双语 第9期

The cover article in the issue of Aug 15th Time, Vol.178 No.6, , The Great American Downgrade, mentions that the debt deal’s largest impact will be political, and there it has been a disaster. The manner in which it was produced added poison to an already toxic atmosphere in Washington, making compromise even more difficult. Democrats now feel they need to mirror the Tea Party’s tactics and are becoming unyielding on any cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare. Republicans, emboldened by the success of their bullying, have closed ranks more solidly around a no-tax agenda. But the only solution to America’s debt dilemma will need to involve both cuts to entitlement programs and higher tax revenues. From now on, every time the debt ceiling has to be debated, the world will wonder, Will America honor its commitments? Will it keep its word? Will the system break down? We have taken our most precious resource, the trust of the world, and gambled with it..

美国《时代周刊》8月15日正式出刊，本期封面文章标题为“美国大降级”。文章提到，美国债务危机对美国政治造成了灾难。处理的方式对于已是多事之秋的美国政治无异于雪上加霜――两大政党之间达成妥协就更难了。觉得有必要反映茶党的愿望――坚决反对削减诸如医疗保险之类的权利项目方面的预算；而共和党人依仗人多势众更是坚定地排除了不增税这一议程。事实上，美国债务危机的唯一解决办法就是削减权利项目的预算和增税两项措施并举。文章还提到，从今以后，每一次讨论美国债务上限这一问题时候，全世界都会问，“美国会兑现自己的承诺吗？”，“美国的信用和政治体制会崩溃吗？”。美国在用它最为宝贵的资源――信任作为赌注进行全球博弈。

The article with the title saying An alarm bell for an America in decline?, on Aug 11th, 2011, mentioned that this is not, technically, an existential crisis. No foreign army is about to invade the United States. The Soviets are 20 years gone, and Russian ICBMs are now aimed at open ocean. The nation isn’t in a depression. There’s been no run on the banks, no Hooverville sprouting on the Mall. And yet this is a low moment. America is in a funk that’s being felt around the world.The downgrading of U.S. debt may be more symbolic than empirically significant, but it gives one small data point to those who argue that America isn’t what it used to be, that it is an empire in twilight...

华盛顿邮报刊登一篇名为《降级敲响了美国衰落的警钟吗》的文章称，美国债务信用评级的下调在严格意义上不能算是一场现存的危机，整个国家也没有陷入萧条，没有银行挤兑，贫民窟没有扩大。然而，这是一个让人觉得前景黯淡的时刻，美国正陷入一片恐慌之中，这一点，全世界都感觉到了。虽然美国债务信用评级下调的象征意义多于实际意义，但是它给那些认为昔日风光无限的美国如今已是江河日下的人提供了一个小小的数据点。