【美國總統電臺演講】2013-05-18（雙語） @ 愛薇塔樂學英文

【美國總統電臺演講】2013-05-18（雙語）

美國總統每週電臺演講：華盛頓白宮奧巴馬演講

Weekly Address: The President Talks About How to Build a Rising, Thriving Middle Class

WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama talked about his belief that a rising, thriving middle class is the true engine of economic growth, and that to reignite that engine and continue to build on the progress we’ve made over the last four years, we need to invest in three areas: jobs, skills and opportunity.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
MAY 17, 2013

Hi, everybody. Over the past few months, I’ve laid out a series of commonsense ideas to reignite the true engine of our economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class.

The way I see it, there are three areas where we need to focus. One: making America a magnet for good jobs. Two: making sure our workers have the education and skills they need to do those jobs. And three: making sure your hard work leads to a decent living.

I’ve also been visiting cities across the country that are doing some interesting and creative things along these lines.

So on Friday, for example, I stopped by a factory in Baltimore that’s creating good jobs here at home by exporting dragging equipment abroad.

I read with young kids in a pre-K program, where kids are getting a head start learning the skills they’ll need to succeed in life.

And I stopped by a program that’s helping folks in tough circumstances – especially low-income dads – get the training and guidance they need to find work and support their families.

That’s why I like getting out of the Washington echo chamber whenever I can – because too often, our politics aren’t focused on the same things you are. Working hard. Supporting your family and supporting your community. Making sure your kids have every chance in life.

More than anything, the American people make me optimistic about where we’re headed as a nation. Especially after all we’ve been through the past several years. And that should encourage us to work even harder on the issues that matter to you.

In a little over three years, our businesses have created more than 6.5 million new jobs. And while our unemployment rate is still too high, it’s the lowest it’s been since 2008. But now we need to create even more good, middle-class jobs, and we need to do it faster.

Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs. But now we need to get middle-class wages and incomes rising too.

Our housing market is healing. But we still need to do a lot more to help families stay in their homes, or refinance to take advantage of historically low rates.

And our deficits are shrinking at the fastest rate in decades. But now we get budget in a smarter way that doesn’t hurt middle-class families or harm critical investments in our future.

So in a lot of sectors, things are looking up. The American auto industry is thriving. American energy is booming. And American ingenuity in our tech sector has the potential to change the way we do almost everything.

In the coming weeks, I’m going to visit more cities like Baltimore, and Austin, Texas – where I was two weeks ago; places where Americans are coming together to strengthen their own communities and economies – and in the process, making this country better for all of us.

And I’m going to keep on trying to work with both parties in Washington to make progress on your priorities. Because I know that if we come together around creating more jobs, educating more of our kids, and building new ladders of opportunity for everyone who’s willing to climb them – we’ll all prosper, together.

Thanks. And have a great weekend.

大家好。在過去的幾個月裡，我已經提出了一系列正確的設想來重新開機我們經濟增長的引擎：一個發展的興旺的中產階級。

在我看來，這條發展路線上我們必須集中精力解決三個問題。一：把美國變成吸引好工作的磁石。二：使我們的工人們具備做這些工作所需的教育和技能。三：保證你們的辛勤工作換來體面的生活。

我一直在巡訪全國各地的沿著這條路線進行引人入勝的充滿創意的工作的城市。

週五，我在巴爾的摩的一家工廠停下了腳步，他們通過向國外出口拖動設備在國內創造了好的就業機會。

我與學前班的孩子們一起看書，孩子們在那裡得到他們將來在生活中成功所需要的技能的啟蒙。（pre-K program: pre-Kindergarten program, 是美國的致力於孩子們的社會、身體、情感和認知發展的學前教育—譯注）

我在一個幫助困境在的人們—特別是低收入父親們—獲得他們找工作維繫他們的家庭生活的工作的培訓和指導的專案駐足。

這就是為什麼我喜歡有機會就走出會議室—因為我們的政治通常不是致力於你們希望的。不是努力工作，支持你們的家庭和社區。確保你們的孩子們抓住生活中的每個機會。

只有美國人民才能給我關於美國的未來的信心。特別是在我們走過了過去的幾年後。這些激勵我們為了關乎你們切身利益的事而更加努力地工作。

在僅僅三年多一點的時間裡，我們的企業創造了超過6百50萬個新就業機會。我們的失業率還是很高，然而已經處於2008年以來的最低點了。但是現在我們需要創造更多新的、好的中產階級就業機會，並且我們需要做得更快。

大公司的利潤飛速達到歷史新高，但是我們要讓中產階級的工資和收入也增長。

我們的房地產市場正在回暖。但是我們還要幫助一大批家庭保住他們的住房，或者說利用歷史上最低的利率重新投資他們的抵押貸款。