U.S. President Barack Obama is shifting his economic focus to the middle class. His State of the Union address Wednesday will detail a series of initiatives to help middle-income families.
美国总统奥巴马正将他的经济政策重点转向帮助美国中产阶级家庭。奥巴马星期三将发表国情咨文演讲，届时他会详细阐述帮助中产阶级家庭的一系列措施。
President Obama spent his first year in office trying to prevent the collapse of big financial firms, and stabilize the national economy. Now, he is taking a more populist approach - focusing on the day-to-day issues that create money woes for many families.
奥巴马总统上任一年来一直在为避免大的金融机构崩溃以及稳定国家经济而努力。现在，他将采取一些更受民众欢迎的举措，把经济重点转向帮助解决造成许多家庭经济困境的日常问题上。
He says it is part of an effort to show the administration cares about workers who are struggling to pay their bills or have anxieties about losing their jobs.
奥巴马说， 这是政府为那些挣扎着支付账单并为工作提心吊胆的工薪家庭提供帮助的一部分。
"We have just come through what was one of the most difficult decades the middle class has ever faced - a decade in which median income fell, and our economy lost about as many jobs as it gained," he said.
他说：“我们刚刚走过了美国中产阶级数十年来未遇的最困难的十年。在这十年里，中等收入下跌，我们的经济失去的就业机会与增加的就业机会一样多。”
The president spoke at a meeting of a White House advisory panel set up to study the problems facing the middle class and propose solutions.
奥巴马是在白宫的一个顾问小组会议上做出上述表示的。这个工作小组的目的就是研究中产阶级面临的问题，并找到解决办法。
Among the ideas embraced by the administration are steps to cut the costs of child care for working parents, and help them save for retirement.
受到政府欢迎的提议之一包括采取措施削减工薪家庭照顾子女的费用，并让这些家庭为退休存储更多的养老金。
The White House is also promising action to make it a little easier for middle-class students to pay for college, and to provide expanded community services to help families caring for elderly relatives.
白宫还承诺采取行动让中产阶级家庭的学生更容易支付学费， 并承诺扩大社区服务，帮助这些家庭照看老人。
President Obama is expected to talk about all these steps in his State of the Union address. Aides say he will speak at length about job creation and other issues that affect the lives of ordinary Americans.
预计，奥巴马总统在他的国情咨文中会对上述一系列措施进行阐述。总统的助手们表示，他将对如何创造就业机会和解决其他影响美国普通家庭生活的问题做详细的说明。
In his comments to the Middle Class Task Force, which is chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, Mr. Obama offered a preview.
为了帮助美国中产阶级家庭，白宫设立了美国中产阶级家庭工作组，由副总统乔·拜登领导。奥巴马在对这个工作组讲话时谈到了他对上述措施的看法。
"Hopefully, some of these steps will re-establish some of the security that has slipped away in recent years. Because in the end, that is how Joe and I measure progress. Not by how the markets are doing, but by how the American people are doing," said the president.
“我的希望是，通过这些步骤将重新建立近几年来逐渐消失的某种安全感，因为毕竟这是我和乔最后衡量经济是否进步的一个标准。不是美国的市场表现如何，而是美国人民生活如何。”
But Congressional Republicans say the president is not doing enough to create jobs. In a written statement, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, John Boehner of Ohio, said the initiatives announced by the White House do not go far enough and what is really needed is a set of new economic policies.
但是，国会共和党人认为奥巴马总统没有采取足够措施来创造就业机会。众议院共和党领导人、来自俄亥俄州的议员约翰·博纳( John Boehner)在一份书面声明中表示，白宫宣布的一系列措施还很不够，现在需要的是一揽子新的经济政策。 |