奥巴马每周电视讲话：美国经济正在复苏

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week's address, the President discussed his return to Elkhart, Indiana, the first town he visited as President and one that was among the hardest-hit by the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. Seven years later, unemployment in Elkhart has fallen from a high of nearly 20 percent to around four percent; more families are back on sturdy ground; more are covered by health insurance; and more students are graduating from high school. Elkhart is symbolic¹ of America’s recovery, and that progress is due to the sacrifices of hardworking Americans and a series of smart decisions the President made early in his presidency², such as rescuing the auto³ industry, helping⁴ families refinance their homes, and investing in job training, high-tech⁵ manufacturing, clean energy, and the infrastructure⁶ that creates good new jobs. The President emphasized that we must continue to come together around common economic goals and push back against policies that protect powerful interests instead of working Americans. That’s the choice America will make this year, and the President believes the future will be brighter if this country works together to build on the progress this country has made in the months and years ahead.

Remarks of President Barack Obama as Delivered

Weekly Address

The White House

June 4, 2016

Elkhart, Indiana was the first town I visited as President.  I’d been on the job for three weeks, and we were just a few months into the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes.  Elkhart was hit harder than most.  Unemployment there peaked at nearly twenty percent shortly after my visit.  Nearly one in five people there were out of work.

This week, I returned to Elkhart.  Unemployment there has now fallen to around four percent.  More families are back on sturdy ground; more are covered by health insurance; more of their kids are graduating from high school.  And it’s no accident – it’s because people there worked hard, and sacrificed, and looked out for each other.

But it’s also because we made a series of smart decisions early in my presidency.  To rescue the auto industry.  To help families refinance their homes.  To invest in things like high-tech manufacturing, clean energy, and the infrastructure that creates good new jobs – not to mention the job training that helps folks earn new skills to fill those jobs.

The results are clear.  America’s businesses have created 14.5 million new jobs over 75 straight months.  We’ve seen the first sustained manufacturing growth since the nineties.  We’ve cut unemployment by more than half.  Another 20 million Americans have health insurance.  And we’ve cut our deficits⁷ by nearly 75 percent.

We haven’t fixed⁸ everything.  Wages, while growing again, need to grow faster.  The gap between the rich and everyone else is still way too wide.  Republicans in Congress have repeatedly blocked investments and initiatives that would have created jobs faster.  But the middle class isn’t getting squeezed because of minorities, or immigrants, or moochers, or anyone else we’re told to blame for our problems.  If we’re going to fix what needs fixing, we can’t divide ourselves.  We’ve got to come together, around our common economic goals.  We’ve got to push back against policies that protect powerful special interests, and push for a better deal for all working Americans.

That’s the choice you’ll get to make this year.  Between policies that raise wages, and policies that won’t.  Between strengthening Social Security and making it more generous, or making it harder to help people save and retire.  Between strengthening the rules we put on Wall Street to prevent another crisis, or dismantling⁹ them.  Between a tax code that’s fair for working families, or wasteful¹⁰ tax cuts for a fortunate few at the very top.

Over the past seven years, we’ve proven that progress is possible.  But it’s not inevitable¹¹.  It depends on us.  It depends on the choices we make.  And if we come together, around our common values, and our belief in opportunity for everyone who puts in the effort – then we’ll deliver on a brighter future for all of us.  Thanks, and have a great weekend.

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

4 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。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 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。

7 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

10 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

11 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。