美国总统奥巴马每周电台演讲2014.06.09

Hi, everybody. This is commencement season, a time for graduates and their families to celebrate one of the greatest achievements of a young person’s life. But for many graduates, it also means feeling trapped by a whole lot of student loan debt. And we’ve got to do more to lift that Burden.
See, in a 21st century economy, the surest pathway into the middle class is some form of higher education. The unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor’s degree is just 3.3 percent – about half what it is for high school graduates. The typical graduate of a four-year college earns $15,000 more per year than someone with just a high school degree.
But at a time when college has never been more important, it’s also never been more expensive.
大家好。这是一个毕业季，是毕业生和他们的家庭庆祝一个年轻人一生的最伟大的成就之一的时刻。但是对于很多毕业生，这还意味着深感学生贷款的巨大压力。我们必须为消除这个负担做得更多。

在21世纪经济，进入中产阶级的最万无一失的途径就是某种形式的高等教育。有学士学位的工人的失业率仅仅是百分之3.3--大约是高中毕业生的失业率的一半。本科生一年要比高中生多挣15,000美元。

但是在一个上大学比以往任何时候都重要的时候，上大学也是最贵的时候。
 

That’s why, since I took office, I’ve worked to make college more affordable. We reformed a student loan system that gave away billions of taxpayer dollars to big banks and invested that money where it makes a bigger bang – in helping more young people afford a higher education.

But over the past three decades, the average tuition at a public four-year college has more than tripled. The average undergraduate student who borrows for college now graduates owing almost $30,000. And I’ve heard from too many young people who are frustrated that they’ve done everything they were supposed to do – and now they’re paying the price.
这就是为什么，自我就任总统以来，我一直在努力使上大学更加可承受。我们改革了学生贷款系统避免了几十亿美元的纳税人的钱流入大银行，而是把这些钱投入有更大作用的地方--投入到帮助更多年轻人上得起大学上。
但是在过去的三十年里，公立大学本科的平均学费增加了两倍多。现在毕业的本科生平均欠下学生贷款近30,000美元。我听到很多年轻人说他们做了他们可能做的一切都倍受挫折--现在他们不得不承担后果。
 

I’ve taken action on my own to offer millions of students the opportunity to cap their monthly student loan payments to 10% of their income. But Congress needs to do its part. The good news is that Senate Democrats are working on a bill that would help more young people save money.Just like you can refinance your mortgage at a lower interest rate, this bill would let you refinance your student loans. And we’d pay for it by closing loopholes that allow some millionaires to pay a lower tax rate than the middle class.
That’s the choice that your representatives in Congress will make in the coming weeks – protect young people from crushing debt, or protect tax breaks for millionaires. And while Congress decides what it’s going to do, I will keep doing whatever I can without Congress to help responsible young people pay off their loans – including new action I will take this week.
我已经单独采取行动给几百万学生机会使他们每月还学生贷款的额度不超过他们的收入的10%。但是国会也应该尽他们的职责。令人欣慰的是参议院民主党人正积极草拟一个议案帮助更多年轻人节约钱。正如你们可以利用低利率重新投资于抵押贷款，这个议案将使你们可以重新投资于你们的学生贷款。我们通过堵塞漏洞来支付这笔开销，这个漏洞让一些富人比中产阶级的税率还低。
这是你们的国会代表在未来的几周里将要做的选择--使年轻人避免令人直不起腰的债务，或阻止富人的税收减免。国会决定他们将做什么，我就继续做可以不经过国会的一切帮助负责任的年轻人偿还他们的贷款--包括我这周将采取的新行动。
 

This country has always made a commitment to put a good education within the reach of all who are willing to work for it. That’s what made us an economic superpower. That’s what makes us special. And as long as I hold this office, I’ll keep fighting to give more young people the chance to earn their own piece of the American Dream. 
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
这个国家永远承诺让每个为之努力的人们能够受到良好教育。这是我们成为超级大国的立国之本。它使我们鹤立鸡群。只要我还是总统，我将继续为给更多年轻人机会实现他们的美国梦而奋斗。
 谢谢，周末快乐。