Weekly Address: The Big Three Drive a Growing Manufacturing Sector
每周电视讲话：三大汽车公司推动制造业增长
WASHINGTON – Speaking to the American people from a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, President Obama commended the work of America’s dedicated autoworkers, who have helped reinvigorate the domestic auto industry. Each of The Big Three automakers is now turning a profit, and the domestic auto industry continues to add shifts and create new jobs across the country. When President Obama decided to lend a hand to the American automotive industry shortly after taking office, it was with the understanding that these great manufacturers would have to restructure, modernize and position themselves to thrive in a competitive global marketplace. Now, just a few years after the American auto industry teetered on the brink of collapse, America’s great manufacturers of yesterday have emerged as some of the great manufacturers of today.
华盛顿：在俄亥俄州托莱多市的克莱斯勒工厂发表的演讲中，总统先生称赞了献身于美国汽车工业的工人们，称他们帮助美国重振了国内汽车工业的雄风。三大汽车制造商都开始盈利，国内的汽车产业也继续增加生产班次，并在全国新增众多工作岗位。当年奥巴马总统在主政后不久决定向汽车产业伸出援手，条件就是这些大型制造商必须进行重组和现代化，摆正自己的位置参与国际市场竞争并赢得生机。现在，离美国汽车产业在崩溃边缘摇摇欲坠的时候刚刚过去几年，曾经的美国最大制造商现如今又跻身最伟大制造商行列。
Hello, everyone. I’m speaking to you today from a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, where I just met with workers, including Jill. Jill was born and raised here. Her mother and step-father retired from this plant. And she met her husband here, and now they have two children of their own. This plant has not only been central to the economy of this town. It’s been a part of the lifeblood of this community.
大家好。我在俄亥俄州特莱多市的克莱斯勒工厂向大家讲话。在这里，我与工人们见了面，其中包括吉尔。吉尔在这里出生、长大。她的母亲和继父都从这家工厂退休。在这里，她遇到了她的丈夫，现在，他们养育着两个孩子。这家工厂不仅仅是这座城市的经济中心，更是这里社会的生命之源的一部分。
The reason I came to Toledo was to congratulate Jill and her co-workers on the turnaround they helped bring about at Chrysler and throughout the auto industry. Today, each of the Big Three automakers – Chrysler, GM, and Ford – is turning a profit for the first time since 2004. Chrysler has repaid every dime and more of what it owes American taxpayers for their support during my presidency – and it repaid that money six years ahead of schedule. And this week, we reached a deal to sell our remaining stake. That means soon, Chrysler will be 100% in private hands.
我来到特莱多的原因就是要向吉尔和她的同事们表示祝贺，他们帮助克莱斯勒工厂和全国的汽车产业实现好转。今天，三大汽车生产商——克莱斯勒、通用汽车和福特——都取得了自2004年以来首次盈利。克莱斯勒已经开始偿还其欠美国纳税人的每一分钱，这些都是我任职期间人民给它的支援——他们比计划提前六年偿还这笔钱。本周，我们达成了一项交易，出售我们剩余的股权。这也意味着不久后，克莱斯勒又将成为100%的私营公司。
Most importantly, all three American automakers are now adding shifts and creating jobs at the strongest rate since the 1990s. Chrysler has added a second shift at the Jefferson North plant in Detroit that I visited last year. GM is adding a third shift at its Hamtramck plant for the first time ever. And GM plans to hire back all of the workers they had to lay off during the recession.
更为重要的是，美国三大汽车制造商都开始增加生产班次，并创造了自上世纪90年代以来最大的就业增长率。克莱斯勒在我去年到访过的底特律杰弗森北方工厂增加了第二个生产班次。通用汽车也第一次在汉姆川克工厂新增第三个生产班次。通用还计划将经济衰退时辞退的工人全部重新雇用回来。
That’s remarkable when you think about where we were just a couple of years ago. When I took office, we were facing the worst recession since the Great Depression – a recession that hit our auto industry particularly hard. In the year before I was President, this industry lost more than 400,000 jobs, and two great American companies, Chrysler and GM, stood on the brink of collapse.
想想几年前我们的处境这一切简直可以说是令人瞩目。当我主政之初，我们就面临自大萧条以来最严重的经济衰退——这一经济衰退严重打击了我们的汽车产业。在我当选总统的前一年，该产业就有40多万人失业，美国两大汽车厂商，克莱斯勒和通用，都面临崩溃的边缘。
Now, we had a few options. We could have done what a lot of folks in Washington thought we should do – nothing. But that would have made a bad recession worse and put a million people out of work. I refused to let that happen. So, I said, if GM and Chrysler were willing to take the difficult steps of restructuring and making themselves more competitive, the American people would stand by them – and we did.
当时我们只有几个选择。我们可以按华盛顿大多数人认为我们会采取的措施去做——那就是什么也不管。但那样将会让经济衰退更加严重并让数百万人民失去工作。我拒绝这样的事情发生。所以，我说，如果通用和克莱斯勒同意采取一些艰难的措施进行重组，让自己更具竞争力，美国人民就会与他们站在一起——当然，我们做到了。
But we decided to do more than rescue this industry from a crisis. We decided to help it retool for a new age, and that’s what we’re doing all across the country – we’re making sure America can out-build, out-innovate, and out-compete the rest of the world. That’s how we’ll build an economy where you can see your incomes and savings rise again, send your kids to college, and retire with dignity, security, and respect. That’s how we’ll make sure we keep that fundamental American promise – that if you work hard and act responsibly, you’ll be able to pass on a better life to your kids and grandkids.
但我决心要做更多，不仅仅是将该产业从危机中拯救出来。我们决定帮助它为新时期做好准备，这也是我们现在在全国做的事情——我们要确保美国在建设、创新和竞争上超越世界其他国家。通过这些我们要创造一个经济体，在这里，你们将能看见你们的收入和存款再次增长，你们可以将子女送进大学，你们可以体面、安宁、满怀尊严的退休。通过这些我们要确保我们坚守对美国人民最基本的承诺——如果你辛勤工作，敢做敢当，你就可以为你的子孙后代留下一份更美好的生活。
Now, we’ve got a ways to go. Even though our economy has created more than two million private sector jobs over the past 15 months and continues to grow, we’re facing some tough headwinds. Lately, it’s high gas prices, the earthquake in Japan, and unease about the European fiscal situation. That will happen from time to time. There will be bumps on the road to recovery.
现在，我们还有很长的路要走。尽管我们的经济在过去15个月里创造了200多万个私营部门的工作岗位，并且这一数据还在增长，但我们依然要面对一些艰难的顶头风。最近，就是高油价，日本大地震以及对欧洲财政状况的担忧。这些都将不时发生。在复苏的道路上总会有些磕磕绊绊的。
We know that. But we also know what’s happened here, at this Chrysler plant. We know that hardworking Americans like Jill helped turn this company and this industry around. That’s the American story. We’re a people who don’t give up – who do big things, who shape our own destiny. And I’m absolutely confident that if we hold on to that spirit, our best days are still ahead of us. Thanks for tuning in, and have a great weekend.
这些我们都知道。但我们还知道在这里发生了什么，在此地的克莱斯勒工厂。我们都知道像吉尔一样的勤劳的工人帮助该工厂乃至整个产业实现了好转。这就是美国传奇。我们是一个整体，永不放弃——我们做大事敢担当，我们掌握自己的命运。而且我坚信如果我们坚守这一信念，美好的生活就在等待着我们。谢谢收听，周末愉快。 |