VOA慢速英语2015 波多黎各:又一场债务危机

Puerto Rico: The Other Debt Crisis 波多黎各:又一场债务危机

American investors 1 are wondering what effect the situation in Greece will have on the United States and its economy. But some observers say the investors should be more worried about the debt problems in a U.S. territory -- the island of Puerto Rico.

美国投资者想知道希腊债务危机会对美国及其经济产生何种影响，但一些观察家称投资者应该更担心美国领地波多黎各的债务问题。

Alejandro Garcia Padilla is the governor of Puerto Rico. Last month, he said the territory could not pay its $72 billion public debt. This amount includes money owed by the central government, cities and publicly-owned businesses, like power companies.

亚历亨德罗·加西亚·帕蒂拉是波多黎各总督，上月，他说该领地不会偿还其720亿美元的公共债务，这笔资金包括中央政府、各个城市以及电力公司等公共企业的欠款。

Puerto Rico is the third-largest issuer of state and local debt in the United States. Only California and New York have more debt.

波多黎各是美国第三大州级和地方债发行者，比该州债务更多的只有加州和纽约。

Much of the island’s debt is held by individual American investors. They got possession of it through ownership of shares in mutual 2 funds and other investments.

该国的大部分债务由美国个人投资者所有，他们通过拥有公共基金和其他投资的股份拥有这些债务。

Some observers say the U.S. economy could be hurt if Puerto Rico is not able to pay its debts. They believe the island may be unable to make its required debt payments. If that happens, investors could ask a court to force the territory to make the payments.

一些观察家称如果波多黎各无法偿还债务，美国经济将受到影响。他们认为该岛可能无法偿还其到期债务，一旦这样，投资者可能会请求法院迫使该领地还款。

Puerto Rico’s debt problem has not received as much attention as the economic crisis in Greece. That is partly because the territory’s problems are not new. Puerto Rico has been in an economic recession since 2005. That was when the U.S. Congress made changes to a tax program that had given businesses financial aid for moving to the island. In the years since the program was changed, the territory has had to borrow money to pay its debts.

波多黎各的债务问题不像希腊经济危机那么引人注意，这部分因为该领地的问题由来已久。自2005年以来波多黎各一直处于经济衰退中，当时美国国会修改了税收程序，不再向搬到该岛的企业提供财政援助。从该项目修改以来，该领地必须借钱以还债。

Pedro Pierluisi serves as Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner 3 in the U.S. House of Representatives. He wrote about the economic problems last week in The New York Times newspaper. He said that, on the island, “the unemployment rate, poverty rate and median household income have always been far worse than any state’s. The main cause is inequality.”

佩德罗·皮埃路易吉是波多黎各驻美国众议院常驻专员，他上周在纽约时代杂志上撰文提到经济问题，他说，该岛的“失业率、贫困率和中等家庭收入一直比其他州要糟的多，其主要问题是不平等。”

He also said Puerto Rico does not have much power in Congress because it is only a territory. Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, they do not have the right to vote in presidential elections or elect someone to the Senate. The territory sends a delegate to the House, but she or he cannot vote on legislation, except during committee meetings.

他还说，由于波多黎各只是个领地，因此在国会中没有多少权力。尽管波多黎各人是美国公民，但他们没有权利参加总统选举或选举某人进入参议院。该领地向众议院派出代表，但该代表不能就立法进行投票，除了在委员会会议上。

Mr. Pierluisi has proposed legislation that would permit Puerto Rico to declare bankruptcy 4. American cities can ask for a court’s approval to cancel debts, but territories cannot.

皮埃路易吉提出立法以允许波多黎各宣布破产，美国各城市可以向法院申请取消债务，但领地不能。

Words in This Story

issuer – n. someone or something that develops, registers and sells financial instruments for the purpose of financing its operations

mutual fund – n. an investment program that trades in shares of stock or other investments

bankruptcy – n. a legal term for being unable to repay debts to creditors