美国《华盛顿时报》近日报道，旧金山联邦储备银行的一项新研究表明，拜登政府的1.9万亿美元经济刺激计划导致美国陷入高通胀。2021年3月11日，美国总统拜登正式签署1.9万亿美元新冠纾困法案，致力于缓解疫情给美国民众带来的经济困境，推动个人消费增长，提升经济增速。但一些经济学家认为，结果与预期相差甚远。

 

Washington’s multitrillion-dollar spending habit has driven inflation across the US higher than in most other Western countries, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

据旧金山联邦储备银行称，拜登政府的万亿美元财政刺激政策导致美国的通胀率高于其他西方国家。

A report released by the bank said the US inflation rate spiked¹ higher than other countries in March 2021, shortly after Congress passed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

该机构发布报告称，2021年3月，美国国会通过拜登总统的1.9万亿美元（约合12.1万亿元人民币）新冠纾困计划不久之后，美国的通货膨胀率飙升，超过其他国家。

“Fiscal support measures designed to counteract² the severity of the pandemic’s economic effect may have contributed to this divergence³ by raising inflation about 3 percentage points by the end of 2021,” analysts⁵ wrote.

分析人士称：“这些财政支持政策旨在抵消疫情对经济造成的严重影响，但2021年底美国的通胀率因此提高了约三个百分点。”

Economists⁶ argue that the current round of inflation that is wracking the economy results from the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the supply-chain crisis it spawned⁷. They say COVID-19 shuttered businesses while driving up overhead costs through public health mandates⁸ for those that remained open.

经济学家们认为，新冠疫情及其引发的供应链危机产生的持续影响导致了当前一轮正在摧毁美国经济的通货膨胀。疫情致使企业停工，同时强制防疫措施导致仍在经营的企业成本增加。

As factories closed and international trade came to a halt, businesses still in operation were forced to hike prices even higher to account for the limited supply of goods and services, according to economists. Congress only boosted the demand for those goods and services by doling⁹ out trillions of dollars in coronavirus relief, including three direct payments to families worth upwards¹⁰ of $3,200.

经济学家表示，随着工厂关门，国际贸易陷入停滞，仍在运营的企业被迫进一步提高价格，以应对商品和服务供应有限的问题。美国国会只是通过发放数万亿美元的新冠救济金来刺激需求，包括向美国家庭直接发放三笔超过3200美元（约合2万元人民币）的款项。

Officially, the money was meant to stimulate¹¹ an economy that was in free fall. Although that worked in theory, when coupled with the supply chain issues, the result was far different than desired.

据公布，此举旨在提振不景气的经济。虽然理论上是可行的，但再加上供应链问题，结果与预期相差甚远。

“Both Democrats¹² and Republicans have dangerously inflated¹³ prices by pumping trillions into the economy since the onset¹⁴ of the pandemic,” said David Ditch, a federal budget analyst⁴ at the Heritage Foundation. “They essentially¹⁵ created a situation where too much money was chasing too few goods.”

美国传统基金联邦预算分析员大卫·迪奇表示：“疫情发生后，民主党和共和党都通过发放数万亿美元的刺激金，而引发了危险的通货膨胀。他们基本上造成了一种情况，即钱太多商品太少。”

Democrats disagree that Mr. Biden’s massive coronavirus relief bill is the culprit. They say the supply chain crisis started long before Mr. Biden entered the White House and that other factors like corporate¹⁶ greed are at play.

民主党人士并不认同拜登政府的新冠纾困法案是导致高通胀的罪魁祸首的观点。他们称，供应链危机早在拜登入主白宫之前就开始了，企业的贪婪等其他因素也是通胀率上升的原因。

“There is more to these price spikes¹⁷ — some businesses are simply price gouging¹⁸ consumers,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey¹⁹. “These outrageous²⁰ actions have been constant throughout the pandemic, evolving with each phase and disproportionately harming the most vulnerable when they can least afford it.”

新泽西州众议院能源和商务委员会主席弗兰克·帕隆说：“商品和服务价格飙升的原因还不止这些——一些企业在哄抬物价，这些令人愤慨的行为在整个疫情期间一直存在，随着每个阶段的发展而变化，并在人们最不堪重负的时候给他们带来巨大的伤害。”

Although the coronavirus relief bills passed under then-President Trump²¹ helped fuel inflation, Mr. Biden’s $1.9 trillion exacerbated²² the situation by pouring more money into the economy just as it was starting to rebound²³ from the pandemic, according to economists.

据经济学家称，特朗普政府时期通过的新冠救助法案加剧了通货膨胀，但拜登政府1.9万亿美元的刺激计划使情况更加恶化，因为经济回暖之际，拜登政府发放了更多刺激金。

“Even liberal economists like the Obama White House’s Larry Summers warned that Biden’s big spending spree would set off inflation,” said Sen. Mike Braun, Indiana Republican.

印第安纳州共和党参议员迈克·布劳恩称：“就连奥巴马政府的拉里·萨默斯等自由派经济学家也警告称，拜登的大举支出会引发通货膨胀。”

The San Francisco Federal Reserve supports that view. The bank’s report notes that when not accounting²⁴ for food and energy, inflation rose by 3% throughout 2021 — the highest rate since the 1980s. In comparison, countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany saw a more gradual increase over the same time.

旧金山联邦储备银行认同这一观点。该机构报告指出，在不考虑食品和能源的情况下，通货膨胀率在2021年间上升了3%，这是自20世纪80年代以来的最高水平。相比之下，加拿大、英国和德国等在同一时期的通胀率增长较为缓慢。

点击收听单词发音