Michigan Voters Mainly Concerned About Economy
密歇根选民主要关心经济问题
星期二共和党总统候选人在密西根州进行初选。民意测验显示前美国参议员里克?桑托姆和生于密歇根的前麻萨诸塞州州长米特?罗姆尼之间的紧密竞争。两个主要候选人正试图吸引选民关心美国经济。
As a gentle snow falls on Kalamazoo, Michigan, class is in session at the Bult home.
随着密歇根州卡拉马祖的温和降雪,博尔特之家的班级正在上课。
Colleen Bult home schools her five children, which she says is the easy part. What’s more difficult for her and her husband, is figuring out how to make ends meet. “We feel very blessed that he does have a job. It’s always in the back of our mind that it might not be there tomorrow," she said.
柯琳?博尔特家庭教授5个孩子,她说这是比较容易的部分。对她和她的丈夫来说最难的部分就是就是弄清楚如何使收支平衡。“我们觉得非常棒的是他还有份工作。但我们的脑中总有一种想法,那就是可能不会有明天。”她说道。
Bult and many others in Michigan say they are making do with less these days.
密歇根的博尔特和许多其他人表示她们的日子越来越难过。
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a native of this state, is trying to key into such voter concerns. “It’s tough. You’ve got a lot of people in real trouble in this country," he said.
共和党总统候选人米特?罗姆尼,土生土长的密歇根人,正试图介入选民所关心的这种事情。“太艰苦了。有很多人在这个国家有真正的麻烦,”他说道。
Romney is running about even in public-opinion polls with Rick Santorum, who hopes to appeal to working-class concerns here.
罗姆尼和里克?桑托姆即使在民意测验这样的竞选中也要努力一把,希望能吸引工人阶级的注意。
Michigan's economy has suffered dramatically for years. There are some recent signs of recovery, but Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce President Steward Sandstrom says voter confidence is still down.
密西根州的经济数年来一直戏剧性的这样承受。最近有一些复苏的迹象,但目前卡拉马祖商会主席斯图尔特?桑托姆表示,选民的信心仍然处于低潮。
“This idea of the cost of living’s gone up, especially gas prices, and we’ve seen that daily, and the income not going up. … It stifles things," he said.
“生活费用的上涨,尤其是燃气价格,然后我们每天已经看到,而收入就是不上去…这让人窒息。”他说道。
High gas prices are a concern for David Rhoa. His company, Lake Michigan Mailers, spends about $10,000 a week on fuel. It's just one of many issues he grapples with as a small business owner.
高燃气价格是大卫?罗那关心的问题。他的公司Lake Michigan Mailers每周在燃料费上就要花费约10000美元。这只是他作为小企业主面临许多问题中的一个。
“When you look at what’s going on in the state, when you look at what’s going on in Washington, is there any predictability in what’s going on? Can you predict what’s going to happen next? It affects people on Main Street because they start saying, 'You know what? I can’t plan for what’s next," he said.
“当你看到这个州的情况,当你看到在华盛顿的情况,对于发生的事有什么可预见性吗?你能预测接下来会发生什么吗?它影响着在大街上的人们,因为他们开始议论:你知道吗?我不能计划下一步。”他说。
Rhoa still hasn’t decided which candidate to vote for in Michigan’s February 28 Republican primary election.
罗那还没有决定在2月28日密西根州的共和党初选中投票给哪位候选人。
That’s not the case for Colleen Bult, who is solidly supporting Rick Santorum.
但也不尽然，柯琳?博尔特仍然坚持拥护里克?桑托姆。
But with her oldest child in college, and four more on the way, she says no candidate has the right equation about how to help them pay for it. “Do we have a plan? Trusting it, day by day, and hoping that God has a plan," she said.
但考虑到她的长子在上大学,其他四人也正准备走这条路,她表示没有一位候选人能帮助他们支付这笔费用。“我们有什么打算?只能相信,一天之后又一天的相信,希望上帝有一个计划,”她说道。
Bult's immediate plan is to deal with the snow piling up on her sidewalk, something she can manage with a little help from her students.
博尔特当务之急是处理她的人行道上的积雪, 她的学生能够给她提供一点帮助。 |