双语：孩子18岁以后抚养成本更高(图).doc

双语：孩子18岁以后抚养成本更高(图) 孩子18岁以后抚养成本更高 　　Parents and would-be parents might be relieved to hear that last weeks widely reported government figure estimating the cost of raising a child - around $300,000 over the first 17 years for middle-income, two-parent families - is, according to several economists, wide of the mark。 　　上月中旬，美国农业部(U.S. Department of Agriculture)公布了抚养一个孩子的估计成本──中等收入双亲家庭抚养子女到18岁的成本约为300,000美元，然而据多位经济学家称，这一广泛报道的政府数据错得离谱，父母们和即将成为父母的人听到这里或许会感到松了一口气。 　　The bad news is it may be a severe underestimate. The U.S. Department of Agricultures report leaves two things out of account. For a start, it doesnt reflect unpaid time spent on parenting, including income forgone by parents who cut back on work hours to care for their children。 　　坏消息是，这个数字其实是可能严重低估了。美国农业部的报道没有计入两个项目。首先，它没有反映出抚养孩子所花的无报酬时间，包括减少工作时间以照顾子女的父母放弃的收入。 　　Plus, the hit to parents wallets doesnt end when the child turns 18, as the parents often still provide housing and food as well as pay for college. These could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional costs。 　　而且，当子女到18岁以后，父母的荷包还要继续出血，因为父母经常仍要为他们提供食宿和支付大学学费。这些费用会增加数十万美元的成本。 　　The real costs of raising a child for a moderate-income family - including forgone income, college for those who attend, and the so-called opportunity cost of not investing the money - would be closer to $900,000 to age 22 than the reported $300,000 expenditures to age 18, says John Ward, an economist and the president of John Ward Economics, based in Prairie Village, Kan., which consults on legal disputes for plaintiffs and defendants。 　　堪萨斯州普莱瑞村(Prairie Village)的John Ward Economics公司的总裁、经济学家约翰 沃德(John Ward)说，中等收入家庭抚养一个子女的实际成本──包括放弃的收入、大学学费、以及没有将这些钱进行投资而导致的所谓的机会成本──到子女22岁时将接近900,000美元，而不是媒体报道的抚养到子女18岁时的300,000美元。John Ward Economics为原告和被告的法律纠纷提供咨询服务。 　　(The $300,000 estimate takes into account expected inflation. In 2011 dollars, the price tag for a middle income family is $234,900.) 　　(300,000美元的估计考虑了预期通货膨胀。按照2011年的货币购买力，中等收入家庭养育一个子女的估计成本为234,900美元。) 　　USDA ec