VOA慢速英语2010-Economics Report - Reform of Financial Sy

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

President Obama now turns his attention to financial reform after his victory last month on health care.

He met Wednesday with congressional leaders from both parties at the White House. Republicans and Democrats¹ differ on what to do. But the president says there are some areas on which both sides can agree.

BARACK OBAMA: "If there’s one lesson that we’ve learned, it's that [an] unfettered market where people are taking huge risks and expecting taxpayers² to bail³ them out when things go sour is simply not acceptable."

Treasury⁴ Secretary Tim Geithner wrote in the Washington Post that the deep financial crisis is close to the end. But he said the nation must not forget the near-collapse of the banking⁵ system in two thousand eight without fixing its causes.

On Tuesday, he told the American Society of News Editors in Washington that no one is arguing against new financial protections. The debate now, he said, is more complex.

TIM GEITHNER: "How do you make sure you are designing a system where you are going to constrain⁶ risk taking, you can prevent crises from spreading, and -- if a major institution managed itself to the edge of the abyss -- that we are able to put them out of their misery⁷."

President Obama meeting with congressional leaders at the White House on Wednesday

The aim is to find a way to let big financial companies fail without harming the economy.

In December, the House of Representatives passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. That bill would create a new consumer financial protection agency. It would also increase investor⁸ protections and let shareholders⁹ vote on the pay of top company officials. And it would create a group to identify and regulate companies that are so big, their failure could threaten the economy.

Republicans opposed the bill. That was also true last month when the Senate Banking Committee approved its own version. That bill would not create an independent consumer agency, but instead a new office at the Federal Reserve, the central bank.

The full Senate must now debate the measure. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says it would make future bailouts more likely, not less.

Both measures in Congress call for a system to supervise derivatives¹⁰. These contracts are used for different purposes, including investment and protecting against loss. The largely unregulated market in derivatives is estimated at six hundred trillion dollars.

Government rescues of banks considered "too big to fail" angered the public and helped fuel a conservative movement. The Tea Party also opposes the new health care law and argues for lower taxes and less government.

On Thursday they protested to mark Tax Day, when Americans have to pay any federal taxes they owe.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

3 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 constrain   

vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制

参考例句：

• She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
• The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。

7 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

8 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。

9 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

10 derivatives   

n.衍生性金融商品；派生物，引出物( derivative的名词复数 )；导数

参考例句：

• Many English words are derivatives of Latin words. 许多英语词来自拉丁语。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These compounds are nitrosohydroxylamine derivatives. 这类合成物是亚硝基羟胺衍生物。 来自辞典例句