(单词翻译:单击)
中英文本
Is student-loan forgiveness unforgivable in Congress?
国会是否同意减免学生贷款?
Even before taking office, president-elect Joe Biden is already facing a political storm among his ideologically diverse base of supporters over the volatile issue of student-debt forgiveness.
学生贷款减免问题备具争议,当选总统拜登就职之前就已在其形态各异的支持者中挑起一场政治风暴
Roughly 45 million Americans currently hold $1.6 trillion in student debt, with the average student-loan recipient owing between $20,000 and $25,000, according to the Federal Reserve. Among those actively making payments on their debt, the average monthly installment is between $200 and $300. And with 5.3 million more people unemployed than in February, right before the U.S. fell into a pandemic-induced recession, progressives say that student-debt forgiveness could be a boon for the economy.
美国联邦储备委员会的数据显示,目前约有4,500万美国人持有1.6万亿美元的学生债务,学生贷款接受者的平均债务在2万美元至2.5万美元之间
"Student-debt cancellation feels like one of the most accessible Executive actions to stimulate the economy at the moment," says Suzanne Kahn, director of the Education, Jobs and Worker Power program and the Great Democracy Initiative at the liberal Roosevelt Institute.
苏珊娜·卡恩是自由主义罗斯福协会教育、就业和工人动力项目和大民主倡议项目的主任,她说:“感觉取消学生债务是目前刺激经济最可行的行政措施之一
Kahn and others say the move would also help close the wealth gap between white Americans and people of color. Some 90% of Black students and 72% of Latino students take out loans for college vs. just 66% of white students, according to a 2016 analysis from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
卡恩等人说,这一举措还将有助于缩小美国白人和有色人种之间的财富差距
But the more moderate faction of Biden's base argues that sweeping student-loan forgiveness doesn't help the people who need aid most. Americans with college degrees, as a whole, have been less devastated by the economic effects of COVID-19 than their noncollege-educated counterparts. A September report from Pew Research Center found that only 12% of people with college degrees were having trouble paying bills as a result of the pandemic, compared with 34% of Americans with a high school diploma or less.
但拜登阵营里较为温和的一派认为,全面减免学生贷款并不能帮到最需要帮助的人
Others raise concerns about precedent: if the government wipes out current student loans, future college students may have an incentive to take on debts, they argue, hoping they will also be forgiven. Colleges may in turn be inclined to raise their prices further.
其他人则担忧先例被开创的问题:他们认为,如果政府减免了当前学生的贷款,那么之后的大学生有可能会去特意贷款,然后也希望自己的债务能够被免除
In recent weeks, Biden has walked a fine line on the issue, offering support for a bill from House Democrats calling for $10,000 worth of student-loan forgiveness but stopping short of endorsing anything close to a plan championed by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer to issue $50,000 per borrower through Executive action.
最近几周,拜登在这个问题上走了一条很好的路线,他支持众议院民主党议员提出的减免1万美元学生贷款的议案,但并未支持参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦和查克·舒默倡导的通过行政行为为每个借款人发放5万美元贷款等类似计划
What's clear, according to experts on both sides of the aisle, is that economic crises exacerbate the problem of student debt. The last time the U.S. dipped into a recession, state governments cut their investments in colleges and universities—which, in turn, raised their tuition prices and forced students to take on ever larger loans.
在两党专家看来有一点是明确的:经济危机使得学生债务问题更加严峻
That's not sustainable in the long run. It remains to be seen if Biden can arrive at a political solution that is.
这不是长久之计,拜登能否给出一条政治解决方案还有待观察
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重点讲解
1.student-loan 助学贷款
Joey paid off his student loan in less than five years.
乔伊不到五年就还清了他的助学贷款
2.forgive 免除(债务)
The government has agreed to forgive a large part of the debt.
政府同意免除一大部分债务
3.close the gap 缩小差距
Only in this way, can we gradually close the gap between our country and the developed countries.
只有这样,我们才能逐渐减少我国和发达国家之间的差距
4.take out loans 贷款
Americans take out loans to buy a car or a house, and many young people borrow money to go to university.
美国人会通过借贷来买车,买房,年轻人则会贷款去上大学