美国总统奥巴马每周电台演讲2013.04.07

译文来自恒星网友: 刘浩男的日志

Hi, everybody. Our top priority as a nation, and my top priority as President, must be doing everything we can to reignite the engine of America's growth: a rising, thriving middle class. That's our North Star. That must drive every decision we make.

大家好。我们作为国家的第一要务和我作为总统的第一要务只能是尽一切可能重新启动美国增长的引擎：一个发展的兴旺的中产阶级。这是我们的指路明灯。这是我做出每个决定所必须考虑的。

Now, yesterday, we learned that our businesses created 95,000 new jobs last month. That's about 500,000 new jobs this year, and nearly 6.5 million new jobs over the past three years.

昨天，我们得知我们的企业在上个月创造了95,000个新就业机会。今年大约创造了500,000个新就业机会，在过去的三年里一共创造了近650万个新就业机会。

But we've got more work to do to get the economy growing faster, so that everybody who wants a job can find one. And that means we need fewer self-inflicted wounds from Washington, like the across-the-board spending cuts that are already hurting many communities – cuts that economists predict will cost our economy hundreds of thousands of jobs this year.

但是要让我们的经济更快地增长，我们还有很多工作要做，以便每一个需要工作的人能够找到一份工作。在意味着我们需要华盛顿不要自残，例如大范围的开支削减已经损害了我们的社区—经济学家们认为这些削减将以我们今年成千上万的就业机会为代价。

If we want to keep rebuilding this economy on a stronger, sturdier foundation for growth – growth that creates good, middle-class jobs – we need to make smarter choices.

如果我们希望继续在一个更加强大坚实的增长基础上重建经济—创造好的中产阶级就业机会的增长—我们就要做出明智的决策。

This week, I'll send a budget to Congress that will help do just that – a fiscally-responsible blueprint for middle-class jobs and growth. For years, an argument in Washington has raged between reducing our deficits at all costs, and making the investments we need to grow the economy. My budget puts that argument to rest. Because we don't have to choose between these goals – we can do both. After all, as we saw in the 1990s, nothing reduces deficits faster than a growing economy.

本周，我将向国会提交一份预算就是要促进这个—一份对中产阶级就业机会和增长负财政责任的蓝图。多少年来，关于不惜一切代价削减赤字和继续投资发展经济的争论在华盛顿已经白热化了。我的预算将让这个争论降温。因为我们不必在这两个目标中只取其一，我们可以二者兼顾。毕竟当我们回顾1990年代就会发现，没有什么比经济增长减少赤字更快。

My budget will reduce our deficits not with aimless, reckless spending cuts that hurt students and seniors and middle-class families – but through the balanced approach that the American people prefer, and the investments that a growing economy demands.

我的预算不是用无目的的草率的损害学生、老人和中产阶级家庭的开支削减来减少赤字—而是用美国人民希望的统筹兼顾的途径和发展经济需要的投资来减少赤字。

Now, the truth is, our deficits are already shrinking. That's a fact. I've already signed more than $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction into law, and my budget will reduce our deficits by nearly $2 trillion more, without harming the recovery. That surpasses the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction that many economists believe will stabilize our finances.

现在真相是我们的赤字已经减少。这是事实。我已经把减少超过2万5千亿美元赤字的目标签署为法律，我的预算将把我们的赤字再减少将近2万亿美元，而且不损害经济复苏。这超过了很多经济学家们相信的稳定我们的财政必须减少的4万亿美元赤字的目标。

We'll make the tough reforms required to strengthen Medicare for the future, without undermining the rock-solid guarantee at its core. And we'll enact commonsense tax reform that includes closing wasteful tax loopholes for the wealthy and well-connected – loopholes like the ones that can allow a billionaire to pay a lower tax rate than his or her secretary.

我们将进行加强未来医保所要求的艰难的改革而不损害它的坚实的核心保障。我们将实施正确的包括堵塞有利于那些富可敌国和神通广大的人们的漏洞的税法改革—这些漏洞可以让千万富翁的税率比他或她的秘书的税率还低。

This is the compromise I offered the Speaker of the House at the end of last year. While it's not my ideal plan to further reduce the deficit, it's a compromise I'm willing to accept in order to move beyond a cycle of short-term, crisis-driven decision-making, and so that we can focus on growing our economy and our middle class for the long run. It includes ideas many Republicans have said they could accept as well. It's a way we can make progress together.

这是我去年年底向众议院议长提供的妥协。它不是我本人的进一步减少赤字的理想方案，它是我可以接受的妥协以便跳出短期的怪圈、危机驱动的决策，这样我们可以致力于长期发展我们的经济和中产阶级。它包括很多共和党人表示他们可以接受的主意。它是我们可以共同取得进步的方法。

But deficit reduction cannot come at the cost of economic growth or middle-class security. And it doesn't have to. My budget will make critical investments to grow the economy, create jobs, and strengthen the middle class.

但是削减赤字不能以经济增长和中产阶级安全为代价。也没有必要这样。我的预算将进行必要的投资发展经济、创造就业机会和加强中产阶级。

As I said in my State of the Union Address, every day, we should ask ourselves three questions: how do we make America a magnet for good jobs? How do we give our workers the skills they need to do those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?

正如我在我的国情咨文中所说的，我们每天都应该扪心自问三个问题：我们如何让美国成为好工作的磁石？我们如何给我们的工人这些工作需要的技能？我们如何确保勤奋工作导致体面的生活？

To make America a magnet for good jobs, we'll invest in high-tech manufacturing and homegrown American energy, put people to work building new roads, bridges, and schools, and cut red tape to help businesses grow.

要把美国变成好工作的磁石，我们就要投资于高技术制造业和国产能源，让人们从事修建新道路、桥梁和学校的工作，就是繁文缛节助力企业发展。

To give workers the skills they need to do those jobs, we'll invest in education that begins in the earliest years, and job training that better equips workers to compete in a 21st century economy.

要给工人们这些工作需要的技能，我们将投资于早期教育和职业培训，使工人们更好地武装起来参与21世纪经济竞争。

To make sure hard work is rewarded, we'll build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class, and focus on revitalizing some of our communities hardest-hit by recession and job loss.

要让辛勤工作得到回报，我们将打造通往中产阶级的新的机会阶梯，致力于让那些衰退和工作丧失重创的社区焕发生机。

All of these investments will help grow the economy and create jobs. None of them will add to the deficit. And I will lay out these priorities in greater detail in the days ahead.

所有这些投资都有助于发展经济和创造就业机会。它们中没有一个增加赤字。今后我将进一步细化这些要务。

It's a budget that doesn't spend beyond our means. And it's a budget that doesn't make harsh and unnecessary cuts that only serve to slow our economy. We'll keep our promise to an aging generation by shoring up Medicare. And we'll keep our promise to the next generation by investing in the fundamentals that have always made America strong – manufacturing and innovation, energy and education.

这个预算是量入而出的。这个预算没有做出只能放缓我们的经济的草率的不必要的削减。我们将通过支持医保来恪守对老年人的承诺。我们将通过投资于一直使美国强大的基础—制造业和创新、能源和教育，来实现对下一代的承诺。

Because that's what it'll take to make sure America remains strong in the years ahead – and to leave behind something better for our kids.

因为这是确保美国在未来保持强大—给我们的孩子们留下更好的东西所必须的。

Thanks so much. Have a great weekend!

 谢谢，周末愉快。