VOA慢速英语:‘Patriotic Millionaires’ Say Their Taxes Are Too Low

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Congressional leaders and the Obama administration have begun budget negotiations. They are trying to avoid what is being called “the fiscal cliff,” a combination of tax increases and budget cuts that many experts worry could harm the economy.
国会领导人和奥巴马政府开始对预算进行协商，他们试图避免所谓的“财政悬崖”，这是一种结合增税和削减开支的政策，许多专家担心这种做法会进一步影响经济。

However, a group of rich Americans has formed to try to influence those negotiations. More than twenty of them travelled to Washington recently to call on lawmakers to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
然而，一批美国富人联合起来试图影响协商，20多名富人最近赶往华盛顿，呼吁议员对美国最富有的人增税。

The group calls itself “Patriotic Millionaires.” Members of the group have incomes of at least one million dollars a year. Their message is simple: “tax us more -- we can take it.”
他们组成的组织名为“爱国百万富翁”，其成员每年至少收入100万，他们传达的信息很简单：“给我们加税吧！我们能承担得起。”

They are worried about the growing gap between the upper- and middle-classes in the United States.
他们对美国上层阶级和中产阶级的差距越来越大很担心。

The group supports President Obama’s plan to raise taxes on rich Americans as part of a budget agreement to avoid the “fiscal cliff.” If an agreement is not reached by the end of this year, taxes will go up for most Americans, and federal spending will go down sharply. President Obama says the country can avoid that if Republicans agree to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
该组织支持总统奥巴马对美国富人增税，这是为避免“财政悬崖”而采取的预算协议的一部分。如果今年年底之前无法达成协议，大部分美国人将要交更多税，联邦预算也会大幅削减。总统奥巴马称，如果共和党同意对美国最富有的人加税，这个危机就可以避免。

“When it comes to the top two percent, what I’m not going to do is to extend further a tax cut for folks who don’t need it, which would cost close to a trillion dollars.”
“关于2%最上层的富人，我不会对其减税的，如果减税财政将损失近一万亿美元。”

But the Speaker of the House of Representatives -- John Boehner, a Republican -- says taxes for wealthy Americans do not have to go up. 
但众议院发言人共和党约翰•博纳说，未必就一定得对富人增税。

“I have outlined a framework for how both parties can work together to avert the fiscal cliff without raising tax rates.”
“我已制定一个框架，基于此，两党可以合作避免财政悬崖，同时又不必增税。”

The Patriotic Millionaires believe their taxes need to be raised. They also do not agree with the idea that increasing taxes on those who create jobs means fewer jobs will be created. T.J. Zlotnitsky is the head of iControl Systems, a data management company.
爱国百万富翁们认为需要对自己增税，他们也不认为对那些创造就业机会的人增税会导致就业机会减少，T.J. Zlotnitsky是数据管理公司iControl Systems的总裁。

“When I make a decision about whether or not I’m going to hire people to help grow my business, I make those decisions strictly on the basis of whether the company needs them, whether the customers demand them, whether doing so would grow the business. In terms of my own personal tax rates, that never factors in.”
“当我决定是否要雇用员工来发展公司时，我会严格依据公司是否需要他们、顾客是否需要他们、以及这样做是否会有利公司发展的标准。就我个人税率来说，这个根本影响不了。”

The group says increasing taxes on middle-class Americans -- but not on rich Americans -- would be bad for the economy. Frank Patitucci is the chief of NuCompass Mobility.
该组织称，只对美国中产阶级而不对富人增税不利于经济发展。Frank Patitucci是NuCompass Mobility公司老板。

“It is especially important about the middle class. If you lose the middle class, you’re losing customers. So a strong middle class that’s helped by a fair tax system leads to long-term to a healthy economy.”
“这对中产阶级很重要，一旦失去中产阶级，也就失去了客户。因此在公平的税收体系下，强大的中产阶级能有利于健康经济的长期发展。”

Patriotic Millionaires has more than two hundred members across the country. Members of the group work in finance, entertainment, technology and other areas.
爱国者百万富翁组织在全国有200多名成员，他们涉足于金融、娱乐、科技等领域。