US President Obama’s Address to Nation on U.S. Economy.docxVIP

US President Obama’s Address to Nation on U.S. Economy25 July 2011美国总统奥巴马向全国发表有关美国财政状况的讲话2011年7月25日Good evening. Tonight, I want to talk about the debate we’ve been having in Washington over the national debt -- a debate that directly affects the lives of all Americans.晚上好。今晚，我想和你们谈谈我们在华盛顿就国家的债务问题所展开的辩论——一场直接影响到所有美国人生活的辩论。For the last decade, we’ve spent more money than we take in. In the year 2000, the government had a budget surplus. But instead of using it to pay off our debt, the money was spent on trillions of dollars in new tax cuts, while two wars and an expensive prescription drug program were simply added to our nation’s credit card.10年来，我们的支出一直高于我们的收入。政府在2000年曾有过预算盈余，但这笔钱没有被用来偿还国债，而被用于数万亿美元的新的减税计划，此外，两场战争和一项昂贵的处方药计划又增加了我国的超前支出。As a result, the deficit was on track to top $1 trillion the year I took office. To make matters worse, the recession meant that there was less money coming in, and it required us to spend even more — on tax cuts for middle-class families to spur the economy; on unemployment insurance; on aid to states so we could prevent more teachers and firefighters and police officers from being laid off. These emergency steps also added to the deficit.因此，在我就任总统那年，财政赤字已接近突破一万亿美元。更糟糕的是，经济衰退意味着收入减少，同时却要求我们进一步增加开支——为中产阶层减税以刺激经济；发放失业保险金；资助州政府以避免更多的教师、消防队员和警察被裁员。这些紧急措施也增加了财政赤字。Now, every family knows that a little credit card debt is manageable. But if we stay on the current path, our growing debt could cost us jobs and do serious damage to the economy. More of our tax dollars will go toward paying off the interest on our loans. Businesses will be less likely to open up shop and hire workers in a country that can’t balance its books. Interest rates could climb for everyone who borrows money -- the homeowner with a mortgage, the student with a college loan, the corner store that wants to expand. And we won’t have enough money to make job-creating investments in things like education and infrastructure, or pay for vital programs like Medicare and Medica