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Top U.S. financial officials say the markets could have been thrown into chaos¹ if the government had not taken strong action to rescue a big investment bank that was falling into bankruptcy². But critics say the move put billions of dollars at risk, and unfairly helps large investors³ at a time when ordinary people facing home foreclosure get little aid.

美国负责金融工作的高级官员表示，如果政府没有采取强有力的行动挽救一家濒临破产的大投资银行的话，金融市场可能会出现混乱。不过批评人士说，这个举动存在使数十亿美元遭受损失的风险，而且在那些面临丧失房屋赎回权的老百姓没有得到什么帮助的时候，给大的投资机构提供了不公平的帮助。

Bear Stearns, one of the biggest investment banks in the country, was on the verge⁴ of bankruptcy last month, until the U.S. central bank stepped in to help JP Morgan arrange to buy the struggling bank, something critics say put billions of dollars of taxpayers⁵' money at risk.

美国最大的投资银行之一贝尔斯登上个月处于破产的边缘，后来美国的中央银行出面介入帮助摩根大通银行做出收购这家挣扎之中的银行的安排。批评人士说，这种做法可能使纳税人的数十亿美元付诸东流。

But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking⁶ Committee the Bear Stearns rescue was justified⁷ because the collapse⁸ of the firm would hurt confidence and stall trading in markets that are already troubled.

不过，美联储主席伯南克星期四在参议院的银行委员会作证时表示，出手救助贝尔斯登的行动是合理的，因为这家公司的倒闭会损害投资人信心而且使已经麻烦不断的市场交易活动出现停滞。

"The damage caused by a default by Bear Stearns could have been severe and extremely difficult to contain," he said.

他说：“贝尔斯登的违约所引起的伤害可能会非常严重而且极难控制。”

New York Federal Reserve Bank President Tim Geithner played a key role in the effort to prop⁹ up Bear Stearns and says officials took the action reluctantly, but decided¹⁰ the cost of inaction was too high.

纽约联邦储备银行行长盖特纳在救助贝尔斯登的努力中扮演了一个关键的角色。他说，有关官员在采取救助行动的时候并不情愿，但是认定不采取任何行动的代价太高了。

"Americans would face lower incomes, lower home values, higher borrowing costs for housing, education and other living expenses, lower retirement¹¹ savings¹², and rising unemployment," he said.

他说：“美国人将面临更低的收入，更低的房价，在住房、教育和其他生活支出方面都面临更高的借贷成本，更少的退休金和日益上涨的失业率。”

Several senators urged officials to avoid similar problems in the future by speeding efforts to streamline¹³ and improve regulation and oversight¹⁴ of the financial system.

好几位参议员敦促金融官员通过加快精简和改善金融体系的管制和监督来避免今后出现类似的问题。

Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd agreed that rescuing Bear Stears was necessary because the failure of a large institution would be a risk to the financial system.

参议院银行委员会主席、康涅狄克州的民主党参议员多德也认为，救助贝尔斯登是必要的，因为一个大的金融机构的倒闭将会给整个金融体系造成威胁。

But he said the government should be just as quick and generous in helping¹⁵ throngs¹⁶ of troubled homeowners facing foreclosure for the same reason officials came to the aid of the big investment bank.

不过他说，在帮助大量因为同样的原因而面临丧失房屋赎回权的屋主方面，政府也应该向帮助大的投资银行那样迅速和慷慨。

"Thousands and thousands and thousands of foreclosures create as much systemic risk as one investment bank," Senator Dodd said.

他说：“上百万的房屋被收回所带来的系统性风险与一家投资银行倒闭带来的风险一样多。”

Home foreclosures have put the U.S. housing industry in a state of turmoil¹⁷, and has hurt the overall economy here and elsewhere.

大量的房屋被收回导致美国的住房业陷入动荡而且对美国以及其他地方的整体经济造成损害。

A bill designed to help avert¹⁸ some foreclosures has been under discussion by senators this week. One version of the plan would expand counseling services for families in danger of losing their homes, give local governments grants to buy foreclosed properties, and offer tax breaks for people who buy them. It would also give tax breaks to some homebuilders.

参议院这个星期已经开始讨论一个旨在帮助避免一些房屋被收回的法案。该项计划的一个版本将扩大给那些可能失去房子的家庭提供的咨询服务，给地方政府提供资金来购买赎回权被收回的房产以及给那些购买这些地产的人提供税收上的优惠。这个文本的法案还将给一些房屋建筑商提供税收上的减免。