削减、政府资助改革和税法改革。这是我的计划。这是对最富有的美国人的强力削减、改革和要求他们支付更多。每个人在白宫网站上都能看到这些。这要求民主党和共和党人不偏不倚来解决这个问题。这是美国人民希望的。这是你们应该得到的。

We just need Republicans in Washington to come around. Because we need their help to finish the job of reducing our deficit in a smart way that doesn’t hurt our economy or our people. After all, as we learned in the 1990s, nothing shrinks the deficit faster than a growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs. That has to be our driving focus. That has to be our North Star. Making America a magnet for good jobs. Equipping our people with the skills required to fill those jobs. Making sure your hard work leads to a decent living. That’ s what this city should be focused on like a laser. And I’m going to keep pushing folks here to remember that.

我们仅仅希望华盛顿的共和党人幡然悔悟。因为我们需要他们的帮助来完成以明智的方法削减赤字的工作，这样不会损害我们的经济或我们的人民。别忘了，我们在1990年代学到的，没有什么比创造好的中产阶级就业机会的增长的经济更能削减赤字。这必须是我们压倒一切的工作重心。这必须是我们的北斗星。把美国变成吸引好就业机会的磁石。用这些工作需要的技能武装我们的人民。确保辛勤工作就能体面生活。这就是这个城市（华盛顿）把好钢用在刀刃上的地方。我将敦促这里的人们牢记这一点。

Thanks.

多谢。