Obama Proposes More Help for Troubled US Homeowners

　　President Barack Obama has unveiled a plan to boost the economy by helping¹ some homeowners refinance their mortgages. The initiative, announced Wednesday, would build on an earlier White House program.

　　Declining housing prices and widespread foreclosures are among the biggest drags on the U.S. economic recovery.

　　President Obama went to a neighborhood near Washington where home values have dropped sharply, to lay out his proposal to fight the problem.

　　“I am sending Congress a plan that will give every responsible homeowner in America the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage by refinancing at historically low rates," said President Obama.

　　The plan would expand a program that was intended for at least four-million homeowners to refinance their mortgages at lower rates, but reached only about one million.

　　Plunging² home values have left an estimated 11 million Americans owing more than their homes are worth, according to one real-estate data firm.  That amounts to one out of every four homeowners with a mortgage.

　　President Obama says the problem has been deeper than many experts and officials expected, and that it will not be solved quickly.

　　“It is going to take more time than any of us would like for the housing market to fully³ recover from this crisis," said Obama. "This was a big bubble.  And when it burst, it had a big effect.  Home prices started a pretty steady decline about five years ago.”

　　Some economists⁴ say Mr. Obama’s plan will not work.  Cato Institute Financial Regulation Studies Director Mark Calabria says reducing mortgage rates helps the homeowner, but puts less money into the economy.

　　“But I am also lowering, at the same time, the interest payment that goes to the bondholder, the investor⁵, whether it is a retirement⁶ fund or a pension fund," said Calabria. "So you are making one person wealthier with higher disposable income, but you are doing it at the same time that you are making another corresponding party poorer by the same amount.”

　　Calabria also says the initiative does nothing to address the top cause of foreclosure, which is job loss by mortgage holders⁷.

　　The new program would cost between $5 billion and $10 billion.  It would be paid for by a fee on large banks, a proposal Congress has previously⁸ rejected.

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

6 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

7 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。