密歇根新闻广播 我们需要把钱花在铺路,教育和寄养上

Last week I talked about the fact that Michigan is headed for a serious budget crisis that threatens everything from education to foster care to public safety.

We've been cutting state government spending on programs that give people a chance at a better life for years. We've been neglecting the vitally important public sector¹ of our economy, which is why so many of our roads and bridges are falling apart.

Alone among the major industrial states, we have no mass transit² worthy³ of the name. Thinking we could recruit a company like Amazon today is delusional⁴.

This has happened because we've been increasingly brainwashed and held hostage by a right-wing ideology⁵ that believes that nearly all taxes are bad, except for whatever is spent to sustain the military. They have us believing that spending money for good roads or to help foster children or to make college affordable⁶ is equivalent to wasting it on mythical⁷ welfare queens.

So our society is, pretty literally⁸, falling apart. This will get worse in coming years, I noted⁹, as a bill kicks in that will soon take $600 million a year from the state's cash-strapped general fund and use it for road repair. Unless the tooth fairy leaves more money under Michigan's pillow, this is bound to mean big cuts for programs from public safety to education.

The lawmakers did this to us because they were afraid to do the right thing and have us pay properly for an essential public good — decent roads.

Naturally, in a rational universe, where we wanted our children to have better lives and our state to be more competitive, we'd see education as another public good — especially when it is clear that's the only hope of attracting the jobs of the future.

Those who led this state and nation once knew that. Republicans and Democrats¹⁰ spent money to subsidize education during the Cold War. The state paid roughly 70 percent of my tuition at Michigan State and the University of Michigan in the 1970s. Now, students are expected to pay roughly that much, and they drop out or go deeply in debt.

This insanity¹¹ is well known. So what did the state Senate finance committee do yesterday? They approved a new bill to give Michiganders a $5,000 state personal income tax exemption¹² to compensate¹³ for an exemption apparently¹⁴ eliminated by the new federal tax bill.

I say apparently because nobody really understands the new tax bill, and some, like Congressman¹⁵ Mike Bishop¹⁶, don't think it eliminates that exemption at all.

So, they are giving us a further tax cut. Senator Jack¹⁷ Brandenburg, the main sponsor, says it will cost the state another $210 million and give the average family a cut of $125.

That would cover about half the cost of a tire destroyed by one of the potholes¹⁸ we won't be able to fix because of this bill. Meanwhile, his fellow Republican Senator, Margaret O'Brien, is pushing a caregiver credit that would blow another $81 million hole in the general fund.

This is insanity. Possibly, to save time, we could abolish all government. We'd have to defend ourselves, and take our chances with clean water. But we wouldn't have to pay any taxes. We'd just have to get used to lives that were nasty, brutish, and short.

Jack Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst¹⁹. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management, or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

4 delusional   

妄想的

参考例句：

• You became delusional and attacked several people trying to escape. 你产生了错觉并攻击了许多人还试图逃走。 来自电影对白
• He is incoherent, delusional, suffering auditory hallucinations. 他出现无逻辑的，妄想的，幻听的症状。 来自电影对白

5 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 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》

11 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

12 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

13 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

14 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

15 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

16 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

17 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

18 potholes   

n.壶穴( pothole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Potholes are also home to tiny desert animals. 洞穴也是弱小动物的家。 来自互联网
• If you're going to enjoy the good times, you've certainly got to deal with some potholes. 如果要享受甜美的胜利果实，当然要应付这些战绩不佳的指责压力。 来自互联网

19 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。