纽约时报 为什么金融大师们会降低诱饵?(1)（在线收听）

"Mark your calendar, there's a big day coming!"

“在日历上做个记号，大日子就要到了！”

On Jan. 9, with the dream of $2,000 stimulus checks not yet deflated, the Southern California real estate broker Kevin Paffrath uploaded a video to his "Meet Kevin" YouTube channel, updating viewers on the status of the stimulus.

1月9日，由于2000美元刺激计划支票的梦想还没有落空，南加州房地产经纪人凯文·帕夫拉斯在他的YouTube频道Meet Kevin上上传了一段视频，向观众更新介绍刺激计划的现状。

Sitting before an array of glowing LED screens and pop-culture paraphernalia (a star from the Super Mario games, Thor's hammer from the Marvel movies),

帕夫拉斯坐在一排发光的LED屏幕和流行文化用品（超级马里奥游戏中的明星，漫威电影中的雷神之锤）前，

Paffrath, a wiry white man in his late 20s with a close-cropped beard, leaned into the lights and greeted his viewers.

这个瘦削的白人男子，将近30岁，留着小胡子。他在灯光下俯身向观众致意。

Using the earnest eye contact of a veteran YouTuber, he ran through a summary of the situation: the interests at play in Congress, the details of proposed bills, the tangled qualifications for relief.

以一名经验丰富的Youtube用户那种真诚的眼神，他概述了当时的情况：在国会发挥作用的利益、提议法案的细节、错综复杂的救济资格。

Out of focus, over his shoulder, the monitors reminded us to visit his "Meet Kevin School" and sign up for courses to "Master Stocks";

视线模糊后，显示屏上会提醒我们去他的Meet Kevin School报名Master Stocks课程；

at the end of the video, we are invited to "#BecomeMore" through investing, to subscribe to his channel and, of course, to smash that "like" button.

在视频的最后，我们被邀请通过投资"#BecomeMore"，订阅他的频道，当然了还有点赞。

This video would be just one of dozens about potential stimulus packages posted that day, even that evening — many of them from finance influencers like Paffrath, whose pitches normally involve real estate, stocks or airline points.

这段视频只是当天甚至当晚发布的几十个关于潜在刺激计划的视频之一，其中很多都是像帕夫拉斯这样的金融名人发布的，他们的宣传内容通常涉及房地产、股票或航司积分等。

A year ago, they were promising to share their proprietary secrets for achieving wealth, staging monologues in the drivers' seats of luxury cars and poolside on cruise ships.

一年前，在豪车的座位上和游轮的泳池边上独白，他们承诺分享自己的财富秘诀。

Brian Kim, a Chicago accountant, had previously been explaining tax preparation, including how high-earners could reduce their obligations;

芝加哥会计师布莱恩·金此前一直就如何准备税收释疑，包括高收入者如何减少他们的债务；

Ramy Wahby once raised a complimentary glass of Champagne from a first-class airplane seat and offered to explain how he used airline rewards to get there.

雷米·瓦尔比曾从头等舱座位上拿起一杯免费的香槟，解释了他是如何利用航空公司的奖励做到的。

Now all that had changed. The thumbnails on their channels may have kept their usual style — buffoonish facial expressions, glaring yellow text — but it was videos about stimulus checks that came to dominate their feeds.

现在一切都变了。他们频道上的缩略图可能保持了他们一贯的风格——滑稽的面部表情，炫目的黄色文本——但在他们的订阅中占据主导地位的仍是有关刺激计划的视频。

They vied for the role of soothsayer before a rapt audience with a seemingly insatiable demand for information about when the government would offer financial relief.

他们在一群全神贯注的观众面前争夺占卜师的角色，这些观众似乎贪得无厌地想知道政府何时会提供财政援助。