Getting Our Money Back from Wall Street(2)
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-01-25 00:26 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
January 16, 2010

Over the past two years, more than seven million Americans have lost their jobs. Countless1 businesses have been forced to shut their doors.  Few families have escaped the pain of this terrible recession.  Rarely does a day go by that I do not hear from folks人们 who are hurting.  That is why we have pushed so hard to rebuild this economy.

But even as we work tirelessly to dig our way out of this hole, it is important that we address what led us into such a deep mess in the first place.  Much of the turmoil2混乱,骚动 of this recession was caused by the irresponsibility of banks and financial institutions on Wall Street.  These financial firms took huge, reckless鲁莽的 risks in pursuit of寻求,追求 short-term profits and soaring bonuses.  They gambled with borrowed money, without enough oversight3 or regard for the consequences.  And when they lost, they lost big.  Little more than a year ago, many of the largest and oldest financial firms in the world teetered on the brink4 of collapse5, overwhelmed by the consequences of their irresponsible decisions.  This financial crisis nearly pulled the entire economy into a second Great Depression.

As a result, the American people – struggling in their own right – were placed in a deeply unfair and unsatisfying position.  Even though these financial firms were largely facing a crisis of their own creation, their failure could have led to an even greater calamity6不幸事件,灾难 for the country.  That is why the previous administration started a program – the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP – to provide these financial institutions with funds to survive the turmoil they helped unleash7不受约束.  It was a distasteful令人不快的 but necessary thing to do.

Many originally feared that most of the $700 billion in TARP money would be lost.  But when my administration came into office, we put in place rigorous严格的,严厉的 rules for accountability and transparency, which cut the cost of the bailout紧急救助,跳伞 dramatically.  We have now recovered most of the money we provided to the banks.  That’s good news, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s not good enough.  We want the taxpayers’ money back, and we’re going to collect every dime9.

That is why, this week, I proposed a new fee on major financial firms to compensate10 the American people for the extraordinary assistance they provided to the financial industry.  And the fee would be in place until the American taxpayer8 is made whole. Only the largest financial firms with more than $50 billion in assets will be affected11, not community banks.  And the bigger the firm – and the more debt it holds – the larger the fee.  Because we are not only going to recover our money and help close our deficits12; we are going to attack some of the banking13 practices that led to the crisis.

That’s important.  The fact is, financial firms play an essential role in our economy.  They provide capital and credit to families purchasing homes, students attending college, businesses looking to start up or expand.  This is critical to our recovery.  That is why our goal with this fee – and with the common-sense financial reforms we seek – is not to punish the financial industry.  Our goal is to prevent the abuse and excess that nearly led to its collapse.  Our goal is to promote fair dealings while punishing those who game the system; to encourage sustained growth while discouraging the speculative投机的,推测的 bubbles that inevitably15 burst.  Ultimately, that is in the shared interest of the financial industry and the American people.

Of course, I would like the banks to embrace this sense of mutual16 responsibility.  So far, though, they have ferociously17残忍地,野蛮地 fought financial reform.  The industry has even joined forces with the opposition18 party to launch a massive lobbying游说 campaign against common-sense rules to protect consumers and prevent another crisis.

Now, like clockwork顺利地,极有规律性和准确性地, the banks and politicians who curry19 their favor are already trying to stop this fee from going into effect.  The very same firms reaping billions of dollars in profits, and reportedly handing out more money in bonuses and compensation than ever before in history, are now pleading poverty.  It’s a sight to see.

Those who oppose this fee say the banks can’t afford to pay back the American people without passing on the costs to their shareholders20 and customers.  But that’s hard to believe when there are reports that Wall Street is going to hand out more money in bonuses and compensation just this year than the cost of this fee over the next ten years.  If the big financial firms can afford massive bonuses, they can afford to pay back the American people.#p#分页标题#e#

Those who oppose this fee have also had the audacity厚颜无耻,大胆 to suggest that it is somehow unfair. That because these firms have already returned what they borrowed directly, their obligation is fulfilled. But this willfully ignores the fact that the entire industry benefited not only from the bailout, but from the assistance extended to AIG and homeowners, and from the many unprecedented22空前的 emergency actions taken by the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and others to prevent a financial collapse.  And it ignores a far greater unfairness: sticking the American taxpayer with the bill.

That is unacceptable to me, and to the American people.  We’re not going to let Wall Street take the money and run.  We’re going to pass this fee into law.  And I’m going to continue to work with Congress on common-sense financial reforms to protect people and the economy from the kind of costly23 and painful crisis we’ve just been through.  Because after a very tough two years, after a crisis that has caused so much havoc24大破坏,浩劫, if there is one lesson that we can learn, it’s this: we cannot return to business as usual.

Thank you very much.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 countless 7vqz9L     
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的
参考例句:
  • In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
  • I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
2 turmoil CKJzj     
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱
参考例句:
  • His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
  • The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
3 oversight WvgyJ     
n.勘漏,失察,疏忽
参考例句:
  • I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
  • Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。
4 brink OWazM     
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿
参考例句:
  • The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
  • The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。
5 collapse aWvyE     
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
6 calamity nsizM     
n.灾害,祸患,不幸事件
参考例句:
  • Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
  • The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。
7 unleash bjewz     
vt.发泄,发出;解带子放开
参考例句:
  • They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
  • Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今,大坝不时地改变水位,从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。
8 taxpayer ig5zjJ     
n.纳税人
参考例句:
  • The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
  • The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。
9 dime SuQxv     
n.(指美国、加拿大的钱币)一角
参考例句:
  • A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
  • The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。
10 compensate AXky7     
vt.补偿,赔偿;酬报 vi.弥补;补偿;抵消
参考例句:
  • She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
  • Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。
11 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
12 deficits 08e04c986818dbc337627eabec5b794e     
n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 );赤字;亏空;亏损
参考例句:
  • The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句
13 banking aySz20     
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。
14 speculative uvjwd     
adj.思索性的,暝想性的,推理的
参考例句:
  • Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
  • The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大,不应理会。
15 inevitably x7axc     
adv.不可避免地;必然发生地
参考例句:
  • In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去,毫无疑问是会散伙的。
  • Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。
16 mutual eFOxC     
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的
参考例句:
  • We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
  • Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。
17 ferociously e84ae4b9f07eeb9fbd44e3c2c7b272c5     
野蛮地,残忍地
参考例句:
  • The buck shook his antlers ferociously. 那雄鹿猛烈地摇动他的鹿角。
  • At intervals, he gritted his teeth ferociously. 他不时狠狠的轧平。
18 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
19 curry xnozh     
n.咖哩粉,咖哩饭菜;v.用咖哩粉调味,用马栉梳,制革
参考例句:
  • Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
  • Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。
20 shareholders 7d3b0484233cf39bc3f4e3ebf97e69fe     
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
21 audacity LepyV     
n.大胆,卤莽,无礼
参考例句:
  • He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
  • He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。
22 unprecedented 7gSyJ     
adj.无前例的,新奇的
参考例句:
  • The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
  • A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
23 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
24 havoc 9eyxY     
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱
参考例句:
  • The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
  • This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。
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