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Obama’s Weekly Address WEEKLY ADDRESS: Passing a Budget that Reflects Our Priorities

奥巴马每周电视讲话:总统呼吁国会尽快通过预算

Hi, everybody.

大家好。

On Thursday, I addressed a conference for business leaders from around the world.

星期二我在一场全球企业家会议上发表了一次讲话。

And my pitch was simple:Choose America. Invest in America. Create jobs in America.

我的意图简单明确：选择美国，投资美国，在美国创造就业。

It speaks to my top priority as President: growing our economy, creating good jobs, strengthening security and opportunity for the middle class.

这也表明了身为总统我的首要工作：促进经济增长，创造良好就业，巩固中产阶级安全感，为其提供更多机遇。

Over the past three and a half years, our businesses have created over seven and a half million new jobs.

在过去的3年半时间里，我们的企业已经创造了750多万个就业岗位。

And this week, the Treasury confirmed that since I took office, we’ve cut our deficits by more than half.

而且本周财政部也确认，自我主政以来，我们的财政赤字已经削减了一多半。

But we have more work to do.

但我们还有更多的工作要做。

We need to grow and create more good jobs faster.

我们要更快促进经济增长和创造就业。

That’s my driving focus.

这是我前进的目标。

And I’ll go anywhere and do anything to make it happen.

而我将为达成这一目标全力以赴，竭尽所能。

That has to be Washington’s driving focus as well.

而且这也应该成为华盛顿的前进目标。

But I know that what you often hear out of Washington can sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher-a jumble of unfocused noise that’s out of touch with the things you care about.

但我知道大家经常听到的关于如同查理?布朗老师所说的华盛顿消息：乱哄哄一堆嘈杂之声探讨的根本就不是大家所关心的事情。

So today, I want to cut through that noise and talk plainly about what we should do right now to keep growing this economy and creating new jobs.

因此，今天，我想摒弃这种嘈杂之声，坦率地谈一谈我们现在为保持经济增长和创造就业应该做的事情。

It begins by ending what has done more than anything else to undermine our economy over the past few years-and that’s the constant cycle of manufactured crises and self-inflicted wounds.

首当其冲的就是要终止过去几年发展到登峰造极的挖经济发展墙角的做法，正是这种做法导致了人为制造危机自断臂膀的恶性循环。

I was glad to hear the Republican leader in the Senate say this week that they won’t pursue another government shutdown or threaten another default on our debt.

当我听说参议院的共和党领导本周表示他们不会再次谋求关闭政府大门或是威胁要制造另一次债务违约的时候，我感到很高兴。

Because we shouldn’t be injuring ourselves every few months-we should be investing in ourselves.

因为我们不能每隔几个月就伤害自己一次，我们应该为自己的未来投资。

And one way to do that is through the budget that Congress started working on this week.

实现这一目标的其中一步就是通过国会本周已经开始讨论的预算案。

Now, budgets can be a boring topic-especially on the weekend.

现在，预算是个很烦人的话题，尤其是在周末讨论这种问题。

But they can also be revealing.

但他们也可以借此揭示实事。

Because they expose what our priorities are as a country for all to see.

因为这可以让大家看到一个国家的当务之急是什么。

Think about it.

想想看。

We can keep wasteful corporate tax giveaways that working folks don’t get-or we could close those loopholes and use that money to pay for things that actually create jobs.

我们可以保留企业可以得到而工薪阶层却享受不到的浪费性的税收优惠，或者我们可以关闭这些漏洞，用节省的钱投资到真正创造就业的领域。

We can keep harmful cuts to education programs-or we could give more kids a head start, hire more teachers in math and science, and help more kids afford a college education.

我们可以保留对教育计划的损害性预算削减，或者我们可以给孩子们一个更好的开始，在数学和科学课程上雇佣更多老师，帮助更多大学生支付学费。

We can keep doling out corporate welfare to big oil companies-or we could keep investing in the renewable energy that creates jobs and lowers our carbon pollution.

我们可以向大型石油公司继续发放福利，或者我们可以在可再生能源行业继续投资创造就业，降低碳排放污染。

Priorities. Choices. That’s what this is about.

什么是当务之急，我们需要抉择。重点也在与此。

And the stakes for the middle class couldn’t be higher.

这对于中产阶级而言其利害关系无比重大。

If we don’t pick the right priorities now, make the right choices now, we could hinder growth and opportunity for decades, and leave our children with something less.

如果我们现在不能选择真正的当务之急，做出正确的选择，我们可能会失去几十年的发展机遇，什么也不能为子孙后代留下。

That includes the obsession with cutting just for the sake of cutting.

仅仅为了削减而削减只能导致迷惑。

That hasn’t helped our economy grow; it’s held it back.

这种方式不会为经济带来增长，只会拖后腿。

Remember, our deficits are getting smaller-not bigger.

请注意，我们的赤字正在减少–不是增加。

On my watch, they’re falling at the fastest pace in 60 years.

据我观察，现在赤字减少的速度是60年来最快的。

So that gives us room to fix our long-term debt problems without sticking it to young people, or undermining our bedrock retirement and health security programs, or ending basic research that helps the economy grow.

因此，这为我们解决长期债务问题提供了回旋空间，因而不用把问题留给年轻人，也不会损害我们退休的养老保障和医保计划，也不用终止帮助经济增长的基础研究的投入。

Here’s the bottom line.

底线就是这样。

Congress should pass a budget that cuts things we don’t need, and closes wasteful tax loopholes that don’t help create jobs, so that we can free up resources for the things that actually do create jobs and growth.

国会应该通过预算，削减我们真正不需要的花销，消除不能创造就业的浪费性的税收漏洞，这样我们才能腾出资源用在真正能创造就业和促进经济增长的领域。

Building new roads, and bridges, and schools, and airports-that creates jobs.

修建新的公路、桥梁、学校、机场，这些都能创造就业。

Educating our kids and our workers for a global economy-that helps us grow.

为孩子们和工人提供教育培训，以应对未来的全球经济竞争将帮助我们实现经济增长。

Investing in science, technology, and research-that keeps our businesses and our military on the cutting edge.

为科研和技术创新投资，将保持我们的企业和军队站在技术的最前沿。

It’s vital for our economic future.

这对我们未来的经济最为关键。

So the question isn’t between growth and fiscal responsibility.

因此，问题本身不在于增长还是财政责任。

We need both.

我们两项都需要。

The question can’t be how much more we can cut; it’s got to be how many more jobs we can create, how many more kids we can educate, and how much more shared prosperity we can generate.

问题不在于我们到底能削减多少支出，而在于我们到底能创造多少就业岗位，能为多少孩子提供教育，能创造多大程度大家共享的繁荣。

Because in America, our economy doesn’t grow from the top-down.

因为在美国，我们的经济发展不是自上而下获得的。

It grows from the middle-class out.

增长来自于中场阶级的付出。

And as long as I am President, our national mission will remain building an America where everyone belongs, and everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead.

只要我还担任总统，我们的国家使命就依然是建设一个每个人都有归属感，每个辛勤付出的人都能得到进步机会的美国。

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

谢谢大家，祝你们周末愉快。