经济学人241:芝加哥财政预算陷入水深火热之中

 　　Chicago’s budget

　　芝加哥财政预算

　　Reality bites

　　陷入水深火热之中

　　How to slash¹ a deficit² without raising taxes

　　如何大幅削减赤字，又不提高税收

　　Promises to keep

　　恪守承诺

　　AT ABOUT 8.30am on Saturday October 15th, close to the city’s former meatpacking district, one of Chicago’s ancient water mains burst. As the road buckled³ and water gushed⁴ down alleyways, it was a timely reminder⁵ that the modern city is built on crumbling⁶, century-old infrastructure⁷. Fixing the problem is not easy, as the city is awash in debt as well as water.

　　10月15日周六上午8:30左右，位于芝加哥前肉类加工厂附近一个老化的自来水总管道破裂，“水漫金山”。这适时地提醒了人们，这座现代化城市下已建成百年之久的基础设施如今正日渐破损。要解决这一问题并不容易，因为眼下芝加哥被债务淹没，就像被泡在这次大水中一样。

　　Only three days earlier the city’s energetic new mayor, Rahm Emanuel, had presented his first budget. The city had looked set to produce a $640m deficit on its operating budget of $3 billion. Worse still, for a decade Chicago has had significant and growing shortfalls which have only been plugged using creative, but one-off, fixes dreamed up by the previous mayor. These include, for example, leasing all its metered street parking for 75 years—something that still annoys the locals.

　　就在3天前，精力充沛的芝加哥新任市长拉姆?伊曼纽尔递交了他的首轮财政预算计划。在这份30亿美元的经营预算中，似乎肯定会产生6.4亿美元的赤字。更糟糕的是，10年来芝加哥财政赤字巨大，并且一直不断增长，上任市长曾想出一些颇具创意却治标不治本的政策填补过这一空缺，将设有收费表的路边泊车位出租长达75年之久就是一例，此补救措施直到现在都令当地居民甚为恼火。

　　Mr Emanuel had promised a lot. He said he would balance the budget and invest in the city’s infrastructure, all without raising property taxes or using one-off revenues. On paper he has, indeed, balanced the budget. About $420m has come through a mixture of cuts, reorganisation and efficiency gains. The rest has been found by raising new revenue, whether through new or increased fees, fines, charges or (whisper it) taxes. For example, the budget proposes a new $2-a-day “congestion premium” for drivers who park in downtown garages. And visitors to next year’s NATO and G8 summits will each be adding $1.78 a night to city coffers, thanks to a new hotel tax.

　　伊曼纽尔作了很多承诺。他表示会平衡预算，投资城市基础设施建设，但他不会提高财产税，也不会征收一次性税收。的确，理论上他平衡了预算。通过削减开支、重组体制和提高效率，他可以节省4.2亿美元。而通过设立新的罚款、各种费用、（ 嘘！）还有税收，或是在原有基础上对这些进行提高，所获得的收益可以填补剩余部分。举例来说，预算计划上提议要向将车停在市中心车库的司机新征收每日2美元的“拥堵附加费”；多亏了新设立的酒店税，明年参观北大西洋公约组织和8国峰会的每位游客每日要多付1.78美元，所得款项将充入城市财政。

　　Some of Mr Emanuel’s plans are politically bold. Chicago is to become the first large city in America to merge⁸ police and fire services in a co-ordinated “public safety” headquarters, and some unneeded facilities are to be trimmed. Savings⁹ of $82m are sought, and the plans may rationalise how the city tackles terrorism, bomb threats and arson¹⁰.

　　伊曼纽尔的某些预算计划在政治上相当大胆。芝加哥将成为全美将警察与消防服务融合为一个联合“公安”总部的第一个大城市。某些多余的机构也面临解散。如此可节省8200万美元。此外，预算计划还会对如何应对恐怖主义、炸弹威胁以及纵火问题作出合理的说明。

　　The budget still has to be approved by the city council, but the scale of Chicago’s debt gives little room for manoeuvre¹¹. Laurence Msall, president of the Civic¹² Federation¹³, an independent watchdog, explains that the city can no longer kick the can down the road as the can is now a “55-gallon drum”. He says the new budget is a positive development, though the mayor has not yet tackled a looming¹⁴ pensions crisis. The three main ratings agencies have also reacted favourably¹⁵.

　　该预算计划还须得到市议会的同意，但即使通过，在芝加哥负债累累的情况下，其能够施展的空间也是微乎其微。公民联合会（一家独立的监察机构）主席劳伦斯?米赛尔解释说，星星之火业已燎原，芝加哥再不能对这个问题视而不见了。他表示，纵使市长尚未着手处理正在逼近的养老金危机，但新一轮的预算计划仍是件好事。三大主要评级机构对此也作出了积极的反应。

　　Although the agony has been spread thin, the most painful new proposal is a large hike in water rates. The need, however, could not be plainer. Despite the city’s towering skyscrapers¹⁶ and ultra-modern Millennium¹⁷ Park, underground the story is grimmer. Chicago has 900 miles of ancient water pipes that need replacing and 750 miles of sewers¹⁸ that need improving. And four of its water-pumping stations still run on steam power.

　　预算缩减总量虽高 ，但分摊下来并不会令人太过苦恼，不过棘手的是关于大幅提高水费的新提案。然而，其必要性已再清楚不过/ 箭在弦上，不得不发。尽管芝加哥摩天大楼鳞次栉比，又有着超现代的千禧公园，可地下设施却惨不忍睹。该城需要更新的老化水管长达900英里，还有750英里的下水管道需要升级，另外还有4个泵水站仍在使用蒸汽动力。

1 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

4 gushed   

v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• Oil gushed from the well. 石油从井口喷了出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Clear water gushed into the irrigational channel. 清澈的水涌进了灌溉渠道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

10 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

11 manoeuvre   

n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动

参考例句：

• Her withdrawal from the contest was a tactical manoeuvre.她退出比赛是一个战术策略。
• The clutter of ships had little room to manoeuvre.船只橫七竖八地挤在一起，几乎没有多少移动的空间。

12 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

13 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

14 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

15 favourably   

adv. 善意地，赞成地 =favorably

参考例句：

• The play has been favourably commented by the audience. 本剧得到了观众的好评。
• The open approach contrasts favourably with the exclusivity of some universities. 这种开放式的方法与一些大学的封闭排外形成了有利的对比。

16 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

17 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

18 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法