奥巴马每周电视讲话：美国总统奥巴马告别演讲(7)

（单词翻译）

But for all the real progress that we've made, we know it's not enough.

尽管我们取得了很多实质性的进步，但我们知道这些仍不够。

Our economy doesn't work as well or grow as fast

我们的经济体运作得不够有效、增长得不够迅速。

when a few prosper¹ at the expense of a growing middle class and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class.

因为少数人富裕的实现牺牲了不断壮大的中产阶级的利益，切断了底层人群进入中产阶级的路径。

That's the economic argument.

这虽是经济方面的争论，

But stark² inequality is also corrosive³ to our democratic ideal.

但是固化的不公平也正在侵蚀我们的民主理想。

While the top one percent has amassed⁴ a bigger share of wealth and income,

当最富裕的1%人群聚敛越来越多的财富，

too many families, in inner cities and in rural counties, have been left behind,

很多城市中心和乡村社区的家庭都被抛在了后面。

the laid-off factory worker; the waitress or health care worker who's just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills,

下岗的工厂工人、服务生和医护人员的生活仅能勉强维持，他们的薪资仅能支持账单偿付。

convinced that the game is fixed⁵ against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful,

他们相信游戏规则永远于他们不利，他们的政府只为利益群体和权势服务。

that's a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics.

这些加深了愤世嫉俗的情绪和政治领域的极化。

But there are no quick fixes to this long-term trend.

但是针对这种长期形成的问题，没有快速解决方案。

I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free.

我同意我们应该在推行自由贸易的同时重视贸易公平。

But the next wave of economic dislocations won't come from overseas.

但是其他国家的影响不会是下一次经济危机爆发的原因，

It will come from the relentless⁶ pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle-class jobs obsolete⁷.

持续的自动化发展才会带来这样的后果。自动化将使许多优质岗位上的中产阶级工人被取代。

And so we're going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need,

因此，我们必须达成一份新的社会契约以保证所有孩子能够接受他们所需的教育，

to give workers the power to unionize for better wages;

以给予工人联合在一起的力量从而争取更高薪资，

to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now,

以完善社会保障从而使其更加适应我们现在的生活状况，

and make more reforms to the tax code, so corporations and individuals

以推进税收改革，从而使那些公司和个人

who reap the most from this new economy don't avoid their obligations to the country that's made their very success possible.

那些在我们经济体中攫取最多的公司和个人承担起对国家的义务，因为他们正是仰赖国家才得以取得成功。