NPR News:美国家庭收入增长创下新纪录 贫困率明显下降

There's some good news today on the economic well-being of Americans, and it comes from the Census Bureau. Its annual report on income and poverty shows a sharp improvement in the finances of the typical American household. In fact the increase in median household incomes is one of the largest in nearly 50 years, and there was a big decline in the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line. NPR's John Ydstie reports.
JOHN YDSTIE, BYLINE: Robert Greenstein, one of Washington's best-known economic policy wonks, says this report is the best annual income and poverty report he's seen in decades.
ROBERT GREENSTEIN: This is an excellent report. There's no other way to put it. The three key indicators of well-being — income, poverty, health insurance — all moved decisively in the right direction.
YDSTIE: After years of no significant gains, the Census Bureau says that in 2015 the income for the median household rose almost $2,800. That's a 5.2 percent increase for the household right in the middle of the income ladder, putting its annual income at about $56,500. That's by far the best increase since the Great Recession. And Trudi Renwick, an economic specialist at the Census Bureau, told reporters in a telephone news conference the gain is broad-based.
TRUDI RENWICK: It's up in all four regions. It's up for almost every racial group, and it's one of the largest year-to-year increases in median household income that we've ever had.
今天，美国人口普查局发布数据，美国民众的经济福利迎来了好消息。收入与贫困年度报告显示，典型美国家庭的财务状况取得重大改善。实际上，美国家庭收入中位数的增幅是近50年来的最大增幅，另外，美国生活在贫困线以下人口比例明显下降。NPR新闻的约翰·伊蒂斯将带来详细报道。
约翰·伊蒂斯连线：华盛顿最著名的经济政策分析家之一罗伯特·格林斯坦表示，这份报告是数十年来最好的收入与贫困年度报告。
罗伯特·格林斯坦：这是一份出色的报告。没有其他方式能形容。收入、贫困和健康保险这三大福利关键指标都在向正确的方向迈进。
伊蒂斯：经过多年停滞后，人口普查局表示，2015年美国家庭收入中位数增长了近2800美元。美国家庭收入中位数增幅为5.2%，达到5.65万美元。这是2007年大衰退以来最大的增幅。人口普查局经济专家特鲁迪·伦维克在电话新闻发布会中对记者表示，增幅是建立在广泛基础上的。
特鲁迪·伦维克：四个区域均出现增长。几乎所有族裔的收入都有所增长，而且这是目前美国家庭收入中位数最大的年度增幅。

YDSTIE: The increase in incomes helped drive the poverty rate down more than a full percentage point in 2015. Greenstein, who is president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank, says government policies, like an increase in the minimum wage in a number of cities and states, helped boost incomes, but...
GREENSTIEN: The single-biggest driver on the income and poverty side is more jobs, broader employment, tighter labor market that also pushes up wages. And on the health insurance side, the critical factor is the coverage expansions of the Affordable Care Act.
YDSTIE: In 2015 the number of people without health insurance dropped to 29 million, down from 33 million in 2014. Robert Doar, a fellow in poverty studies at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, also welcomed the report.
ROBERT DOAR: I think it's a good start. It's been a long wait. There are significant declines in poverty and significant increases in median income, which is good news.
YDSTIE: But Doar says the poverty rate remains elevated.
DOAR: It's still a full percentage point above what it was prior to the recession, so I think we could do still better.
YDSTIE: Median household incomes are also around $1,500 below levels reached in the late 1990s, says Robert Greenstein.
GREENSTIEN: We're still not back to where we were before the Great Recession hit. We need further progress.
YDSTIE: Greenstein believes one key to progress is for the Fed to continue to encourage growth by holding off raising interest rates. John Ydstie, NPR News, Washington.
伊蒂斯：收入增长使2015年贫困率的下降幅度超过1%。左翼倾向智库美国预算与政策优先中心负责人格林斯坦表示，在多个州和城市增加最低工资等政府政策有助于提高收入，但是……
格林斯坦：增加收入和减少贫困的最大驱动力是更多的工作岗位、更广泛的就业以及更加严格的就业市场，这些同样也会增加工资。在健康保险方面，关键要素是扩大平价医疗法案的覆盖范围。
伊蒂斯：未被医疗保险覆盖人口从2014年的3300万降至2015年的2900万。右翼倾向智库美国企业研究所的贫困问题研究专家罗伯特·多尔也对这份报告表示欢迎。
罗伯特·多尔：我认为这是好的开始。我们等待了太长时间。贫困率明显下降，而收入中位数明显增加，这真是好消息。
伊蒂斯：但是多尔表示，贫困率仍然处于高位。
多尔：目前贫困率仍比大衰退以前的水平高出一个百分点，所以我认为我们还可以做得更好。
伊蒂斯：罗伯特·格林斯坦表示，家庭收入中位数也比上世纪90年代后期的水平低1500美元左右。
格林斯坦：我们还没有恢复到大衰退以前的经济水平。我们需要更进一步。
伊蒂斯：格林斯坦认为，进步的其中一个关键是美联储继续通过推迟加息的方法来促进经济增长。NPR新闻，约翰·伊蒂斯华盛顿报道。