美国有线新闻 CNN 拜登要提高最低时薪到15美元 两党产生严重分歧（在线收听）

The Federal minimum wage is the least amount of money per hour that American businesses must pay their employees. States and communities are allowed to acquire higher minimum wages and many of them do.

联邦最低工资指美国企业每小时必须支付给雇员的最低工资。各州和各社区的最低工资可以更高一些，许多州和社区也确实如此。

But as of right now, $7.25 per hour is the minimum that U.S. employers must pay. That rate was updated in 2009 under then President Barack Obama. This week Democrats in Congress introduced a bill to increase the Federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. As it stands now, the proposal wouldn't do this immediately. It would include gradual wage increases until 2025 when it would hit the $15 minimum.

但截至目前，美国雇主必须支付的最低工资是每小时7.25美元。这是2009年时任美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马执政期间制定的金额。本周，国会民主党人提出了一项法案，将联邦最低工资提高到每小时15美元。从目前的情况来看，这项提案不会立即生效。最新工资可能会逐步提高，直到2025年达到15美元。

President Joe Biden has included this increase in his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. In case that package doesn't pass with the minimum wage change, Democrats had introduced a separate bill. The minimum wage is a controversial subject because experts and economists disagree over the effects it has.

乔·拜登总统已将提高最低工资纳入其1.9万亿美元的冠状病毒救助计划。民主党人提出了一项单独方案，以防涵盖最低工资改革的计划不能通过。最低工资是存在争议的话题，因为专家和经济学家对其影响意见不一。

Supporters of raising the wage say it will put more money in the pockets of workers, encouraging them to spend more and that this would help businesses and stimulate the economy. Opponents of raising the wage say it will do the opposite. That it would cause smaller businesses and restaurants to lay off workers because these organizations don't make enough in profits to afford the higher labor costs.

支持提高最低工资的人表示，这将增加工人的收入，鼓励他们增加消费，从而有助于商业并刺激经济。反对提高最低工资的人表示，这样做会适得其反。这将导致小型企业和餐馆裁员，因为这些企业的利润不足以支付更高的劳动力成本。

There's a political divide over this subject too. Democrats generally favor the minimum wage increase. Republicans generally oppose it. Democrats say it would help individuals who are struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans say it would hurt businesses that are struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic and individuals too if their jobs are cut.

在这个问题上也存在政治分歧。民主党人普遍赞成提高最低工资标准。共和党人则普遍反对。民主党人表示，这一措施将帮助因为疫情而苦苦挣扎的人群。共和党人则称，这会损害因疫情而陷入困境的企业，同时也会对因疫情而失业的人造成伤害。

Part of the reason why Democrats are pushing for it now is because they have control over both chambers of Congress and the White House for the first time since 2010. And while Democratic leaders have said they'd like to increase the minimum wage with at least some Republican support, they may try to pass the legislation without it.

民主党现在推动这一改革的部分原因是，他们自2010年以来首次控制了国会参众两院和白宫。尽管民主党领袖表示，他们希望在共和党的支持下提高最低工资标准，但他们可能会尝试在未得到支持的情况下通过这项立法。

When he was vice-president during the Obama Administration, Joe Biden had the job of overseeing the government's $840 billion economic stimulus package which was passed in 2009 to help the nation recover from the Great Recession. When he was vice-president during the Trump Administration, Mike Pence had the job of overseeing the government's coronavirus task force which was established in 2020 to help the nation address the COVID-19 pandemic.

在奥巴马政府提任副总统期间，乔·拜登负责监督政府在2009年通过的8400亿美元经济刺激计划，该计划旨在帮助美国从大萧条中复苏。在特朗普政府担任副总统期间，迈克·彭斯负责监督政府的冠状病毒工作组，该工作组成立于2020年，旨在帮助美国应对新冠肺炎疫情。