2009/10/30 VOA经济报道 – 美国称三季度经济增长3.5%

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ECONOMICS REPORT - US Says Economy Grew 3.5 Percent in Third Quarter
2009 年 10 月 30 日 VOA 经济报道 – 美国称三季度经济增长 3.5% 。

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是 VOA 特别英语的经济报道

Early estimates show that the United States economy began to grow again in July, August and September. The three-and-a-half percent growth was the first expansion in more than a year, and the strongest in two years.

初步估计 ( 数据 ) 表明，美国经济在 7 月、 8 月和 9 月再次开始增长。 3.5% 的增长是一年多以来的首次，并且是二年来最高的一次。

The government said increases in consumer spending and exports and improvements in business investment led the growth. So did increased federal spending and housing investments.

美国政府称，消费增长、出口及商务投资改善引领增长；联邦政府消费及房产投资加大也功不可没。

But high unemployment could limit growth for some time.

但是，高失业率可在一定时期内限制增长。

President Obama had this reaction to Thursday's report on the gross domestic product -- a wide measure of goods and services in the economy.

总统奥巴马对周四 GDP( 对经济中货物与服务的广泛衡量指标 ) 报告的反应。

BARACK OBAMA: "This is obviously welcome news and an affirmation that this recession is abating and the steps we've taken have made a difference. But I also know that we've got a long way to go to fully restore our economy and recover from what's been the longest and deepest downturn since the Great Depression."

巴拉克 . 奥巴马：“这显然是个好消息，并且确认本次衰退正在消退，并且我们所采取的措施发生了作用。但是我也知道，完全提振经济并且从大萧条以来最长最深衰退中恢复为时尚早。”

That downturn was partly caused by bankers and others taking irresponsible risks to earn huge payments. So say their critics.

“本次衰退的部分原因是试图获取高额回报冒不负责风险的银行家以及其它人。”批评人士如是称。

Criticism of Wall Street pay is nothing new. But never before has the government used hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue companies that made risky investments.

对华尔街薪酬的怦击并非鲜见。但是，之前政府从未动用数千亿美元去救援从事具有风险投资的公司。

In June, the Obama administration appointed lawyer Kenneth Feinberg as the "special master" on executive pay -- also known as the pay czar. Congress gave him power over compensation of the twenty-five highest-paid employees at seven companies most indebted to taxpayers.

6 月，奥巴马政府 指派 肯尼斯 - 费恩伯格律师为高管薪酬的“特别管理员”，即薪酬沙皇。国会授权他监管欠纳税人最多七家公司中 25 名高薪高管的薪酬。

This week, he gave lawmakers a progress report.

本周，他向律师提交了进展报告。

KENNETH FEINBERG: "We greatly reduced the amount of cash that would be made available to these senior officials. We reduced that cash by approximately ninety percent."

肯尼斯 - 费恩伯格：“我们大大地降低了可向这些高管支付的现金。我们将这一现金降低了大约 90% 。”

The seven companies are in the financial and auto industries. Now Kenneth Feinberg must consider their next seventy-five highest paid officials.

这七家公司是金融业和汽车业界的公司。现在， 肯尼斯 - 费恩伯格必须考虑 金融业和汽车业界的其它 75 名高薪酬高管。

But some management experts warn that limiting pay could make it harder for taxpayers to get their money back. Edward Lawler at the University of Southern California says these companies may now have difficulty getting and keeping high-quality employees.

但是，某些管理专家警告说，限薪使纳税人更难收回投资。南加州大学的 爱德华 · 劳勒说，这些公司如今难吸引并保留高素质的员工。

But he agrees that in recent years, many companies have tied pay to short-term performance, instead of their long-term health. He also says boards of directors need to do more to control pay.

但是，他也同意，许多公司近年来将薪酬与短期业绩挂钩，而不是长期业绩。他也说，董事会需要更多地控制薪酬。

EDWARD LAWLER: "We could have boards that do a much better job of designing compensation plans. If we had good boards, I think they could certainly do a better job of that than the government can."

爱德华 · 劳勒：“ ( 有些 ) 董事会在设计薪酬计划方面工作更出色。如果我们有好的董事会，我想他们肯定比政府更出色。”

Last week, the Federal Reserve proposed to examine pay policies at thousands of banks. The central bank would reject policies that it thought might cause bankers to take too much risk.

上周，美联储建议审查数千银行的薪酬政策。美联储将拒绝使银行家承担太多风险的政策。

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.

这是 VOA 特别英语经济报道。我是 Mario Ritter 。