新闻万花筒：VOA视角之经济学家称奥巴马预算值得称道但不切实际

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Economist Calls Obama Budget Commendable, Unrealistic

Coming in at 2,000 pages, the 2016 federal budget is a fiscal road map for President Barack Obama’s remaining two years and beyond. Its aim: to bolster the U.S. recovery, keep America safe and invest in the middle class.

But at nearly $4 trillion, it carries a hefty price tag. It includes $561 billion in military spending, $478 billion for public works projects, $526 billion in nonmilitary spending, plus assorted tax cuts for the middle class and free community college for students.

Economist Diane Lim at the Committee for Economic Development in Washington said that although the plan is commendable, it's also unrealistic.

“I have no problem with the investment, and I think, in fact, our nation does not invest enough in things that will promote longer term economic growth," she said. "It’s just that we have to come up with realistic ways to pay for it. Otherwise, those investments are never going to happen.”

The budget proposes more than $2 trillion in tax hikes over the next 10 years, mostly on corporations and the wealthy to help pay for these initiatives. But Republican majorities in both houses of Congress are unlikely to accept them.

As it stands, the budget would also add another $6 trillion to the national debt by 2026.

"So if you go out a decade later or two decades later, after the end of the 10-year budget window, we still haven’t done anything to figure out how are we going to keep health care costs down so that Medicare spending as a share of GDP doesn’t keep rising so dramatically,” Lim said.

That should worry investors, Lim said, because the world's largest economy is only as good as its financial health.

But in testimony before Congress on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said that not only is the U.S. economy growing at a sustainable level, it's also doing better than those of most other countries.

"The fact is our businesses created nearly 3 million jobs last year, the most jobs since the late '90s," he said. "From a global perspective, we continue to outperform our trading partners, many of whom are still trying to climb out of the vast hole created by the global economic crisis."

Congress and the president must still agree on the budget before it can become law, and unless the two sides have the political will to deal with the nation’s expensive health care and retirement programs and its unsustainable high debt, Lim said, the spending plan isn't going anywhere.

"Very, very little of it will pass," she said. "I can guarantee you that.”

词汇解析

finance

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.金融；财政；资金

vt.给 ... 提供资金；负担经费

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the minister in charge of finance in Britain.

英国财政大臣是负责财政的大臣。

用作及物动词 (vt.)

The repairs to the school will be financed by the educational department.

学校的修缮将由教育部门出资。

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session

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.会议；会期；开庭期；学期；一段时间

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

If the negotiations between the rich northerly nations and poor southerly nations make headway, it is intended that a ministerial session in December should be arranged.

要是北方富国和南方穷国之间的谈判获得进展的话,就打算在十二月份安排召开部长级的会议。

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exchange

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

v.交换；兑换

n.交换；交易所；兑换；交战

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

We exchanged our opinions about the event at the meeting.

在会上，我们就此事交换了意见。

用作名词 (n.)

Gold shares jumped at the Stock Exchange yesterday.

证券交易所黄金股票昨天又大幅度上涨了。

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slave

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.奴隶；像奴隶般受制的人；【机】从动装置

v.做苦工；做奴隶；拼命干

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

This slave dreamed of becoming a freeman.

这个奴隶梦想着成为一个自由人。

用作动词 (v.)

Why should I slave away all my life !

我为什么要辛辛苦苦地干一辈子呀！

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pursue

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

v.追求；追捕；继续执行；从事

参考例句

用作动词 (v.)

Everyone has the freedom to pursue their dreams.

每个人都有追求各自梦想的自由。

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spiritual

难度：1星畅通词汇，属常用20000词

英汉解释

adj.精神的；心灵的；与上帝有关的

n.(尤指美国南部黑人的)圣歌

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Many young people could not resist the spiritual pollution.

很多年轻人不能抵制精神污染。

The monks were arraigned for not teaching things spiritual.

修道士们因不讲授有关心灵的道理而受到指责。

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directly

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adv.直接地；立即；正好地；完全

conj.<英>一...就...

参考例句

用作副词 (adv.)

They bought the machine directly from the manufacturer.

他们直接从厂商那里购买了这台机器。

His private actions are in direct contradiction with his publicly expressed opinions.

他私下的行为跟公开的言论完全是两码事。

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