美国国家公共电台 NPR--The economy was a strong reason why Americans went to the polls this election

The economy was a strong reason why Americans went to the polls this election

Transcript¹

The economy, especially the high cost of inflation, played a role in the midterm elections. The issue of inflation might inform political agendas for the next couple of years.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Numbers determine or show the shape of this election on this morning after Election Day. The first key number is 50. Fifty is what Democrats² would need to control the United States Senate. Republicans would need 51 to take control. And I'm looking at the numbers at npr.org. Neither side yet has reached that margin³. The Senate is undecided. So far, Democrats have gained one seat in Pennsylvania. Several races are still too close to call and could go either way. In the House of Representatives, the key number is 218. That's what you would need for a majority. Each side is below 200 at this point, with a large number of races still too close to call, although Republicans are considered favored there.

Now, what issues moved voters in yesterday's election? A big one, of course, as always, is the economy. And inflation, we know from surveys in the past, was a large factor. So let's talk that through. NPR chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley is with us. Scott, good morning.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁴: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: So from the information that you have, how did inflation shape this voting?

HORSLEY: You know, every poll, including the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, showed that inflation was top of mind for voters going in to the ballot⁵ box, and that's not surprising. You know, inflation in September was 8.2%. We'll find out tomorrow what inflation was in October. But it's uncomfortably high.

INSKEEP: Yeah.

HORSLEY: We certainly know that. So clearly, voters are frustrated⁶ with inflation. I think what we're seeing in these election results, though, is that it didn't necessarily break along party lines. They didn't lay all the blame for inflation at the feet of the governing Democrats.

INSKEEP: Well, let's talk that through. Was there a Democratic case for not being blamed for inflation, for saying, hey, this isn't really on me, or I'm trying the best I can? What was their case?

HORSLEY: Absolutely. I mean, the Republicans tried to suggest that inflation was completely the result of the $1.9 trillion stimulus⁷ bill that was passed on a party-line vote in the early months of the Biden administration by a Democratic-controlled Congress. And even some Democratic economists⁸ acknowledge that that was, you know, a contributing factor in today's high inflation.

INSKEEP: Sure.

HORSLEY: But if you look around the world, you see that, look - inflation is even higher in Europe. It's higher in the U.K. Inflation is a global problem, and that's largely the result of the lingering effects of the pandemic and, of course, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has upended both energy and food markets. And so I think - and at the same time, you didn't really have Republicans putting forward any meaningful plan to deal with inflation. So I think both of those things limited the gains that Republicans were able to earn from the inflation issue, even though it is a big concern for voters.

INSKEEP: Was there really that much that a Republican Congress conceivably could do about inflation? They could still be in charge here, we should note. Is there anything they could do about inflation?

HORSLEY: Well, whichever party is in control, they're going to probably not have a - either - if it's the Republicans, they're not going to have a veto-proof majority. They're probably not going to have 60 votes in the Senate for either party. So we're probably looking at a period of gridlock. As the business community is concerned, that's probably OK, but it's still going to leave most of the work on inflation in the hands of the Federal Reserve.

INSKEEP: As you and I were talking earlier in the morning, the markets are not open, but of course, there are futures⁹ markets and so forth¹⁰. What are the markets saying about these results?

HORSLEY: Kind of shrug¹¹ of the shoulders, I would say. Futures markets are down trivially. You know, we've seen some pretty wild swings. The market gyrated considerably¹² yesterday as investors¹³ chewed over what might happen in the election. But I think this will be sort of a status quo as far as the markets are concerned. You know, it's certainly not a 2006-style thumping¹⁴. It's not a 2010-style shellacking. It's maybe a little bit of touch-up paint and some fluffing of the couch cushions.

INSKEEP: And we should note, it's a big deal if either House changes, but if it does change, it's going to be by a fairly narrow margin. That seems apparent now. NPR's Scott Horsley. Thanks so much.

HORSLEY: Good to be with you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

8 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

12 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 thumping   

adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持

参考例句：

• Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》