【英语演讲】奥巴马2014国情咨文(视频)(一)

让我们面对现实：这种信念遭受了一些严重的打击。超过30年的时间里，甚至在经济大衰退之前，技术和全球竞争的巨大变化已经削减了中产阶级的许多好的工作机会，并削弱了中产家庭依赖的经济基础。

Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by - let alone get ahead. And too many still aren't working at all.

现在，经过4年的经济增长，企业利润和股价均开始上升，而那些身处高位的人从来没有做的更好。平均工资却几乎没有变化。社会不平等加深，向上流动几近停滞。冰冷而又无法回避的事实是，即使是在复苏之中，太多的美国人还是在勉强度日，更不用说出人头地。还有许多人仍然没有工作。

Our job is to reverse these trends. It won't happen right away, and we won't agree on everything. But what I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class. Some require congressional action, and I'm eager to work with all of you. But America does not stand still - and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do.

我们的工作就是要扭转这些趋势。虽然局势不会马上好转，我们也不会就所有事情达成一致。但是，我今晚提出的是一组促进增长、壮大中产阶级的具体实际的方案。有些需要国会采取行动，我渴望与大家合作。不过，美国不会停滞不前，我也不会。所以无论何时何地，我都要采取不必立法的措施去为更多美国家庭扩大机会，这就是我要做的。

As usual, our first lady sets a good example. Michelle's Let's Move partnership with schools, businesses, and local leaders has helped bring down childhood obesity rates for the first time in thirty years - an achievement that will improve lives and reduce health care costs for decades to come. The Joining Forces alliance that Michelle and Jill Biden launched has already encouraged employers to hire or train nearly 400,000 veterans and military spouses. Taking a page from that playbook, the White House just organized a College Opportunity Summit where already, 150 universities, businesses, and nonprofits have made concrete commitments to reduce inequality in access to higher education - and help every hardworking kid go to college and succeed when they get to campus. Across the country, we're partnering with mayors, governors and state legislatures on issues from homelessness to marriage equality.

像往常一样，我们的第一夫人就是一个范例。米歇尔的“让我们继续前进”活动与学校、企业和地方领导人合作，30年来第一次降低了儿童肥胖率 。这一成就将改善他们的生活质量，并降低未来几十年的医疗成本。米歇尔和副总统拜登推出的“联合力量(Joining Forces)”活动已经鼓励雇主雇用或培训近40万名退伍军人及其配偶。比如，白宫刚刚举办了“大学教育峰会”， 会议期间，150所大学、企业和非营利组织已作出具体承诺，以减少接受高等教育的不均等状况， 帮助每一个勤奋的孩子去上大学，确保他们上大学后能够获得成功。在全国范围内，我们正在与市长、州长和州议员合作解决从无家可归到婚姻平等的问题。

The point is, there are millions of Americans outside Washington who are tired of stale political arguments, and are moving this country forward. They believe, and I believe, that here in America, our success should depend not on accident of birth, but the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams. That's what drew our forebears here. It's how the daughter of a factory worker is CEO of America's largest automaker; how the son of a barkeeper is speaker of the House; how the son of a single mom can be president of the greatest nation on Earth.

问题的关键是，在华盛顿之外有成千上万的美国人厌倦了陈腐的政治争论，正是他们在推进这个国家前行。他们相信，我也相信，在这里，在美国，我们的成功不应取决于出身，而是要依赖于我们的工作伦理和我们的梦想。这正是吸引我们祖先之所在。这就是一个工人的女儿如何成为美国最大的汽车制造商的CEO 的原因，也是一个酒吧老板的儿子怎么成为众议院议长，一个单身母亲的儿子又如何成为地球上最伟大国家总统之所在。

Opportunity is who we are. And the defining project of our generation is to restore that promise.

机会属于我们自己。而我们这一代人的目标就是恢复这一承诺。

We know where to start: the best measure of opportunity is access to a good job. With the economy picking up speed, companies say they intend to hire more people this year. And over half of big manufacturers say they're thinking of insourcing jobs from abroad.

我们知道从哪里开始：促进就业是创造机会的最佳措施。随着经济增长，企业表示有意在这一年雇佣更多员工。超过半数的大型制造商表示正在考虑让海外的就业岗位回归美国。

So let's make that decision easier for more companies. Both Democrats and Republicans have argued that our tax code is riddled with wasteful, complicated loopholes that punish businesses investing here, and reward companies that keep profits abroad. Let's flip that equation. Let's work together to close those loopholes, end those incentives to ship jobs overseas, and lower tax rates for businesses that create jobs here at home.

那么，让我们促使更多企业更轻松地做出这样的决定吧。民主党人和共和党人都认为，我们的税法充满复杂的漏洞，效率低下，使得在美国投资的企业受损，把利润留在国外的企业受益。让我们扭转这样的局面。让我们一起努力，填补这些漏洞，消除将就业包给海外的诱因。为了在这里，在祖国创造就业的企业，让我们降低税率。

Moreover, we can take the money we save from this transition to tax reform to create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes - because in today's global economy, first-class jobs gravitate to first-class infrastructure. We'll need Congress to protect more than three million jobs by finishing transportation and waterways bills this summer. But I will act on my own to slash bureaucracy and streamline the permitting process for key projects, so we can get more construction workers on the job as fast as possible.

还有，我们在税制改革中节约的资金可以用于创造就业岗位，可以修路、升级港口、疏导交通。在今天的全球经济中，一流的基础设施吸引一流的工作。我们需要国会今年夏天完成运输和水路法案，保护超过 300万的就业岗位。而我会尽最大努力，消除官僚作风，使重要工程的审批程序更合理。这样我们就能让更多的建设者尽快走上岗位。

We also have the chance, right now, to beat other countries in the race for the next wave of high-tech manufacturing jobs. My administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing in Raleigh and Youngstown.

我们现在也有机会、有权利在下一轮高科技制造业岗位的竞争中战胜其他国家。我的政府已经在罗利和扬斯敦开始运行高科技制造业中心。