Obama's Weekly Address WEEKLY ADDRESS: Time to Give the Middle Class a Chance

奧巴馬每周電視講話:總統(tǒng)呼吁為中產(chǎn)階級(jí)提供機(jī)會(huì)

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Joe Biden, I'm filling in for President Obama, while he addresses the NATO summit in Wales.

女士們、先生們，我是拜登，奧巴馬總統(tǒng)在威爾士的北約峰會(huì)上講話時(shí)我來(lái)替他進(jìn)行本周的演講。

When the President and I took office in January of 2009, this nation was in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the great depression.

2009年1月，在總統(tǒng)和我主政之初，全國(guó)正深陷自大蕭條以來(lái)最嚴(yán)重的經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)之中。

Our economy had plummeted at a rate of 8% in a single quarter-part of the fastest economic decline any time in the last half century.

近一個(gè)季度的時(shí)間經(jīng)濟(jì)就下滑8%，這是過(guò)去半個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)少有的經(jīng)濟(jì)下滑速度。

Millions of families were falling underwater on their homes and threatened with foreclosure.

數(shù)百萬(wàn)家庭深陷危機(jī)之中，還不起貸款房屋面臨被收回的危險(xiǎn)。

The iconic American automobile industry was under siege.

美國(guó)標(biāo)志性的汽車(chē)產(chǎn)業(yè)也面臨崩潰。

But yesterday's jobs report was another reminder of how far we've come.

昨晚公布的就業(yè)發(fā)展報(bào)告顯示，我們?nèi)〉昧司薮蟮某删汀?/p>

We've had 54 straight months of job creation.

在過(guò)去54個(gè)月里就業(yè)持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)，

And that's the longest streak of uninterrupted job growth in the United States' history.

這是美國(guó)歷史上就業(yè)持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)的一次。

We've gone from losing 9 million jobs during the financial crisis to creating 10 million jobs.

我們從金融危機(jī)時(shí)的900萬(wàn)人失業(yè)到今天創(chuàng)造出1000萬(wàn)個(gè)就業(yè)崗位。

We've reduced the unemployment rate from 10% in October of 2009 to 6.1% today.

我們將失業(yè)率從2009年1月的10%降低到今天的6.1%。

And for the first time since the 1990s, American manufacturing is steadily adding jobs-over 700,000 since 2010.

美國(guó)的制造業(yè)也自上個(gè)世紀(jì)90年代以來(lái)首次增加就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)，自2010年以來(lái)為70多萬(wàn)人提供了就業(yè)崗位。

And surveys of both American and foreign business leaders confirm that America once again is viewed as the best place in the world to build and invest.

調(diào)查報(bào)告顯示，無(wú)論是美國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)還是國(guó)外的商界領(lǐng)袖都堅(jiān)信，美國(guó)已經(jīng)再次成為全球最具吸引力的投資置業(yè)目的地。

That's all good news.

以上都是好消息。

But an awful lot of middle class Americans are still not feeling the effects of this recovery.

但糟糕的是，還有大量的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)民眾依然感受不到經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇帶來(lái)的變化。

Since the year 2000, Gross Domestic Product-our GDP - has risen by 25%.

2000年以來(lái)，國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值（GDP）增長(zhǎng)了25%，

And productivity in America is up by 30%.

美國(guó)的生產(chǎn)力提升了30%。

But middle class wages during that same time period have gone up by only fourteen cents.

但中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的工資在這一時(shí)期僅僅增長(zhǎng)了14分錢(qián)。

Folks, it's long past time to cut the middle class back into the deal, so they can benefit from the economic growth they helped create.

朋友們，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)在過(guò)去付出了巨大的犧牲，經(jīng)濟(jì)的復(fù)蘇離不開(kāi)他們的付出，他們理應(yīng)享受到經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的成果。

Folks, there used to be a bargain in this country supported by Democrats and Republicans, business and labor.

朋友們，在這個(gè)國(guó)家，民主黨和共和黨，企業(yè)和員工之間通常會(huì)進(jìn)行協(xié)商談判。

The bargain was simple.

這種協(xié)商談判很明確。

If an employee contributed to the growth and profitability of the company, they got to share in the profits and the benefits as well.

如果員工為企業(yè)發(fā)展貢獻(xiàn)了力量，為企業(yè)創(chuàng)造了利潤(rùn)，那么他們就應(yīng)該分享企業(yè)的利潤(rùn)，得到相應(yīng)的福利待遇。

That's what built the middle class.

這正是中產(chǎn)階級(jí)發(fā)展壯大的途徑。

It's time to restore the bargain, to deal the middle class back in.

現(xiàn)在，為了讓中產(chǎn)積極的發(fā)展重回正軌，又到了協(xié)商談判的時(shí)候了。

Because, folks, when the middle class does well, everybody does well-the wealthy get wealthier and the poor have a way up.

因?yàn)榇蠹叶贾溃挟a(chǎn)階級(jí)發(fā)展好了，每個(gè)人也就好了，富人的財(cái)富更豐厚，窮人的日子更好過(guò)。

You know, the middle class is not a number.

眾所周知，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)所代表的不僅僅是一個(gè)數(shù)字符號(hào)，

It's a value set.

而是意味著一個(gè)資產(chǎn)集合。

It means being able to own your home; raise your children in a safe neighborhood; send them to a good school where if they do well they can qualify to go to college and if they get accepted you'd be able to find a way to be able to send them to college.

作為中產(chǎn)階級(jí)應(yīng)該有自己的住房，社區(qū)安寧，有能力撫養(yǎng)并供孩子們上學(xué)接受良好教育，只要孩子們學(xué)習(xí)好你就有能力供養(yǎng)他們上大學(xué)。

And in the meantime, if your parents need help, being able to take care of them, and hope to put aside enough money so that your children will not have to take care of you.

同時(shí)，當(dāng)你的父母有困難的時(shí)候，你能及時(shí)照料他們，并有足夠的儲(chǔ)蓄為自己的養(yǎng)老提供保障，不必讓孩子們?yōu)槟銈儾傩摹?/p>

That's the American dream.

這就是美國(guó)夢(mèng)。

That's what this country was built on.

這也是這個(gè)國(guó)家的立國(guó)之本。

And that's what we're determined to restore.

也是我們矢志追求的重建經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)的目標(biāo)。

In order to do that, it's time to have a fair tax structure, one that values paychecks as much as unearned income and inherited wealth, to take some of the burden off of the middle class.

為了達(dá)到這一目標(biāo)，我們應(yīng)該改革稅收體制，把非工資收入和繼承遺產(chǎn)都作為個(gè)人所得進(jìn)行征稅，減輕中產(chǎn)階級(jí)稅收負(fù)擔(dān)。

It's time to close tax loopholes so we can reduce the deficit, and invest in rebuilding America - our bridges, our ports, our highways, rails, providing good jobs.

我們應(yīng)該堵住稅收漏洞，降低財(cái)政赤字，加大投入重建橋梁、港頭、高速公路、鐵路等基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，創(chuàng)造高薪的就業(yè)崗位。

With corporate profits at near record highs, we should encourage corporations to invest more in research and development and the salaries of their employees.

當(dāng)前企業(yè)的利潤(rùn)創(chuàng)出新高，我們應(yīng)該鼓勵(lì)企業(yè)在研發(fā)上加大投入，提高員工工資。

It's time for us to invest in educational opportunity to guarantee that we have the most highly skilled workforce in the world, for 6 out of every 10 jobs in the near term is going to require some education beyond high school.

我們應(yīng)該加大教育領(lǐng)域投資，讓國(guó)民接受良好教育，保證我們擁有全世界最優(yōu)秀的勞動(dòng)力隊(duì)伍。當(dāng)今社會(huì)，10份工作有6份需要高中以上的學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)歷。

Folks, it's long past due to increase the minimum wage that will lift millions of hardworking families out of poverty target poverty and in the process produce a ripple effect that boosts wages for the middle class and spurs economic growth for the United States of America.

朋友們，提高最低工資標(biāo)準(zhǔn)已經(jīng)提了很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間了，走出這一步將讓數(shù)百萬(wàn)工薪家庭擺脫貧困并帶動(dòng)連鎖反應(yīng)，不僅提高中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的工資，也將刺激美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的增長(zhǎng)。

Economists acknowledge that if we do these and other things, wages will go up and we'll increase the Gross Domestic Product of the United States.

經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家們稱(chēng)，如果我們做好了諸如此類(lèi)的事情，人們的工資將大幅上漲，美國(guó)的國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值也將大幅增長(zhǎng)。

My fellow Americans, we know how to do this.

親愛(ài)的同胞們，我們都知道如何做到這些。

We've done it before.

我們以前曾做到過(guò)。

It's the way we used to do business and we can do it that way again.

這是我們?cè)?jīng)走過(guò)的路，讓我們?cè)僮咭槐椤?/p>

All the middle class in this country want is a chance.

全美的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)需要的就是這樣的機(jī)會(huì)。

No guarantee, just a chance.

不是毫無(wú)意義的保證，而是切切實(shí)實(shí)的機(jī)會(huì)。

Americans want to work.

美國(guó)人民希望有工作。

And when given a fair shot, the American worker has never, ever, ever, let his country down.

當(dāng)人們得到公平機(jī)會(huì)的時(shí)候，人民就不會(huì)，也永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)讓我們的國(guó)家倒下。

Folks, it's never a good bet to bet against the American people.

朋友們，拿美國(guó)人民的福祉做賭注永遠(yuǎn)都不是什么好想法。

Thanks for listening.

謝謝聆聽(tīng)。

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