奥巴马总统每周电台演讲：奥巴马与国会两党领袖寻求减轻大幅预算削减的

Hi, everybody.

嗨，大家好！

On Friday, I met with leaders of both parties in Congress to try and find a way forward in light of the severe budget cuts—known in Washington as “the sequester”—that have already started to inflict¹ pain on communities across the country.

周五，我与国会两党领袖会面试图寻求到一种减轻大幅预算削减的方案，即华盛顿所谓的自动减支所产生的影响。而这一状况已经开始对社会各界带来痛苦。

These cuts are not smart.

这样的削减实非明智之举。

They will hurt our economy and cost us jobs.

它将对我们的经济造成伤害及造成失业。

And Congress can turn them off at any time—as soon as both sides are willing to compromise.

而国会可以在任何时候终止这一局面，只要两党都愿意妥协。

As a nation, we've already fought back from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, and we'll get through this, too.

作为一个国家，我们已经战胜了我们此生所遇到的最严重的经济危机，而我们也定能战胜这一困难。

But at a time when our businesses are finally gaining some traction², hiring new workers, bringing jobs back to America—the last thing Washington should do is to get in their way.

但在我们的企业开始招募新员工、将就业岗位带回国内，取得一定成效的时候，华盛顿最不应该做的就是阻挡这一势头。

That's what these cuts to education, research, and defense³ will do.

而在教育、科研和国防上的预算削减就在进行如此的改革。

It's unnecessary.

这完全没有必要。

And at a time when too many of our friends and neighbors are still looking for work, it's inexcusable.

在我们还有很多亲朋好友还在寻找工作的时候，这实在是不可饶耍

Now, it's important to understand that, while not everyone will feel the pain of these cuts right away, the pain will be real.

现在，重要的是要明白尽管不是每个人都会立即感受到这些支出削减带来的痛苦，但这样的痛苦是真实存在的。

Many middle-class families will have their lives disrupted in a significant way.

大量中产阶级家庭的生活将完全受到影响。

Beginning this week, businesses that work with the military will have to lay folks off.

从这周开始，与军方合作的企业将陆续进行裁员。

Communities near military bases will take a serious blow.

而军事基地附近的社区也将受到严重的冲击。

Hundreds of thousands of Americans who serve their country—Border Patrol agents, FBI agents, civilians⁴ who work for the Defense Department—will see their wages cut and their hours reduced.

成百上千名效忠于国家的人员，包括边境巡逻队，联邦调查局，国防部的文职人员都将面临工资下降和工时减少的问题。

This will cause a ripple⁵ effect across the economy.

这将造成全国的连锁反应。

Businesses will suffer because customers will have less money to spend.

商家将由于消费者花的钱少而受到影响。

The longer these cuts remain in place, the greater the damage.

这样的支出削减持续的时间越长，所产生的损害也就越大。

Economists⁶ estimate they could eventually cost us more than 750,000 jobs and slow our economy by over one-half of one percent.

经济学家们估计最终这将造成75万人失业，并使得我们的经济增速下降1.5个百分点。

Here's the thing: none of this is necessary.

问题就在于，这样的削减没有必要。

It's happening because Republicans in Congress chose this outcome over closing a single wasteful⁷ tax loophole that helps reduce the deficit⁸.

这一结果的产生完全就是因为国会的共和党人拒绝取消一项可以帮助我们减少财政赤字的浪费性的税法漏洞导致的。

Just this week, they decided⁹ that protecting special interest tax breaks for the well-off and well-connected is more important than protecting our military and middle-class families from these cuts.

就在本周，他们决定要为富豪和权贵阶层等特殊利益集团保留税收优惠政策，他们认为这比保护我们的军队和中产家庭免受支出削减的影响要重要。

I still believe we can and must replace these cuts with a balanced approach—one that combines smart spending cuts with entitlement reform and changes to our tax code that make it more fair for families and businesses without raising anyone's tax rates.

我始终相信，我们能够而且应该用平衡的方式取代这样的支出削减，即包含了更巧妙的削减支出的方案，通过福利改革和修改税法让所有家庭和企业在税率不上涨的条件下公平纳税。

That's how we can reduce our deficit without laying off workers, or forcing parents and students to pay the price.

这样我们才能既降低财政赤字又不解雇员工或是强迫父母和孩子们承担上涨的学费。

I don't think that's too much to ask.

我不认为这样的要求很过分。

It's the kind of approach I've proposed for two years now. A majority of the American people agree with me on this approach—including a majority of Republicans.

这样的方案我早在两年前就已经提出来了，而大多数的美国人们都同意我的方案，包括大部分的共和党人。

We just need Republicans in Congress to catch up with their own party and the rest of the country.

我们只是需要国会的共和党人能跟上他们党内和国内其他人的步伐。

Now, I know there are Republicans in Congress who would actually rather see tax loopholes closed than let these cuts go through.

现在，我知道，是国会的共和党人宁可让自动减支生效也不愿看到税法漏洞被修补。

And I know there are Democrats¹⁰ who'd rather do smart entitlement reform than let these cuts go through.

我也知道，是民主党人宁可让自动减支生效也不愿对福利制度进行巧妙的改革。

There's a caucus¹¹ of common sense.

这就是党派意识。

And I'm going to keep reaching out to them to fix this for good.

而我将持续推动他们相互妥协达成最好的结果。

Because the American people are weary of perpetual partisanship¹² and brinksmanship.

因为美国人们早已厌倦了无休无止的党派之争和边缘政策。

This is America, and in America, we don't careen from one manufactured crisis to another.

这里是美国，在美国，我们在一场制造业的危机中翻车之后，下一场不能这样。

We make smart choices.

我们要做出明智的抉择，

We plan. We prioritize.

做好计划，列出优先事项。

So I'm going to push through this paralysis¹³ and keep fighting for the real challenges facing middle-class families.

我要继续将这一僵局破开，为中产阶级所面对的真切挑战而奋战。

I'm going to keep pushing for high-quality preschool for every family that wants it, and make sure the minimum wage becomes a wage you can live on.

我也将继续为每个家庭所需要的高质量的学前教育而努力奋战，并确保最低工资标准能让大家养家户口。

I'm going to keep pushing to fix our immigration system, repair our transportation system, and keep our children safe from gun violence.

我还将继续为推动修正移民体系，修整交通体系，确保我们的孩子们远离强制暴力而努力奋战。

That's the work you elected me to do.

这也是你们选择了我，我所应该做的。

That's what I'm focused on every single day.

这是你们选我当总统该做的。这是我每天都努力去做的。

Thanks so much.

谢谢大家！

1 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。

2 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

6 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

8 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。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 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》

11 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

12 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

13 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。