美国总统奥巴马每周电台演讲2014.03.10

Hi, everybody.  This week, I traveled to New England, where I was joined by four governors who are working to raise the minimum wage in each of their states.  And they’ve also joined me in calling on Congress to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour.  Because it would give nearly 800,000 Americans in their states a raise – and lift wages for about 28 million across the country.
So these governors aren’t waiting for Congress to make up its mind.  And in my State of the Union Address, I asked America’s business leaders to go ahead and do what they could to raise their employees’ wages, too.  And increasingly, it’s not just large companies like Costco or the Gap that choose to pay their employees higher starting wages.
 
大家好。本周我在当地的四位州长陪同下走访了新英格兰，他们正在努力在他们各自所在州的最低工资。他们还与我一起呼吁国会把最低工资从每小时7.25美元提高到每小时10.10美元。因为这将使他们所在州的80万人工资得到提高--全国有2千8百万人工资得到提高。
所以这些州长们对国会下此决心已经望眼欲穿了。在我的国情咨文演讲里，我也要求美国企业领导人率先行动提高他们的雇员的工资。不仅仅是Costco 或 Gap这样的大公司，越来越多的公司选择提高他们的雇员的基本工资。
 
It’s smaller businesses like Jaxson’s, a family-owned ice cream parlor in South Florida.  They answered the call and raised their wages so that more than 70 employees would earn at least $10.10 an hour, without cutting back on hiring.
And two weeks ago, an Atlanta small business owner named Darien Southerland [SUTH-er-lind] wrote me to share a lesson his grandmother taught him – that if you treat your employees right, they’ll treat you right.  And Vice President Biden paid him a visit this week.
 
诸如南佛罗里达的Jaxson这样的小家族锁冰激凌店。他们响应号召提高他们的工资使70多位雇员的最低小时工资至少达到10.10美元，而且不裁员。
两周以前，亚特兰大州的一个叫Darien Southerland 的小企业主给我写信分享了他的祖母的教诲--如果你对雇员好，他们就对你好。副总统拜登本周将访问他的公司。
 
I agree with these business owners, which is why I issued an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.  It’s good for our bottom line.  And working Americans have struggled through stagnant wages for far too long.
A clear majority of Americans support raising the minimum wage, because we believe that nobody who works full-time should have to live in poverty.  About half of all Republicans support raising the minimum wage, too.  It’s just too bad they don’t serve in Congress.  Because the Republicans who do serve in Congress don’t want to vote on the minimum wage at all.  Some even want to get rid of it completely.  Seriously.
 
我为这些企业主点个赞，这就是为什么我发布总统令要求联邦雇主们给他们的雇员们至少每小时10.10美元的合理工资。这对我们的底线有利。勤奋的美国人已经在工资滞涨的情况下奋斗太久了。
绝大多数美国人支持提高最低工资，因为我们认为没有人终日工作还只能生活在贫困中。超过半数的共和党人也支持提高最低工资。糟糕的是这些人不在国会。因为在国会的共和党人不愿意就最低工资投票。有些人甚至想彻底搁置这个法案。可怕啊。
 
That’s why what business leaders and everyday Americans are doing to raise wages is so important.  Because change doesn’t come from Washington – change comes to Washington.  I’ve always believed that, and it’s true in this case, too.  Outside Washington, Americans are ready to put aside old political arguments and move this country forward.  The American people are way ahead of Congress on this issue, and we’ve just got to let Congress know that.  It’s time for “ten-ten.”  It’s time to give America a raise.  And it’s time to restore opportunity for all.
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
 
这就是为什么企业领导人们和每个美国人每天为提高工资所做的如此重要。因为改变不是来自华盛顿，改变总是走进华盛顿。我一直相信这一点，而且确信这一次也如此。在华盛顿以外，美国人已经准备好了搁置政治争端推进美国。美国人民在这个问题上已经远远走在了国会的前头，我们必须让国会认识到这一点。“10--10”的时机到来了。美国人长工资的时机到来了。为每个人恢复机会的时机到来了。
谢谢，周末快乐。