Bush, Kerry Continue Debate on US Economy

 

Scott Stearns

President Bush campaigned in the southern state of Arkansas where he said the creation of more than 300,000 new jobs last month is a positive sign that the economy is growing stronger. Job growth is an especially sensitive political issue for the president as Democrats¹ blame him for the loss of nearly two million jobs since he took office.
Mr. Bush says he took office during a recession and his record tax cuts have put the country back on the path to economic growth. He wants Congress to make those cuts permanent while lowering health care costs and producing more energy at home.
"If we want jobs to stay at home, and if we want the job base to expand, we have to do something about the cost of healthcare," said Mr. Bush. "We need an energy plan in this country. I will tell you, it is hard to expand our job base, it is hard to keep jobs here at home if you are worried about the reliability² of electricity and if you are worried about finding natural gas at a reasonable price."
Senator Kerry campaigned in the Midwest state of Ohio where more than 170,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost during the Bush presidency³. Mr. Kerry is promising⁴ to create 10 million jobs in four years, in part, by rolling back tax cuts for Americans earning more than $200,000 a year. Mr. Kerry says the president's tax cuts unfairly favor wealthier Americans and are driving up huge federal deficits⁶.
"If you are a thoughtful person, there is nothing conservative about running up deficits as far as the eye can see," he said. "There is nothing conservative about piling debt on our children and building up the annual interest payments for that debt so we can not fund education and health care."
Senator Kerry criticized the president for not doing enough to prevent U.S. companies from using cheaper labor⁷ overseas.
President Bush has branded the Massachusetts Senator an economic isolationist who he says would hurt foreign trade. "First, we got to make sure that we are confident in trade policy," he added. "There are economic isolations that want to wall us off from the rest of the world. I don't think that makes any sense."
Senator Kerry told union members in Ohio that Americans need and deserve a new economic strategy. "When you add up the real deficit⁵ of our nation, which is all of the dreams and lives that have been hurt, add it up and it will be clear that the one person in the United States of America who deserves to be laid-off is George W. Bush," said Mr. Kerry. "And that is what we are going to do."
Senator Kerry continues to campaign on the economy Wednesday with a speech at Georgetown University in Washington. President Bush is to spend the rest of the week on his Texas ranch⁸ before meeting Monday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

注释：
Arkansas [5B:kEnsC:] n. 阿肯色州（美国中南部的州）
recession [ri5seFEn] n. 不景气，工商业衰退期
expand [iks5pAnd] v. 扩张，扩充
reliability [ri7laiE5biliti] n. 安全性
presidency [prezidEnsi] n. 总统任期
conservative [kEn5sE:vEtiv] adj. 守旧的
piling [5pailiN] n.（聚）成堆
debt [det] n. 债，债务
isolationist [7aisE5leiFEnist] n. 孤立主义
deficit [5defisit] n. 赤字, 逆差

1 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》

2 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 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。

6 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

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。