ECONOMICS REPORT - IMF Report on American Financial Policy

ECONOMICS REPORT - IMF Report on American Financial Policy
By Caty Weaver¹

Broadcast: Friday, January 16, 2004

This is Bob Doughty² with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

A new report warns that the rising United States budget deficit³ and trade imbalance threaten world economic security and growth. The International Monetary⁴ Fund released the report last week. The Bush administration says tax cuts have helped economic recovery, and deficit cuts are planned.

Charles Collyns was among several I-M-F officials who researched and wrote the report. Mister Collyns notes that the federal financial balance has changed in the last few years. He says the two-thousand budget year had a surplus of two-and-one-half percent of the gross domestic product. That is the total value of goods and services produced in the country. But in fiscal⁵ year two-thousand-three the budget had a deficit of almost four percent of the gross domestic product.

Mister Collyns says additional spending gave immediate⁶ and much needed support to the American economy. But he says there are long-term problems if large federal deficits⁷ continue. The I-M-F team says budget estimates show large deficits for the next ten fiscal years.

The report says these deficits would lead the United States to borrow more money. It says foreign debt could equal forty percent of the economy in a few years. This would be a record level for a large industrial nation.

The I-M-F says growing debt and increased borrowing may force international loan rates to rise. It says this would restrain private investment, especially in the purchase of government bonds. Mister Collyns says this process is already happening. He says it is partly to blame for the fall in the value of the American dollar during the last year.

The I-M-F experts say the result in the end is lower worldwide productivity and earnings⁸ growth. The report says the American government must raise taxes and limit spending to avoid this.

Administration officials noted⁹ that President Bush has already said he will work to reduce the deficit by half during the next five years.

Mister Bush spoke¹⁰ about the economy in his weekly radio message last Saturday. He said business investment has increased and the unemployment rate is falling. He said American stock market wealth increased in the past year. And he again called on Congress to make his tax cuts for Americans permanent.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Caty Weaver. This is Bob Doughty.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。