奥巴马每周电视演讲2014年2月22日:是提高最低工资和给美国加薪的时候了(中英+lrc)
Weekly Address: Time to Lift the Minimum Wage and Give America a Raise
每周演讲:是提高最低工资和给美国加薪的时候了
Hi, everybody.
大家好!
Restoring the idea of opportunity for all requires a year of action from all of us. Wherever I can act on my own, I will – and whenever I can ask more Americans to help, I’ll do that too.
为所有人恢复机会的想法,需要我们大家在今年做出不懈努力,在我能独自采取行动的地方,我会毫不犹豫地这样去做——在我可以请求美国人民帮助的时候,我也会毫不迟疑地发出声音。
In my State of the Union Address, for example, I asked more business leaders to take action to raise their employees’ wages. Because even though our economy is growing, and our businesses have created about eight and a half million new jobs over the past four years, average wages have barely budged.
例如,在国情咨文中,我请求更多的企业领袖采取行动,提高员工工资。因为,尽管我们的经济正在增长,过去四年中,我们的企业已创造了八百五十万个新工作,可我们的平均工资却几乎没有增加。
So it’s good news that, earlier this week, one of America’s largest retailers, The Gap, decided to raise wages for its employees beginning this year. Their decision will benefit about 65,000 workers in the U.S. That means more families will be able to raise their kids, finish their studies, or keep up on their bills with a little less financial stress and strain.
所以,本周早些时候,美国最大零售商之一盖普公司决定,今年开始为员工提高工资,这是个好消息。他们的决定将惠及约65,000名美国工人。这意味着更多的家庭,将能以更小的财政压力和负担,抚养孩子、完成学业或支付账单。
Gap’s CEO explained their decision simply – he said, “[It’s] right for our brands, good for our people, and beneficial to our customers.” And he’s right – raising Americans’ wages isn’t just a good deed; it’s good business and good for our economy. It helps reduce turnover, it boosts productivity, and it gives folks some more money to spend at local businesses.
盖普的首席执行官简单解释了他们的决定——他表示:“[这一决定]对我们的品牌是合适的,对我们的员工是有帮助的,对我们的客户也是有益的。”他是正确的——提高美国人民的工资,不只是件善事;它是件好事,有益于我们的经济。它帮助减少人员流动率、它提高生产力,它给人们更多的钱可以花到当地企业身上。
And as a chief executive myself, that’s why I took action last week to lift more workers’ wages by requiring federal contractors to pay their employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.
正是出于这一理由,作为美国总统,我上周采取行动,要求联邦承包商支付员工每小时至少10.10美元的合理工资,以此提高更多工人的工资。
In the year since I first asked Congress to raise the minimum wage, six states have passed laws to raise theirs, and more states are working on it as we speak. But only Congress can finish the job and lift Americans’ wages across the country.
自我首先请求国会提高最低工资以来的一年中,六个州已通过提高最低工资的立法,就在我们谈话过程中,更多的州正在完成立法程序。但是,只有国会可以完成这一工作,在全国范围提高美国人民的工资。
Right now, there’s a bill before Congress that would boost America’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. That’s easy to remember – “ten-ten.” That bill would lift wages for more than 16 million Americans without requiring a single dollar in new taxes or spending. But even though a majority of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans across the country support raising the minimum wage, Republicans in Congress don’t want to give it a vote.
此刻,就有一份把美国最低工资提高到每小时10.10美元的法案已送达国会。这很容易记住——“两个10”。不需要增加一美元的税收或财政支出,这份法案将为1600万美国人提高工资。不过,尽管全国绝大多数民主党人、无党派人士和共和党人都支持提高最低工资,国会共和党人却不想就该法案进行表决。
Hardworking Americans deserve better than “no.” Let’s tell Congress to say “yes.” Pass that bill. Give America a raise. Because here in America, no one who works hard should have to live in poverty – and everyone who works hard should have a chance to get ahead.
勤奋工作的美国人民应该得到比“不”更好的答案。让我们告诉国会说“同意”吧。通过这一法案!给美国加薪吧!努力工作的人,不应该生活在贫困之中——每位努力工作的人,都应该拥有获得成功的机会!
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
谢谢!祝周末愉快!
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