Obama's Weekly Address WEEKLY ADDRESS: This Labor Day, Let’s Talk About the Minimum Wage

奧巴馬每周電視講話:總統祝福大家勞動節快樂

Hi, everybody.

大家好。

Whether you're firing up the grill, fired up for some college football, or filling up the car for one last summer road-trip-Happy Labor Day weekend.

無論你是準備點燃燒烤爐，還是要去大學橄欖球賽場加油助威，還是要為愛車加滿油準備今夏最后一次遠足，我要祝大家勞動節快樂！

We set aside Labor Day to honor the working men and women of America.

我們設立勞動節就是要向全美所有辛勤工作的人們致敬。

And this Labor Day, we've got more to celebrate.

今年的勞動節，我們可慶祝的主題更多。

Over the past 53 months, our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs.

過去53個月里，企業總共創造了將近1000萬個就業崗位。

Last month, for the first time since 1997, we created more than 200,000 jobs for six straight months.

上個月，也是我們自1997年以來第一次連續6個月創造出20多萬個就業崗位。

And for the first time in over a decade, business leaders worldwide have declared, two years running, that the number one place to invest isn't China-it's America.

十多年來，第一次有全球的商界領袖宣稱，美國連續兩年超越中國成為全球最具投資價值的國家。

So there are reasons to be optimistic about where we're headed.

我們有理由對我們前進的方向充滿信心。

And the decisions we make now will determine whether or not we accelerate this progress-whether economic gains flow to a few at the top, or whether a growing economy fuels rising incomes and a thriving middle class.

我們現在所做出的決策將決定我們能否為這一進展提供動力：要么使經濟發展成果流向社會頂層的少數人，要么使經濟發展為提高社會工資待遇和建設欣欣向榮的中產階級提供動力。

Think about it this Labor Day.

勞動節我們要思考這個問題。

The things we often take for granted-Social Security and Medicare, workplace safety laws and the right to organize for better pay and benefits, even weekends-we didn't always have these things.

我們經常認為是理所當然的事情：包括社保和醫保，安全生產法，組織起來爭取更好的工資待遇的權利，周末休假的權利等等，這些都并不都是我們所能享有的。

Workers and the unions who get their back had to fight for them.

工人和得到大家支持的工會需要為此而斗爭。

And those fights built a stronger middle class.

通過這樣的斗爭我們打造出更強的中產階級。

To build a stronger middle class in today's changing economy, we've got to keep fighting.

為了在當今變革的經濟形勢中打造更強大的中產階級，我們需要不斷的斗爭。

We've got to fight for the right to affordable health insurance for everybody.

我們要為每個人爭取獲得平價醫療保險的權利，

The right to fair pay, family leave, and workplace flexibility. The right to a fair living wage.

同工同酬的權利，休探親假的權利以及自由選擇工作地點的權利，獲得一般生活水平的工資的權利。

Let me focus on that last one for a minute.

我要重點說說最后一項。

In America, no one who works full-time should ever have to raise a family in poverty.

在美國，任何全職工作的人都不應該讓他的家庭生活在貧困之中。

A hard day's work deserves a fair day's pay.

辛勤付出的一天理應得到公平的工資。

And raising the minimum wage would be one of the best ways to give a boost to working families.

提高最低工資標準則是為工薪家庭帶來收入提升的最好途徑。

It would help around 28 million Americans from all walks of life pay the bills, provide for their kids, and spend that money at local businesses.

這將幫助全美2800萬人民有能力支付日常支出，撫養孩子并在當地消費。

And that grows the economy for everyone.

而這也將促進經濟增長惠及所有人。

The bottom line is, America deserves a raise.

我們的底線就是，美國應該提高工資標準。

But until we've got a Congress that cares about raising working folks' wages, it's up to the rest of us to make it happen.

但在國會真正關注提高工人最低工資標準這一問題之前，我們需要做出努力，促使國會關注這一問題。

And in the year and a half since I first asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, Americans of all walks of life are doing just that.

在我首次向國會提出提高最低工資標準之后的一年半時間里，美國社會各界都積極做出努力。

Thirteen states and D.C. have done their part by raising their minimum wages.

全美有13個州和華盛頓特區都提高了最低工資標準。

Four more states have minimum wage initiatives on the ballot this November.

還有4個州也將在11月對提高最低工資標準方案進行投票。

And the states where the minimum wage has gone up this year have experienced higher job growth than the states that haven't.

這些提高了最低工資標準的各州今年的就業增長更快。

Business leaders at companies like The Gap are doing their part.

像Gap這樣的企業也做出了自身的努力。

They're raising base wages for tens of thousands of workers because they know it's good for business.

這家公司為數萬工人提高基本工資水平，因為他們知道這對企業有利。

Mayors across the country are doing their part.

全國各地的市長們也在盡自己的力量。

Mayor Emanuel in Chicago and Mayor Garcetti in L.A. are working to lift their cities' wages over time to at least thirteen dollars an hour.

芝加哥的伊曼紐爾市長和洛杉磯的賈西狄市長都在努力提高工資標準，他們將加班工資提高到了最少13美元每小時。

I've tried to do my part by requiring companies that get contracts with the federal government to pay their workers a fair wage of ten dollars and ten cents an hour.

我也在盡我自己的力量要求聯邦政府合同承包商為其員工提供10.10美元每小時的工資。

And earlier this month, the president of Kentucky State University set a great example by giving himself a 90,000 pay cut, so that he could give raises to his lowest-paid employees.

本月初，肯塔基州立大學的校長為大家樹立了榜樣，他自己減薪9萬美元，用這些錢為低收入員工提高工資。

His sacrifice will give more of his workers and their families a little extra money to help make ends meet.

他的這種舍己為人的舉動將給他的員工和其家庭更多收入，幫助他們實現收支平衡。

That's how America built the greatest middle class the world has ever known.

正是這些東西讓我們打造出全球最強大的中產階級。

Not by making sure a fortunate few at the top are doing well, but by making sure that everyone who's willing to work hard and play by the rules can get ahead.

不是讓社會財富僅僅流向社會頂層的少數人，而是保證每個辛勤工作遵紀守法的人都能取得成功。

That's the bedrock this country is built on.

這是我們國家發展的基石所在。

Hard work.Responsibility.Sacrifice.

辛勤付出、敢于擔當、舍己為人。

And looking out for one another as one united American family.

相互關愛、榮辱與共。

Let's keep that in mind this Labor Day, and every day.

值此勞動節之際，讓我們永遠銘記這些精神，并在每一天身體力行。

Have a great weekend, everybody.

各位，祝你們周末愉快。

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