The Economist 经济学人精读 [2] | A thoughtful to-do list

The Economist 经济学人精读  [2]

选自 October8, 2016 | Leaders板块

注：划线部分为好词好句，加粗为生词，要加入单词本进行背诵。

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1) In his essay for this newspaper, Barack Obama raises the right questions about America's economic challenges. 

1) 在写给本杂志的文章里，前美国总统奥巴马对于当今美国所存在的经济挑战提出了适当的问题。

2) One of the many unfortunate consequences of America's presidential election turning into a reality TV show is the near-total absence of serious debate about economic policy. The vitriol on both sides of the partisan divide has made it all but impossible to have minimal agreement even on the facts. Mendacity and insults have left no room for any substantive discussion about the what the next president's economic priorities ought to be. Whatever you think of Donald Trump, his populist, protectionist prescriptions are woefully short on policy detail; the few areas where concrete plans exist are internally inconsistent (slash taxes, increases spending and eliminate government debt). Hillary Clinton has reams of wonkish proposals, but she has trouble articulating an overall economic agenda and, amid the rhetorical mud-wrestling, her fiddly ideas have received little scrutiny. 

vitriol - very cruel and bitter comments/ criticisms

Mendacity - lying, not telling the truth

substantive - substantive issues/ negotiations deal with important and serious matters

populist - a politician who cares about opinions of ordinary people

prescription - the proposal/ plan of how to solve a problem 

ream - large amount

wonk - bookworm 书呆子

e.g. wonkish 死板的， 没有独特见解的

mud-wresting - wrestling that takes place in the mud

fiddly - difficult to do because small objects are involved

scrutiny - being studied very carefully 

2) 美国总统选举变成一个真人秀带来众多不幸的后果之一就是经济政策的辩论几乎缺失了它的严谨性。站在对立面的党派刻薄的攻击对方， 导致他们不可能承认同样的一个事实。撒谎和辱骂也让本该是实质性的讨论总统的经济政策荡然无存。当你想到现美国总统Trump时，不管是他们平民主义还是贸易保护主义，他的政策都缺少细节，就算有几处消息的地方，那些想法也不够流畅。而落选的 Clinton 的方案大部分是死板的.当她在讲述时，除了那些乱用的花言巧语，对于经济政策，她的描述实在是不够流畅和整合。那些非常精巧的想法应该是没有经过大脑思考的。

3）That is the background against which we publish an essay this week by Barack Obama, in which America's president lay out what he sees as the biggest economic challenges his successor will have to tackle. In a thoughtful argument pitched toward the center ground of American politics, Mr Obama staunchly defends free trade, globalization and American-style capitalism. He makes clear that America has gained "perhaps more than any other [nation] from immigration, trade and technological innovation" and criticizes the "crude populism" on the left of his own party as wells as that of the right which has bubbled up in 2016. 

staunchly - loyal to a set of beliefs and support them very strongly

crude - a crude method may be correct but in a rough and general way

3）以上就是本杂志在本周发布前奥巴马总统的文章的的背景。在文章中，奥巴马总统表达了他认为现任总统所要解决的重大经济困难。通过有深逻辑清晰且有深度的围绕着美国政治的论据展开，奥巴马总统坚定地认为自由，全球化贸易和资本主义是可取的。他还清晰的指出，通过移民，交易，技术革新，相比较其他国家，美国在这场全球化的时代里应该是最大的赢家。为此，他指出了他自己的左边党派和2016兴起的右边党派所拥护的平民主义的不足。

4）The president grapples with the question of why populism has become so popular. Some of the explanation is no doubt cultural. But to the extent that it is animated by economics, he offers a detailed to-do list designed to improve the conditions of those who feel most aggrieved, focusing on boosting productivity growth, countering rising inequality, and improving job opportunities and American's financial resilience. Unusually for a sitting president, Mr Obama is willing to admit that his administration's record is not spotless and that he will leave the White House with some things undone. 

grapple - grapple with a problem is trying hard to solve it

animate - make it more lively/ popular

4) 奥巴马总统努力想为平民主义为什么会这么火的这个问题找到一个答案。毫无疑问的，原因其一就是美国的多种族文化。当每个种族都很雀跃的出现在经济领域里，奥巴马总统提出了一个详细的应做的列表，为的是优先提高受尽冤屈的人群的生活质量，把精力集中在提高生产率增长，减少经济不平等，增加工作机会， 最后还有美国人民的财物韧性。虽然对于一个前任的美国总统来说不是常有的，奥巴马总统却愿意承认他执行过的行政记录并不是十全十美，离开白宫时也还留有一些遗憾。

A serious bid for the center

5) These are his thoughts, lightly edited to be consistent with this (British) newspaper's house style. In several areas, our priorities would be different. Mr Obama, for instance, barely mentions the stifling role of regulation in deterring investment, dampening productivity growth and dulling innovation. He does not do justice to subjects of fundamental importance to America's long-term fiscal future, such as reform of the public pensions system. He makes no mention of the distortions that stem from well-meaning interventions, such as the complex mesh of means-tested welfare programs that hinders the progress of poor workers into better jobs. But it is a serious and thoughtful attempt to assess America's economic strengths and weaknesses. In today's raucous and sometimes hate-filled campaign environment, that makes it all too rare. 

stifling - make you feel trapped because you cannot do what you want 令人窒息的

deter - deter sb from doing sth is to make sb stop doing sth 

dampen - dampen sth down is to make the activity less strong/ intense

dulling - becoming less intense/ lively

mesh - a wired net

raucous - a sound that's loud, harsh, and rather unpleasant 刺耳的

5） 为了迎合本杂志的写作风格，我们轻微的编辑了奥巴马总统的想法。在一些值得优先考虑的地方，总统的想法会跟我们有点儿出入。例如，总统几乎没有提到美国境内那令人窒息的管理形式抑制了投资的前景，也是得生产率增长和科技革新缓慢下来。还有，他没有特别主观的讲述关于美国的长期经济发展，例如公共养老金制度的发展。再是， 他没有讲述到由于政府的介入而产生的导致的扭曲，例如像网丝一般复杂的福利计划妨碍了那些本可以寻求到更好机会工作的穷人，不能更上一层楼。但是，总体来说，总统还是很严谨且又有深度地评价了美国经济的优点与不足。这在当今充满着各种刺耳的声音和仇恨的竞选活动的环境里已然是非常罕见的。

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