VOA常速英语2008年-US Economic Slowdown Hurts Small Immigrant Busi

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, DC
07 February 2008
 

The slowing U.S. economy and rising unemployment are affecting a wide range of businesses across the country, including those owned by immigrants. Small immigrant businesses in Prince William County, Virginia, outside Washington, are among those hard-hit -- not just by the economic slowdown but by county ordinances² targeting illegal immigrants or undocumented workers. VOA's Bill Rodgers visited the county and has this report.

On the Route 1 corridor, Club Video Mexico has been in business for 19 years, but co-owner Pablo Vargas has never seen business so bad.

"Nobody wants to buy anything. They'd rather save money than spend it!" Vargas said.

Even larger immigrant businesses are affected³. Carlos Castro owns three supermarkets, catering⁴ mainly to Latinos. He explains, "When it comes to food, even though it's said we have to eat every day, it has dropped considerably⁵. In this store, we are down about 15 percent from the previous year, and in Alexandria it is about 22 or 25 percent."

Asian-owned businesses are affected, too. Yong-jae Park is the manager of the Korean-American Hanmi Bank office in northern Virginia. He says he is making fewer loans to his Asian clients. "The number of inquiries⁶ has substantially declined in the last couple of months and then the number of loans I am processing, I see there is some slowdown," he says.

Prince William County, near Washington, DC, has grown substantially in recent years, and now has a large immigrant population.

But it, too, has been affected by the nationwide housing downturn, the credit crunch⁷ and financial uncertainty⁸.

At the county's Chamber⁹ of Commerce, Chairwoman Joanne Bell and President Laurie Wieder have noticed the change.

"A large portion of the members who do not renew their membership are businesses that are going out of business," Wieder said. "That happens every year. But this year, certainly, there were more of those who closed the doors of their businesses."

The renewal¹⁰ rate was down between two and three percent, though more new members joined the chamber in 2007.

Chamber member Julie Do is worried. She is a Vietnamese immigrant who owns a nail and tanning salon¹¹. She says, "People have not come in as regularly as they used to. Instead of every two to three weeks, they prolong to a month and some people decide not to get [their nails] done because they don't have the money to spend, so they cut back."

The slowdown in construction and home sales in the county is only partly to blame for the business falloff. A county ordinance¹ targeting illegal immigrants also has hurt business. Among other things, it will allow police to check the immigration status of anyone who breaks the law.

This has scared undocumented workers, who are finding less work anyway because of the slow economy.

 

Many are thinking of leaving the area, says one man who did not give his name.  "We'll keep struggling as much as we can," he said in Spanish, "and if we can't go on then it's better to go back to our countries to see if we can make a living there."

And many have moved on, hurting the businesses that rely on their spending.

At the El Portal restaurant, owner Manuel Arbaiza is in danger of losing his $400,000 investment. He says he saw an immediate¹² change after the county passed its anti-illegal immigrant measures. "Before July, a good day for us was anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000, on weekends," Arbaiza said. "And now we have days of $80. I mean, it costs us more money to open up the restaurant than if we were to close it."

Closing would mean letting go more workers, further worsening the already deteriorating¹³ economy. For businesses, including those owned by immigrants, tough times seem to lie ahead.

1 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

2 ordinances   

n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These points of view, however, had not been generally accepted in building ordinances. 然而，这些观点仍未普遍地为其他的建筑条例而接受。 来自辞典例句
• Great are Your mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to Your ordinances. 诗119:156耶和华阿、你的慈悲本为大．求你照你的典章将我救活。 来自互联网

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

5 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

6 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

8 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

11 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

12 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。

13 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。