VOA常速英语2014--Obama Highlights Growing US Income Gap 奥巴马关注美国贫富差距加大

Obama Highlights Growing US Income Gap 奥巴马关注美国贫富差距加大

WASHINGTON — Recent government surveys in the United States show that the income gap between the wealthiest Americans and everyone else is growing. A Congressional Budget Office survey found that the wealthiest one percent increased their income by 275 percent over the past 30 years, compared to less than 40 percent for the vast majority of the U.S. middle class.

President Barack Obama intends to focus on the widening income gap in Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

From wealthy homes in California to the urban blight 1 of Detroit, the income gap is growing.

从加州富裕之家到底特律的城市困境，收入差距在拉大。

Minimum-wage workers recently took to the streets of Atlanta to demand more money.

持最低工资的工人最近走上亚特兰大街头要求加薪。

It’s a cause that resonates with fast food workers in Washington, including Erica Gayles.

这一举动引起了华盛顿速食工人的反响，Erica Gayles就是其中一个。

“It’s a struggle. I’m tired of struggling," she said. "I just want to live comfortably.

“生活不容易，我厌倦了这个，我想生活得舒服些。”

Those struggles have caught the attention of Democrats 2 in Washington like Iowa Senator Tom Harkin.

这一现状引起了华盛顿民主党的注意，爱荷华参议员汤姆·哈尔金就是其中一位。

“It’s just kind of a harshness, being hard on people, especially hard on people who don’t have anything, hard on people who are at the bottom rung of the ladder," he said. "It’s not befitting a great nation.

“人们的生活很艰难，尤其是一无所有的人，那些处于社会最底层的人，这与这样一个大国格格不入。”

Obama will highlight the issue in his State of the Union address.

奥巴马将在国情咨文演讲中强调这个问题。

“Restoring the American dream of opportunity for everyone who’s willing to work for it is something that should unite the country," the presiden said. "That shouldn’t divide the country. That’s what we should be aspiring 3 to, that everybody has a shot if they are willing to work hard and take responsibility.

“我们要恢复美国梦，即每个愿意工作的人都有机会，因为这个梦想能让美国团结起来，我们不应该分裂国家。如果人们愿意努力工作并承担责任，那么人人都应该有机会，这是我们所追求的。”

It will also be an election year theme for Democrats, says analyst 4 John Fortier.

研究员约翰·弗缇尔说这也是民主党选举年的主题。

“The larger philosophical 5 theme of not only the economy just getting better, but it getting better for everyone," he said. "And how an economy that improves just for the rich is not one that he wants to see, I think, will be a theme of his.

“更大的主题是不仅让经济好转，而且让每个人的生活也好起来。”

Opposition 6 Republicans have a different focus, says House Speaker John Boehner.

“只能改善富人生活的经济不是他所追求的，我想这也应该是主题之一。”

众议院议长约翰·贝纳说反对的共和党的关注点与之不同。

“When you look at it, the American people have a right to continue to ask the question, where are the jobs? The president has been in office now for over five years, and it’s time for the president to admit that his policies are not working," he said.

“美国人有权利问这个问题：就业岗位在哪里？总统任职已经5年了，总统该承认其政策不奏效了。”

Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a possible presidential contender in 2016, says individual states should take the lead on closing the income gap.

佛罗里达州共和党参议员马克罗·鲁比奥可能参加2016年的总统选举，他说个别的州应该在缩小收入差距上起到带头作用。

“Washington is too bureaucratic 7 and too resistant 8 to change, and its ‘one size fits all’ approach is just not conducive 9 to solving a problem as diverse and complex as this one," he said.

“华盛顿过于官僚，很难改变，其一刀切的解决办法不适合用于这种多样化且复杂的问题。”

With Republicans opposed, Obama will have to work around Congress, says expert Thomas Mann.

专家托马斯·曼说由于共和党反对，奥巴马只得在国会多做工作。

“He is going to have to rely much more on the authority he has as president using executive regulatory approaches and administrative 10 initiatives and other kind of public-private ventures that don’t require legislation," said Mann.

“他只得更多依赖于他作为总统的权威，使用行政规定和管理措施等其他不需要法规的公私合营办法。”

The president will travel to the Vatican in late March to meet with Pope Francis, and the White House says fighting poverty and income inequality will be on the agenda.

总统将于三月底赴梵蒂冈与方济各教皇会面，白宫称解决贫困和收入不均衡问题将是会谈议程的一部分。