为什么美国会为了一个虚假的数字争吵：英语精读讲义

The debt limit is a kind of financial weapon of mass destruction 習語

债务上限就像是一种金融上的大规模杀伤性武器，

chained to the United States government by the United States government.

被美国政府自己死死绑在了美国政府身上。

Confused?

听糊涂了？

Then it's time for the United States debt limit explained.

那是时候来解释一下美国的债务上限了。

To understand the debt limit, 表達脈絡

要了解债务上限，

you need to know the US splits financial responsibility between the President and Congress. 短語搭配

你得知道美国将财政责任分摊给了总统和国会。

The President has two jobs when it comes to money. 短語搭配

在钱的问题上，总统有两项工作。

One, collect taxes and two,

第一，收税，第二，

spend those taxes to run the government.

把收来的税花出去以维持政府运转。

This might give you the impression that the President with regards to money is all powerful, 短語搭配

这可能会给你一种印象，觉得在金钱方面总统是全能的，

especially when you hear news reports on the President's new budget

尤其是当你听到有关总统新预算的新闻报道，

or his plan to raise taxes on haberdashers

或是他计划对男装用品店老板加税，

or lower taxes on apiarists.

或是对养蜂人减税的时候。

But reality is just the opposite 表達脈絡

但现实恰恰相反，

and the President is the one who takes orders. 短語搭配

总统才是那个听命行事的人。

From whom?

听谁的？

Congress.

国会的。

Congress has the jobs of setting the tax level

国会的工作是设定税率，

and determining how much the government will spend by writing a budget.

并通过制定预算来决定政府将花多少钱。

So, while the President does get to submit budgets to Congress 語法

所以，虽然总统确实要向国会提交预算，

and asks for changes in the tax level,

并且要求调整税率，

these are just requests that Congress doesn't have to pay attention to. 語法

但这些仅仅是请求，国会大可不必理会。

Congress can add or subtract anything they want from the President's budget

国会可以在总统的预算中随意增加或删减任何内容，

or throw it out entirely 短語動詞

或者完全把总统的预算扔掉，

and write a new one.

自己重新写一份。

The same goes for the level of taxes. 短語搭配

税收水平也是如此。

So, Congress decides what it wants,

所以，国会决定它想要什么，

bridges, tanks, buildings, courts, robots on Mars, robots on Earth,

桥梁、坦克、大楼、法院、火星上的机器人、地球上的机器人，

national parks, whatever,

国家公园，随便什么都行，

and approves a budget with that stuff in it.

然后批准包含这些东西的预算。

Once approved, 語法

一旦获得批准，

the President is required by law to spend the money Congress listed in the budget 短語搭配

法律就要求总统必须花掉国会在预算中列出的钱，

and pay for it using the taxes that Congress set.

并且用国会设定的税收来买单。

As long as more taxes come in than spending goes out, 講解

只要收进来的税比花出去的钱多，

everything is fine.

就万事大吉。

But almost always Congress puts more stuff in the budget than they cover with taxes,

但国会在预算里塞的东西，几乎总是比税收能覆盖的要多，

which means that the President must borrow money to cover the difference. 講解

这意味着总统必须借钱来补足差额。

In most countries,

在大多数国家，

the story ends here because if their legislatures approved more spending than they have income,

事情到此为止，因为如果立法机构批准的支出超过了他们的收入，

they've also implicitly approved the necessary borrowing.

他们也就等同于默认批准了必要的借款。

But not in America.

但在美国并非如此。

Here, Congress also limits the total amount of debt the United States can have.

在这里，国会还会限制美国能够背负的债务总额。

A debt limit sounds like a good idea 文化背景

设定债务上限听起来是个好主意，

until you see the real world consequences of these two branches of government interacting.

直到你看到这两个政府分支相互作用时产生的现实后果。

As the total amount borrowed gets closer to the limit,

当借款总额越来越接近上限时，

Congress usually points to the President and acts shocked, 語氣意圖

国会通常会把矛头指向总统，并表现得十分震惊，

shocked that his reckless spending has brought us so close to the debt limit

震惊于他那大手大脚的花销，竟把我们逼到了这个由他们——

that they reasonable prudent Congress have set.

理智谨慎的国会——所设定的债务上限的边缘。

And while it's technically correct that the President has borrowed this money, 表達脈絡

虽然从技术层面上说，总统借这些钱是对的，

Congress has forced him to do it by approving a budget 語法

但其实是国会逼着他这么做的，因为国会批准了一份预算，

that the President is legally obligated to spend 用詞

而在法律上总统有义务去花预算里的钱，

without also approving the necessary taxes to cover that spending.

同时国会却没有批准足以支付这些开销的必要税收。

So, the debt limit fight is essentially the government version of the playground favorite

所以，围绕债务上限的斗争，本质上就是政府版的操场游戏：

stop hitting yourself, 習語

“别再打你自己了”，

except with added terror for everyone watching.

只不过让所有旁观者都多了几分恐惧。

For it's important to note the debt limit is not about future spending.

因为需要重点指出的是，债务上限关乎的并不是未来的支出。

It's not a credit card on which the limit will be raised

它不是一张为了能办场疯狂的政府派对

so a crazy government party can be thrown.

就可以提高额度的信用卡。

The debt limit is about paying bills already incurred. 文化背景

债务上限关乎的是支付已经产生的账单。

For example,

例如，

the government hires a company to repave a federal highway.

政府雇了一家公司来重新铺设联邦公路。

But if the US is at the debt limit

但是如果美国达到了债务上限，

when the company asks to be paid after the work has been done, 語法

当公司完工后要求结账时，

the government can't.

政府却拿不出钱来。

This shakes trust in the US

这动摇了人们对美国的信任，

and since large parts of the global economy depend on the dollar being trustworthy, 語法

而既然很大一部分全球经济都依赖于美元的信誉，

messing with that trust is a big deal. 短語動詞

搞砸这份信任可是一件大事。

But there is a way out.

不过办法还是有的。

Congress can raise the debt limit

国会可以提高债务上限，

and because of the aforementioned terror,

而且由于前面提到的恐惧感，

they always have. 語法

他们总是会这么做。

So, if not raising the debt ceiling is potentially disastrous

所以，如果不提高债务上限可能会带来灾难性后果，

and the solution is simple and always taken in the end,

并且解决办法很简单，而且最终总是会被采用，

why does this debate last months?

为什么这场争论还会持续几个月呢？

Because politics. 表達脈絡

因为政治。

The debt limit isn't the Constitution.

债务上限不是宪法规定的。

Congress created it themselves

它是国会自己创造出来的，

and from their point of view,

在他们看来，

the debt limit is awesome because one, 語氣意圖

债务上限棒极了，因为第一，

it creates a problem that two,

它制造了一个问题，第二，

Congress can technically blame on the President who three,

国会在表面上可以把这个问题归咎于总统，第三，

needs the solution that only they can provide.

总统需要解决办法，而这办法只有国会能提供。

Congress gets to use the threat of mutual financial self-destruction

国会得以利用共同陷入金融自毁的威胁

as leverage in negotiations 用詞

作为谈判筹码，

that they benefit from extending

并且通过将谈判拖延

until the last possible second.

到最后一秒来获取利益。