经济学人翻译练习——加拿大自由党政府试图提振经济4.16
经济学人翻译练习
写在前面
个人读了十几期经济学人，不得不说。。。经济学人作为世界顶尖的期刊，其所持观点依旧做不到公正客观，不偏不倚，和VOA，TED一样不过也是西方发声的喉咙罢了，实在令人失望，仔细想想，却又非常正常。只指出最明显的一点就是，文章中对于中国永远是阴谋论和贬斥，充斥着或明或暗的讥讽，而对于美国等西方国家，却是一种，即使有问题，那也是小问题，随时可以纠正，并且前景一片光明的基调，实在是令人。。。尴尬。因此写在前面，提醒大家，在阅读文章的时候要保持清醒，有自己辩证的思考。
Canada’s Liberal government tries to boost the economy
But Chrystia Freeland’s budget lacks ambition
英文原文： OVER THE next four decades Canada’s growth per person is expected to be the lowest in the OECD, a club mostly of rich countries. On April 7th Chrystia Freeland, the finance minister, sought to correct that. In presenting the federal budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year, which began on April 1st, she vowed to tackle the “insidious” problem of low productivity growth. She coupled that with a promise to reduce debt, which soared during the pandemic, as a share of GDP.
中文翻译： 在接下来的40年里，加拿大预计将会成为OECD（大多数由发达国家组成）中人均增长最低的国家。4月7日，加拿大的财政部长克里斯蒂亚·弗里兰试图来修正经济的发展。在提交于4月1日开始实行的2022-2023财政年度联邦预算时，她发誓要解决低生产率增长中的潜在问题。与此同时，她也做出承诺会减少在疫情期间猛增的负债，这种负债是作为GDP一部分的。
英文原文： The budget looks like an attempt by the Liberals, in office since 2015, to reclaim their reputation for centrism after years of rising federal spending.Critics say it falls short. It comes as the fortunes of Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, are improving after a rough patch. Police removed anti-government protesters from the streets of Ottawa, the capital, in February. The recent jump in the prices of commodities Canada exports should help protect its economy from an expected decline in global growth. In March Mr Trudeau,who leads a minority government, struck a “confidence-and-supply” agreement with the left-leaning New Democrats (NDP), which will probably keep him in power until elections in 2025. The opposition Conservatives are preoccupied with choosing a new leader in a vote due to take place in September.
中文翻译： 该预算看起来像是自由党自2015年以来执政的一次尝试，其目的在于，在多年的联邦支出上升后，重新获得中间主义的声誉。批评人士说，这还不够。与此同时，总理贾斯廷·特鲁多的命运在度过艰难的时期后正在好转。警方于2月驱赶了首都渥太华街道的反政府抗议者。加拿大大宗商品价格的上涨应该有助于使其经济免受全球增长预期下降的影响。3月，特鲁多，作为一个少数派政府的领导者与左倾新民主党（NDP）达成了一项“信任和供给”协议，这可能会使他一直执政到2025年的选举。与之对立的保守党正专注于在9月的选举中决定他们新的领导人。
英文原文： Ms Freeland also has some money to spend, partly because of a post-pandemic economic recovery. She plans to fork out C$9.5bn ($7.5bn) over five years, 0.4% of total spending, on measures to spur home-building. A 50% rise in house prices over the past two years is among voters’ biggest concerns. Construction is supposed to double over the next decade. Foreigners, who are implausibly blamed for pushing up prices, will be barred from buying houses for two years.
中文翻译： 弗里兰女士也能有一些资金以供开支，部分是归功于后疫情时期经济的恢复。她预计在接下来的5年中，将总开支的0.4%，95亿加元（核算为75亿美元）用于住房建设上。房价在过去的2年中上涨了50%是选民最关心的议题之一。房屋建设预计在接下来的十年中翻背。被控推高房价的外国人，将被两年内禁止买房。
英文原文： Despite the deal with the NDP, Ms Freeland “did show some restraint” on spending, says Rebekah Young, an economist at Scotiabank. The budget sets almost nothing aside for a proposal, backed by both parties, to provide universal coverage of the cost of prescription drugs. Debt is projected to fall from 46.5% of GDP last year to 41.5% in 2026-27. But the government should do more to restrain deficits “when times are good”, says Ms Young. She argues that the government’s plans to sustain growth lack “a coherent vision”.
加拿大丰业银行的一位经济学家丽贝卡·杨说道：尽管是和新民主党达成了协议，弗里兰女士在支出上“确实表现出了一定的克制”。此次预算全力投入受到各方党派支持的，处方药费用全民覆盖提议。负债占比GDP总额预计将于去年的46.5%下降到2026-2027年的41.5%。杨女士说道，“在经济形势好的时候”，政府应该采取更多措施来限制赤字。她认为政府用来实现经济持续增长的计划缺乏“连贯性”。
英文原文： Ms Freeland’s most notable idea is to establish an “arm’s-length” Canada Growth Fund. Initially capitalised at C$15bn, it is supposed to attract at least three times that from the private sector to boost green businesses and exports. Missing from the budget are measures that would have a bigger payoff, such as giving incentives to provinces to remove barriers to trade. Ms Freeland’s quest for growth could have been bolder.
中文翻译： 弗里兰女士最著名的想法是，建立一个“独立”的加拿大增长基金。初试注资150亿加元，预计能够从私人企业吸收至少3倍的资金用以促进绿色企业的发展和出口。预算中缺少一些将获得更大回报的措施，比如鼓励各省消除贸易壁垒。弗里兰女士对实现经济增长的想法本可以更大胆一些。
重要词汇
centrism 中间派，中心主义
insidious 潜伏的；隐袭的；隐伏的
left-leaning 左倾
fork out 花费
arm’s length ：(of commercial transactions) in accordance with market values, disregarding any connection such as common ownership of the companies involved）