VOA标准英语 Economists Complain About Big US Banks Receiving Tax

Former International Monetary¹ Fund chief economist² Simon Johnson said Wednesday that the biggest U.S. banks are too powerful and exert too much influence over the government.

Johnson told an audience at Washington's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) that the biggest American banks bear considerable blame for the on-going financial crisis in the United States and subsequent global recession. Saying they comprise a financial oligarchy³, Johnson said the biggest banks should to be broken up into smaller parts.

He predicted that some major U.S. or European banks will fail. But he opposes nationalization, saying governments make bad managers and would impose a political agenda on the banks.

Now a professor at the business school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johnson voiced a similar view in responding to a caller on America's C-SPAN television last week.

"Why are your taxes going to go up? Why is the government having to take these measures [in rescuing the banks]? Because of the mistakes made by big business, these huge, huge mistakes [in taking too much risk]. Because they became far too big and powerful. And now they're trying to stick the rest of us [taxpayers] with the bill," he said.

Johnson said the financial services industry exerts its political power by contributing huge amounts of money to the electoral campaigns of members of the U.S. Congress. He said world economies are currently so weak that despite massive monetary and fiscal⁴ stimulus⁵, recovery is likely to be sluggish⁶ and slow to begin.

Another economist, Financial Times financial commentator⁷ Martin Wolf made a similar assesment about the power of the big banks. He told a Washington audience last week that the bailout of the banks is imposing⁸ intolerable costs on U.S. and European governments.

"We can't go on living like this. It's intolerable. And that is really the background, I think, that we have to approach thinking about the future of the financial system. We shouldn't allow one sector⁹ of the economy [the banks] to inflict¹⁰ fiscal costs on economies that are comparable, of course not in terms of destruction, but in economic costs, are like having a significant war," he said.

The International Monetary Fund says the financial losses directly related to the banking¹¹ crisis are likely to approach $4 trillion.

The global crisis began in August 2007 with a credit squeeze associated with losses in the sub-prime U.S. mortgage market.

1 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。

2 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

3 oligarchy   

n.寡头政治

参考例句：

• The only secure basis for oligarchy is collectivism.寡头政体的唯一可靠基础是集体主义。
• Insecure and fearful of its own people,the oligarchy preserves itself through tyranny.由于担心和害怕自己的人民，统治集团只能靠实行暴政来维护其统治。

4 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。

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

7 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

8 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

11 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。