It is wonderful to be back at GW. I want you to know that one of the reasons that I worked so hard with Democrats and Republicans to keep the government open was so that I could show up here today. I wanted to make sure that all of you had one more excuse to skip class. You're welcome. 很高兴回到乔治华盛顿大学。我想让你们知道，我之所以如此努力地与民主党和共和党合作来保持政府运转，其中一个原因就是为了今天能出现在这里。我想确保你们所有人都多了一个逃课的理由。不用谢。
I want to give a special thanks to Steven Knapp, the president of GW. I just saw him -- where is he? There he is right there. 我要特别感谢乔治华盛顿大学校长史蒂文·纳普。我刚才看到他了——他在哪儿？他就在这里。
We've got a lot of distinguished guests here -- a couple of people I want to acknowledge. First of all, my outstanding Vice President, Joe Biden, is here. Our Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner, is in the house. Jack Lew, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Gene Sperling, Chair of the National Economic Council, is here. Members of our bipartisan Fiscal Commission are here, including the two outstanding chairs -- Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson -- are here. 我们这里有很多贵宾——有几个人我想特别感谢。首先，我出色的副总统乔·拜登在这里。我们的财政部长蒂姆·盖特纳也在这里。管理和预算办公室主任杰克·卢。国家经济委员会主席吉恩·斯珀林在这里。我们两党财政委员会的成员在这里，包括两位杰出的主席——厄斯金·鲍尔斯和艾伦·辛普森——也在这里。
And we have a number of members of Congress here today. I'm grateful for all of you taking the time to attend. 今天我们还有很多国会议员在这里。感谢你们所有人抽出时间参加。
What we've been debating here in Washington over the last few weeks will affect the lives of the students here and families all across America in potentially profound ways. This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page; it's about more than just cutting and spending. It's about the kind of future that we want. It's about the kind of country that we believe in. 我们过去几周在华盛顿进行的辩论，将以深远的方式影响在座学生和全美各地家庭的生活。这场关于预算和赤字的辩论不仅仅是关于纸上的数字；它不仅仅是关于削减和开支。它关乎我们想要什么样的未来。它关乎我们相信什么样的国家。
And that's what I want to spend some time talking about today. 这就是我今天想花些时间谈论的内容。
From our first days as a nation, we have put our faith in free markets and free enterprise as the engine of America's wealth and prosperity. More than citizens of any other country, we are rugged individualists, a self-reliant people with a healthy skepticism of too much government. 从我们建国之初，我们就将信仰寄托在自由市场和自由企业上，将其作为美国财富和繁荣的引擎。我们比任何其他国家的公民都更加坚韧独立，是一个自力更生的民族，对过多的政府干预持健康的怀疑态度。
But there's always been another thread running through our history -- a belief that we're all connected, and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation. We believe, in the words of our first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, that through government, we should do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves. 但我们的历史中一直贯穿着另一条线索——一种信念，即我们都是相互联系的，有些事情我们只能作为一个国家共同完成。我们相信，用我们第一位共和党总统亚伯拉罕·林肯的话说，通过政府，我们应该共同完成我们个人无法做好的事情。
And so we've built a strong military to keep us secure, and public schools and universities to educate our citizens. We've laid down railroads and highways to facilitate travel and commerce. We've supported the work of scientists and researchers whose discoveries have saved lives, unleashed repeated technological revolutions, and led to countless new jobs and entire new industries. 因此，我们建立了一支强大的军队来保障安全，建立了公立学校和大学来教育公民。我们铺设了铁路和高速公路来促进旅行和商业。我们支持科学家和研究人员的工作，他们的发现拯救了生命，引发了反复的技术革命，并带来了无数新工作和全新产业。
Each of us has benefitted from these investments, and we're a more prosperous country as a result. 我们每个人都从这些投资中受益，因此我们成为一个更加繁荣的国家。
Part of this American belief that we're all connected also expresses itself in a conviction that each one of us deserves some basic measure of security and dignity. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, hard times or bad luck, a crippling illness or a layoff may strike any one of us. 我们美国人这种相互联系的信念，也体现在这样一种信念中：我们每个人都值得拥有基本的安全和尊严。我们认识到，无论我们多么负责任地生活，困难时期或坏运气、致残的疾病或失业都可能降临到我们任何人身上。
"There but for the grace of God go I," we say to ourselves. And so we contribute to programs like Medicare and Social Security, which guarantee us health care and a measure of basic income after a lifetime of hard work; unemployment insurance, which protects us against unexpected job loss; and Medicaid, which provides care for millions of seniors in nursing homes, poor children, those with disabilities. 我们美国人这种相互联系的信念，也体现在这样一种信念中：我们每个人都值得拥有基本的安全和尊严。
We're a better country because of these commitments. I'll go further. We would not be a great country without those commitments. 我们对自己说："若非上帝恩典，我也会如此。"因此，我们为医疗保险和社会保障等项目做出贡献，这些项目在我们辛勤工作一生后保障我们的医疗保健和基本收入；失业保险保护我们免受意外失业的影响；医疗补助为数百万疗养院的老年人、贫困儿童和残疾人提供护理。
Now, for much of the last century, our nation found a way to afford these investments and priorities with the taxes paid by its citizens. As a country that values fairness, wealthier individuals have traditionally borne a greater share of this burden than the middle class or those less fortunate. Everybody pays, but the wealthier have borne a little more. This is not because we begrudge those who've done well -- we rightly celebrate their success. Instead, it's a basic reflection of our belief that those who've benefited most from our way of life can afford to give back a little bit more. 因为这些承诺，我们成为一个更好的国家。我更进一步说。没有这些承诺，我们就不会成为一个伟大的国家。
Moreover, this belief hasn't hindered the success of those at the top of the income scale. They continue to do better and better with each passing year. 在上个世纪的大部分时间里，我们的国家找到了一种方法，用公民缴纳的税收来承担这些投资和优先事项。作为一个重视公平的国家，较富裕的人传统上比中产阶级或不太幸运的人承担更大的负担。每个人都纳税，但较富裕的人承担的多一点。这不是因为我们嫉妒那些成功的人——我们理所当然地庆祝他们的成功。相反，这基本反映了我们的信念，即那些从我们的生活方式中受益最多的人可以回馈更多。
Now, at certain times -- particularly during war or recession -- our nation has had to borrow money to pay for some of our priorities. And as most families understand, a little credit card debt isn't going to hurt if it's temporary. 此外，这种信念并没有阻碍那些处于收入顶层的人的成功。他们年复一年地过得越来越好。
But as far back as the 1980s, America started amassing debt at more alarming levels, and our leaders began to realize that a larger challenge was on the horizon. They knew that eventually, the Baby Boom generation would retire, which meant a much bigger portion of our citizens would be relying on programs like Medicare, Social Security, and possibly Medicaid. Like parents with young children who know they have to start saving for the college years, America had to start borrowing less and saving more to prepare for the retirement of an entire generation. 在某些时候——特别是在战争或经济衰退期间——我们的国家不得不借钱来支付一些优先事项。正如大多数家庭所理解的，如果只是暂时的，一点信用卡债务不会造成伤害。
To meet this challenge, our leaders came together three times during the 1990s to reduce our nation's deficit -- three times. They forged historic agreements that required tough decisions made by the first President Bush, then made by President Clinton, by Democratic Congresses and by a Republican Congress. All three agreements asked for shared responsibility and shared sacrifice. 但早在20世纪80年代，美国就开始以更令人担忧的水平积累债务，我们的领导人开始意识到一个更大的挑战即将到来。他们知道，最终婴儿潮一代将退休，这意味着更大比例的公民将依赖医疗保险、社会保障和可能的医疗补助等项目。就像有年幼孩子的父母知道他们必须开始为大学教育存钱一样，美国必须开始减少借贷、增加储蓄，为整整一代人的退休做准备。
But they largely protected the middle class; they largely protected our commitment to seniors; they protected our key investments in our future. 但早在20世纪80年代，美国就开始以更令人担忧的水平积累债务，我们的领导人开始意识到一个更大的挑战即将到来。
As a result of these bipartisan efforts, America's finances were in great shape by the year 2000. We went from deficit to surplus. America was actually on track to becoming completely debt free, and we were prepared for the retirement of the Baby Boomers. 为了应对这一挑战，我们的领导人在20世纪90年代三次走到一起，减少我们国家的赤字——三次。他们达成了历史性的协议，要求老布什总统、克林顿总统、民主党和共和党国会做出艰难的决定。所有三个协议都要求共同的责任和共同的牺牲。
But after Democrats and Republicans committed to fiscal discipline during the 1990s, we lost our way in the decade that followed. We increased spending dramatically for two wars and an expensive prescription drug program -- but we didn't pay for any of this new spending. Instead, we made the problem worse with trillions of dollars in unpaid-for tax cuts -- tax cuts that went to every millionaire and billionaire in the country. 但它们在很大程度上保护了中产阶级；它们在很大程度上保护了我们对老年人的承诺；它们保护了我们对未来的关键投资。
Tax cuts that will force us to borrow an average of $500 billion every year over the next decade. 由于这些两党合作的努力，到2000年，美国的财政状况非常健康。我们从赤字转为盈余。美国实际上有望完全消除债务，我们为婴儿潮一代的退休做好了准备。
To give you an idea of how much damage this caused to our nation's checkbook, consider this: In the last decade, if we had simply found a way to pay for the tax cuts and the prescription drug benefit, our deficit would currently be at low historical levels in the coming years. 但在民主党和共和党在20世纪90年代致力于财政纪律之后，我们在接下来的十年中迷失了方向。我们大幅增加了两场战争和一项昂贵的处方药计划的支出——但我们没有为这些新的支出买单。相反，我们用数万亿美元的未支付减税使问题变得更严重——这些减税惠及了国内的每一位百万富翁和亿万富翁。
But that's not what happened. And so, by the time I took office, we once again found ourselves deeply in debt and unprepared for a Baby Boom retirement that is now starting to take place. When I took office, our projected deficit, annually, was more than $1 trillion. On top of that, we faced a terrible financial crisis and a recession that, like most recessions, led us to temporarily borrow even more. 这些减税将迫使我们在未来十年每年平均借入5000亿美元。
In this case, we took a series of emergency steps that saved millions of jobs, kept credit flowing, and provided working families extra money in their pocket. It was absolutely the right thing to do, but these steps were expensive, and added to our deficits in the short term. 为了让你们了解这对我们的国家账簿造成了多大的损害，请考虑这一点：在过去的十年中，如果我们找到了支付减税和处方药福利的方法，我们的赤字在未来几年将处于历史低水平。
So that's how our fiscal challenge was created. That's how we got here. And now that our economic recovery is gaining strength, Democrats and Republicans must come together and restore the fiscal responsibility that served us so well in the 1990s. We have to live within our means. We have to reduce our deficit, and we have to get back on a path that will allow us to pay down our debt. And we have to do it in a way that protects the recovery, protects the investments we need to grow, create jobs, and helps us win the future. 但事实并非如此。因此，到我上任时，我们再次深陷债务，对现在开始发生的婴儿潮一代退休毫无准备。我上任时，我们每年的预计赤字超过1万亿美元。除此之外，我们还面临着严重的金融危机和经济衰退，像大多数经济衰退一样，导致我们暂时借入更多资金。
Now, before I get into how we can achieve this goal, some of you, particularly the younger people here -- you don't qualify, Joe. Some of you might be wondering, "Why is this so important? Why does this matter to me?" 在这种情况下，我们采取了一系列紧急措施，挽救了数百万个工作岗位，保持了信贷流动，并为工薪家庭提供了额外的资金。这绝对是正确的做法，但这些措施代价高昂，短期内增加了我们的赤字。
Well, here's why. Even after our economy recovers, our government will still be on track to spend more money than it takes in throughout this decade and beyond. That means we'll have to keep borrowing more from countries like China. That means more of your tax dollars each year will go towards paying off the interest on all the loans that we keep taking out. By the end of this decade, the interest that we owe on our debt could rise to nearly $1 trillion. 这就是我们的财政挑战是如何产生的。这就是我们如何走到今天的。现在我们的经济复苏正在增强，民主党和共和党必须走到一起，恢复20世纪90年代为我们服务良好的财政责任。我们必须量入为出。我们必须减少赤字，我们必须回到能够偿还债务的轨道上。我们必须以保护复苏、保护我们需要增长和创造就业的投资、帮助我们赢得未来的方式来做到这一点。
Think about that. That's the interest -- just the interest payments. 在我谈如何实现这个目标之前，你们中的一些人，特别是年轻人——乔，你不符合条件。你们中的一些人可能在想，"为什么这如此重要？为什么这对我很重要？"
Then, as the Baby Boomers start to retire in greater numbers and health care costs continue to rise, the situation will get even worse. By 2025, the amount of taxes we currently pay will only be enough to finance our health care programs -- Medicare and Medicaid -- Social Security, and the interest we owe on our debt. That's it. 好吧，原因如下。即使我们的经济复苏后，我们的政府仍将在这个十年及以后继续支出超过收入。这意味着我们将不得不继续从中国等国家借入更多资金。这意味着你们每年更多的税款将用于支付我们不断贷款的利息。到这个十年末，我们欠下的债务利息可能会上升到近1万亿美元。
Every other national priority -- education, transportation, even our national security -- will have to be paid for with borrowed money. 想想看。那只是利息——仅仅是利息支付。
Now, ultimately, all this rising debt will cost us jobs and damage our economy. It will prevent us from making the investments we need to win the future. We won't be able to afford good schools, new research, or the repair of roads -- all the things that create new jobs and businesses here in America. Businesses will be less likely to invest and open shop in a country that seems unwilling or unable to balance its books. 然后，随着婴儿潮一代开始大规模退休，医疗保健成本继续上升，情况会变得更糟。到2025年，我们目前缴纳的税收将仅够支付我们的医疗保健项目——医疗保险和医疗补助——社会保障，以及我们欠下的债务利息。仅此而已。
And if our creditors start worrying that we may be unable to pay back our debts, that could drive up interest rates for everybody who borrows money -- making it harder for businesses to expand and hire, or families to take out a mortgage. 所有其他国家优先事项——教育、交通，甚至我们的国家安全——都将不得不用借来的钱支付。
Here's the good news: That doesn't have to be our future. That doesn't have to be the country that we leave our children. We can solve this problem. We came together as Democrats and Republicans to meet this challenge before; we can do it again. 最终，所有这些不断上升的债务将使我们失去工作，损害我们的经济。它将阻止我们进行赢得未来所需的投资。我们将无法负担好的学校、新的研究或道路维修——所有这些在美国创造新工作和新业务的事情。企业将不太可能在一个似乎不愿意或无法平衡账簿的国家投资和开业。
But that starts by being honest about what's causing our deficit. You see, most Americans tend to dislike government spending in the abstract, but like the stuff that it buys. Most of us, regardless of party affiliation, believe that we should have a strong military and a strong defense. Most Americans believe we should invest in education and medical research. Most Americans think we should protect commitments like Social Security and Medicare. And without even looking at a poll, my finely honed political instincts tell me that almost nobody believes they should be paying higher taxes. 如果我们的债权人开始担心我们可能无法偿还债务，那可能会推高每个借款人的利率——使企业更难扩张和招聘，或家庭更难获得抵押贷款。
So because all this spending is popular with both Republicans and Democrats alike, and because nobody wants to pay higher taxes, politicians are often eager to feed the impression that solving the problem is just a matter of eliminating waste and abuse. You'll hear that phrase a lot. "We just need to eliminate waste and abuse." The implication is that tackling the deficit issue won't require tough choices. Or politicians suggest that we can somehow close our entire deficit by eliminating things like foreign aid, even though foreign aid makes up about 1 percent of our entire federal budget. 好消息是：这不一定是我们的未来。这不一定是留给我们孩子的国家。我们可以解决这个问题。我们以前作为民主党和共和党走到一起应对这一挑战；我们可以再次做到。
So here's the truth. Around two-thirds of our budget -- two-thirds -- is spent on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and national security. Two-thirds. Programs like unemployment insurance, student loans, veterans' benefits, and tax credits for working families take up another 20 percent. What's left, after interest on the debt, is just 12 percent for everything else. 但这首先要诚实地面对造成赤字的原因。你看，大多数美国人倾向于不喜欢抽象的政府开支，但喜欢它购买的东西。我们大多数人，无论党派归属，都认为我们应该拥有强大的军队和强大的国防。大多数美国人认为我们应该投资教育和医学研究。大多数美国人认为我们应该保护社会保障和医疗保险等承诺。甚至不需要看民调，我敏锐的政治直觉告诉我，几乎没有人认为他们应该缴纳更高的税。
That's 12 percent for all of our national priorities -- education, clean energy, medical research, transportation, our national parks, food safety, keeping our air and water clean -- you name it -- all of that accounts for 12 percent of our budget. 因为所有这些开支在共和党和民主党中都很受欢迎，而且因为没有人想缴纳更高的税，政客们往往急于给人留下这样的印象：解决问题只是消除浪费和滥用的问题。你会经常听到这句话。"我们只需要消除浪费和滥用。"其含义是，解决赤字问题不需要艰难的选择。或者政客们暗示，我们可以通过消除外援等方式来弥补整个赤字，尽管外援仅占我们整个联邦预算的约1%。
Now, up till now, the debate here in Washington, the cuts proposed by a lot of folks in Washington, have focused exclusively on that 12 percent. But cuts to that 12 percent alone won't solve the problem. So any serious plan to tackle our deficit will require us to put everything on the table, and take on excess spending wherever it exists in the budget. 所以，事实是。我们预算的约三分之二——三分之二——用于医疗保险、医疗补助、社会保障和国防。三分之二。失业保险、学生贷款、退伍军人福利和工薪家庭税收抵免等项目占另外20%。
A serious plan doesn't require us to balance our budget overnight -- in fact, economists think that with the economy just starting to grow again, we need a phased-in approach -- but it does require tough decisions and support from our leaders in both parties now. Above all, it will require us to choose a vision of the America we want to see five years, 10 years, 20 years down the road. 扣除债务利息后，剩下的只有12%用于其他一切。那是12%用于我们所有的国家优先事项——教育、清洁能源、医学研究、交通、国家公园、食品安全、保持空气和水清洁——你能想到的——所有这些仅占我们预算的12%。
Now, to their credit, one vision has been presented and championed by Republicans in the House of Representatives and embraced by several of their party's presidential candidates. It's a plan that aims to reduce our deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years, and one that addresses the challenge of Medicare and Medicaid in the years after that. 到目前为止，华盛顿的辩论，华盛顿很多人提出的削减，都只集中在那12%上。但仅削减那12%无法解决问题。因此，任何解决赤字的严肃计划都需要我们把所有事情都摆在桌面上，并在预算中任何存在过度支出的地方加以应对。
These are both worthy goals. They're worthy goals for us to achieve. But the way this plan achieves those goals would lead to a fundamentally different America than the one we've known certainly in my lifetime. In fact, I think it would be fundamentally different than what we've known throughout our history. 一个严肃的计划不需要我们一夜之间平衡预算——事实上，经济学家认为，随着经济刚刚开始增长，我们需要分阶段的方法——但它确实需要艰难的决定和两党领导人的支持。最重要的是，它需要我们选择一个愿景：五年、十年、二十年后我们想看到什么样的美国。
A 70 percent cut in clean energy. A 25 percent cut in education. A 30 percent cut in transportation. Cuts in college Pell Grants that will grow to more than $1,000 per year. That's the proposal. These aren't the kind of cuts you make when you're trying to get rid of some waste or find extra savings in the budget. These aren't the kinds of cuts that the Fiscal Commission proposed. These are the kinds of cuts that tell us we can't afford the America that I believe in and I think you believe in. 值得赞扬的是，一种愿景已经由众议院共和党人提出并拥护，并被他们党的几位总统候选人接受。这是一项计划，旨在未来10年内将我们的赤字减少4万亿美元，并在此后应对医疗保险和医疗补助的挑战。
I believe it paints a vision of our future that is deeply pessimistic. It's a vision that says if our roads crumble and our bridges collapse, we can't afford to fix them. If there are bright young Americans who have the drive and the will but not the money to go to college, we can't afford to send them. 这两个都是值得追求的目标。它们是我们值得实现的目标。但这项计划实现这些目标的方式将导致一个与我一生中所知的美国根本不同的美国。事实上，我认为它将与我们整个历史中所知的根本不同。
Go to China and you'll see businesses opening research labs and solar facilities. South Korean children are outpacing our kids in math and science. They're scrambling to figure out how they put more money into education. Brazil is investing billions in new infrastructure and can run half their cars not on high-priced gasoline, but on biofuels. And yet, we are presented with a vision that says the American people, the United States of America -- the greatest nation on Earth -- can't afford any of this. 清洁能源削减70%。教育削减25%。交通削减30%。大学佩尔助学金削减将增长到每年超过1000美元。这就是提议。这些不是你试图消除浪费或在预算中找到额外储蓄时做出的削减。这些不是财政委员会提出的那种削减。这些是告诉我们，我们负担不起我所相信的、我认为你们也相信的美国的削减。
It's a vision that says America can't afford to keep the promise we've made to care for our seniors. It says that 10 years from now, if you're a 65-year-old who's eligible for Medicare, you should have to pay nearly $6,400 more than you would today. It says instead of guaranteed health care, you will get a voucher. 我认为这描绘了一幅对我们未来深感悲观的愿景。这是一种愿景，它说如果我们的道路崩塌、桥梁倒塌，我们无力修复它们。如果有聪明的年轻美国人有动力和意愿但没有钱上大学，我们无力送他们去。
And if that voucher isn't worth enough to buy the insurance that's available in the open marketplace, well, tough luck -- you're on your own. Put simply, it ends Medicare as we know it. 去中国，你会看到企业开设研究实验室和太阳能设施。韩国儿童在数学和科学方面超过了我们的孩子。他们正在努力想办法投入更多资金到教育中。巴西正在投资数十亿建设新基础设施，他们一半的汽车可以不用昂贵的汽油，而是用生物燃料运行。然而，我们面对的愿景却说美国人民，美利坚合众国——地球上最伟大的国家——负担不起这些。
It's a vision that says up to 50 million Americans have to lose their health insurance in order for us to reduce the deficit. Who are these 50 million Americans? Many are somebody's grandparents -- may be one of yours -- who wouldn't be able to afford nursing home care without Medicaid. Many are poor children. Some are middle-class families who have children with autism or Down's syndrome. 这是一种说美国负担不起我们对老年人承诺的愿景。它说10年后，如果你是一个有资格享受医疗保险的65岁老人，你应该比今天多支付近6400美元。它说你不会得到有保障的医疗保健，而是会得到一张代金券。
Some of these kids with disabilities are -- the disabilities are so severe that they require 24-hour care. These are the Americans we'd be telling to fend for themselves. 如果那张代金券不足以在公开市场上购买可用的保险，那么，太糟糕了——你只能靠自己了。简单地说，它终结了我们所知的医疗保险。
And worst of all, this is a vision that says even though Americans can't afford to invest in education at current levels, or clean energy, even though we can't afford to maintain our commitment on Medicare and Medicaid, we can somehow afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy. Think about that. 这是一种说多达5000万美国人必须失去医疗保险才能减少赤字的愿景。这5000万美国人是谁？许多是某人的祖父母——可能是你们中某人的祖父母——如果没有医疗补助，他们将无法负担疗养院护理。许多是贫困儿童。一些是有自闭症或唐氏综合症孩子的中产阶级家庭。
In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90 percent of all working Americans actually declined. Meanwhile, the top 1 percent saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. That's who needs to pay less taxes? 一些有残疾的孩子——残疾如此严重，需要24小时护理。这些是我们要告诉自谋生路的美国人。
They want to give people like me a $200,000 tax cut that's paid for by asking 33 seniors each to pay $6,000 more in health costs. That's not right. And it's not going to happen as long as I'm President. 最糟糕的是，这是一种愿景，它说尽管美国人负担不起以目前水平投资教育或清洁能源，尽管我们负担不起维持医疗保险和医疗补助的承诺，但我们 somehow 可以为富人提供超过1万亿美元的新税收减免。想想看。
This vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America. Ronald Reagan's own budget director said, there's nothing "serious" or "courageous" about this plan. There's nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. 在过去十年中，底层90%的美国工薪阶层的平均收入实际上下降了。与此同时，最富有的1%的人的收入平均增长了超过25万美元。这才是需要少缴税的人？
And I don't think there's anything courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don't have any clout on Capitol Hill. That's not a vision of the America I know. 他们想给我这样的人20万美元的减税，而这笔减税是通过让33位老年人每人多支付6000美元的医疗费用来支付的。这是不对的。只要我还是总统，这就不会发生。
The America I know is generous and compassionate. It's a land of opportunity and optimism. Yes, we take responsibility for ourselves, but we also take responsibility for each other; for the country we want and the future that we share. We're a nation that built a railroad across a continent and brought light to communities shrouded in darkness. 这种愿景与其说是为了减少赤字，不如说是为了改变美国基本的社会契约。罗纳德·里根自己的预算主任说，这项计划没有什么"严肃"或"勇敢"的。声称通过为百万富翁和亿万富翁花费一万亿美元减税来减少赤字的计划，没有什么严肃可言。
We sent a generation to college on the GI Bill and we saved millions of seniors from poverty with Social Security and Medicare. We have led the world in scientific research and technological breakthroughs that have transformed millions of lives. That's who we are. This is the America that I know. We don't have to choose between a future of spiraling debt and one where we forfeit our investment in our people and our country. 我也不认为要求那些最负担不起、在国会山没有任何影响力的人做出牺牲有什么勇敢的。这不是我所知的美国愿景。
To meet our fiscal challenge, we will need to make reforms. We will all need to make sacrifices. But we do not have to sacrifice the America we believe in. And as long as I'm President, we won't. 我所知的美国是慷慨和富有同情心的。它是一个充满机会和乐观的土地。是的，我们对自己负责，但我们也对彼此负责；对我们想要的国家和我们共享的未来负责。我们是一个建造了横跨大陆的铁路、为笼罩在黑暗中的社区带来光明的国家。我们通过《退伍军人权利法案》让一代人上了大学，我们通过社会保障和医疗保险拯救了数百万老年人免于贫困。我们在科学研究和技术突破方面引领世界，改变了数百万人的生活。这就是我们。这就是我所知的美国。我们不需要在螺旋式上升的债务未来和放弃对我们人民和国家的投资之间做出选择。
So today, I'm proposing a more balanced approach to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 12 years. It's an approach that borrows from the recommendations of the bipartisan Fiscal Commission that I appointed last year, and it builds on the roughly $1 trillion in deficit reduction I already proposed in my 2012 budget. It's an approach that puts every kind of spending on the table -- but one that protects the middle class, our promise to seniors, and our investments in the future. 我也不认为要求那些最负担不起、在国会山没有任何影响力的人做出牺牲有什么勇敢的。
The first step in our approach is to keep annual domestic spending low by building on the savings that both parties agreed to last week. That step alone will save us about $750 billion over 12 years. We will make the tough cuts necessary to achieve these savings, including in programs that I care deeply about, but I will not sacrifice the core investments that we need to grow and create jobs. We will invest in medical research. 为了应对我们的财政挑战，我们将需要进行改革。我们所有人都需要做出牺牲。但我们不必牺牲我们所信仰的美国。只要我还是总统，我们就不会这样做。
We will invest in clean energy technology. We will invest in new roads and airports and broadband access. We will invest in education. We will invest in job training. We will do what we need to do to compete, and we will win the future. 所以今天，我提议采取一种更平衡的方法，在12年内实现4万亿美元的赤字削减。这是一种借鉴我去年任命的两党财政委员会建议的方法，它建立在我已经在2012年预算中提出的大约1万亿美元赤字削减的基础上。这是一种把各种开支都摆在桌面上的方法——但保护中产阶级、我们对老年人的承诺以及我们对未来的投资。
The second step in our approach is to find additional savings in our defense budget. Now, as Commander-in-Chief, I have no greater responsibility than protecting our national security, and I will never accept cuts that compromise our ability to defend our homeland or America's interests around the world. But as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen, has said, the greatest long-term threat to America's national security is America's debt. So just as we must find more savings in domestic programs, we must do the same in defense. And we can do that while still keeping ourselves safe. 我们方法的第一步是通过建立在两党上周同意的储蓄基础上，保持年度国内开支处于低位。仅这一步就将在12年内为我们节省约7500亿美元。我们将做出实现这些储蓄所需的艰难削减，包括在我深为关心的项目中，但我不会牺牲我们需要增长和创造就业的核心投资。我们将投资医学研究。我们将投资清洁能源技术。我们将投资新道路、机场和宽带接入。我们将投资教育。我们将投资职业培训。我们将做我们需要做的事情来竞争，我们将赢得未来。
Over the last two years, Secretary Bob Gates has courageously taken on wasteful spending, saving $400 billion in current and future spending. I believe we can do that again. We need to not only eliminate waste and improve efficiency and effectiveness, but we're going to have to conduct a fundamental review of America's missions, capabilities, and our role in a changing world. I intend to work with Secretary Gates and the Joint Chiefs on this review, and I will make specific decisions about spending after it's complete. 我们方法的第二步是在国防预算中找到额外的储蓄。作为总司令，我没有比保护国家安全更大的责任，我永远不会接受损害我们保卫家园或美国在世界各地利益能力的削减。但正如参谋长联席会议主席马伦上将所说，美国国家安全最大的长期威胁是美国的债务。因此，正如我们必须在国内项目中找到更多储蓄一样，我们也必须在国防方面这样做。我们可以在保持安全的同时做到这一点。
The third step in our approach is to further reduce health care spending in our budget. Now, here, the difference with the House Republican plan could not be clearer. Their plan essentially lowers the government's health care bills by asking seniors and poor families to pay them instead. Our approach lowers the government's health care bills by reducing the cost of health care itself. 过去两年，鲍勃·盖茨部长勇敢地打击了浪费性支出，在当前和未来支出中节省了4000亿美元。我相信我们可以再次做到。我们不仅需要消除浪费、提高效率和有效性，而且我们还将不得不对美国的任务、能力和我们在不断变化的世界中的角色进行根本性审查。我打算与盖茨部长和参谋长联席会议合作进行这项审查，审查完成后我将做出具体的支出决定。
Already, the reforms we passed in the health care law will reduce our deficit by $1 trillion. My approach would build on these reforms. We will reduce wasteful subsidies and erroneous payments. We will cut spending on prescription drugs by using Medicare's purchasing power to drive greater efficiency and speed generic brands of medicine onto the market. 我们方法的第三步是进一步减少预算中的医疗保健支出。在这里，与众议院共和党计划的差异再清楚不过了。他们的计划本质上是通过让老年人和贫困家庭来支付政府的医疗账单来降低政府的医疗开支。我们的方法是通过降低医疗保健本身的成本来降低政府的医疗账单。
We will work with governors of both parties to demand more efficiency and accountability from Medicaid. 我们已经通过的医疗保健法改革将减少1万亿美元的赤字。我的方法将建立在这些改革的基础上。我们将减少浪费性补贴和错误支付。我们将通过利用医疗保险的购买力来推动更高的效率，并加速仿制药进入市场，从而削减处方药支出。
We will change the way we pay for health care -- not by the procedure or the number of days spent in a hospital, but with new incentives for doctors and hospitals to prevent injuries and improve results. And we will slow the growth of Medicare costs by strengthening an independent commission of doctors, nurses, medical experts and consumers who will look at all the evidence and recommend the best ways to reduce unnecessary spending while protecting access to the services that seniors need. 我们将与两党的州长合作，要求医疗补助提高效率和问责制。
Now, we believe the reforms we've proposed to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid will enable us to keep these commitments to our citizens while saving us $500 billion by 2023, and an additional $1 trillion in the decade after that. But if we're wrong, and Medicare costs rise faster than we expect, then this approach will give the independent commission the authority to make additional savings by further improving Medicare. 我们将改变我们支付医疗保健的方式——不是按程序或住院天数，而是为医生和医院提供新的激励措施来预防伤害和改善结果。我们将通过加强一个由医生、护士、医疗专家和消费者组成的独立委员会来减缓医疗保险成本的增长，该委员会将审查所有证据，并推荐在保护老年人获得服务的同时减少不必要支出的最佳方式。
But let me be absolutely clear: I will preserve these health care programs as a promise we make to each other in this society. I will not allow Medicare to become a voucher program that leaves seniors at the mercy of the insurance industry, with a shrinking benefit to pay for rising costs. I will not tell families with children who have disabilities that they have to fend for themselves. We will reform these programs, but we will not abandon the fundamental commitment this country has kept for generations. 现在，我们相信我们提出的加强医疗保险和医疗补助的改革将使我们能够保持对公民的承诺，同时在2023年前节省5000亿美元，在此后的十年中再节省1万亿美元。但如果我们的判断有误，医疗保险成本上升速度快于预期，那么这种方法将赋予独立委员会通过进一步改善医疗保险来进行额外储蓄的权力。
That includes, by the way, our commitment to Social Security. While Social Security is not the cause of our deficit, it faces real long-term challenges in a country that's growing older. As I said in the State of the Union, both parties should work together now to strengthen Social Security for future generations. But we have to do it without putting at risk current retirees, or the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market. And it can be done. 但让我绝对明确：我将保留这些医疗保健项目，作为我们在这个社会中彼此做出的承诺。我不会让医疗保险变成一个代金券计划，让老年人任由保险业摆布，福利缩水却要支付不断上涨的成本。我不会告诉有残疾孩子的家庭他们必须自谋生路。我们将改革这些项目，但我们不会放弃这个国家几代人以来一直坚守的根本承诺。
The fourth step in our approach is to reduce spending in the tax code, so-called tax expenditures. In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. We can't afford it. And I refuse to renew them again. 顺便说一句，这包括我们对社会保障的承诺。虽然社会保障不是我们赤字的原因，但它在一个日益老龄化的国家面临着真正的长期挑战。正如我在国情咨文中所说，两党现在应该共同努力，为子孙后代加强社会保障。但我们必须在不危及当前退休人员、最弱势群体或残疾人的前提下做到这一点；不削减子孙后代的福利；不使美国人有保障的退休收入受制于股市的波动。这是可以做到的。
Beyond that, the tax code is also loaded up with spending on things like itemized deductions. And while I agree with the goals of many of these deductions, from homeownership to charitable giving, we can't ignore the fact that they provide millionaires an average tax break of $75,000 but do nothing for the typical middle-class family that doesn't itemize. So my budget calls for limiting itemized deductions for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans -- a reform that would reduce the deficit by $320 billion over 10 years. 我们方法的第四步是减少税法中的支出，即所谓的税收支出。去年12月，我同意延长对最富有的美国人的减税，因为这是我防止中产阶级美国人增税的唯一方法。但我们负担不起为社会中每一位百万富翁和亿万富翁提供价值1万亿美元的减税。我们负担不起。我拒绝再次延长它们。
But to reduce the deficit, I believe we should go further. And that's why I'm calling on Congress to reform our individual tax code so that it is fair and simple -- so that the amount of taxes you pay isn't determined by what kind of accountant you can afford. 除此之外，税法中还充满了对逐项扣除等事项的支出。虽然我同意其中许多扣除的目标，从房屋所有权到慈善捐赠，但我们不能忽视这样一个事实：它们为百万富翁平均提供75,000美元的税收减免，但对不逐项扣除的普通中产阶级家庭没有任何作用。因此，我的预算要求限制最富有的2%美国人的逐项扣除——这项改革将在10年内减少3200亿美元的赤字。
I believe reform should protect the middle class, promote economic growth, and build on the fiscal commission's model of reducing tax expenditures so that there's enough savings to both lower rates and lower the deficit. And as I called for in the State of the Union, we should reform our corporate tax code as well, to make our businesses and our economy more competitive. 但为了减少赤字，我认为我们应该更进一步。这就是为什么我呼吁国会改革我们的个人所得税法，使其公平和简单——这样你缴纳的税额不取决于你能负担得起什么样的会计师。
So this is my approach to reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years. It's an approach that achieves about $2 trillion in spending cuts across the budget. It will lower our interest payments on the debt by $1 trillion. It calls for tax reform to cut about $1 trillion in tax expenditures -- spending in the tax code. And it achieves these goals while protecting the middle class, protecting our commitment to seniors, and protecting our investments in the future. 我认为改革应该保护中产阶级，促进经济增长，并以财政委员会的模式减少税收支出，从而有足够的储蓄来降低税率和减少赤字。正如我在国情咨文中呼吁的那样，我们也应该改革我们的企业税法，使我们的企业和经济更具竞争力。
Now, in the coming years, if the recovery speeds up and our economy grows faster than our current projections, we can make even greater progress than I've pledged here. But just to hold Washington -- and to hold me -- accountable and make sure that the debt burden continues to decline, my plan includes a debt failsafe. 所以这是我未来12年减少4万亿美元赤字的方法。这是一种在预算中实现约2万亿美元支出削减的方法。它将使我们的债务利息支付减少1万亿美元。它呼吁税法改革削减约1万亿美元的税收支出——即税法中的支出。它在保护中产阶级、保护我们对老年人的承诺以及保护我们对未来的投资的同时实现了这些目标。
If, by 2014, our debt is not projected to fall as a share of the economy -- if we haven't hit our targets, if Congress has failed to act -- then my plan will require us to come together and make up the additional savings with more spending cuts and more spending reductions in the tax code. That should be an incentive for us to act boldly now, instead of kicking our problems further down the road. 在未来几年，如果复苏加速，我们的经济增长速度超过我们目前的预测，我们可以取得比我在这里承诺的更大进展。但为了使华盛顿——也使我——承担责任，并确保债务负担继续下降，我的计划包括一个债务保障措施。
So this is our vision for America -- this is my vision for America -- a vision where we live within our means while still investing in our future; where everyone makes sacrifices but no one bears all the burden; where we provide a basic measure of security for our citizens and we provide rising opportunity for our children. 如果到2014年，我们的债务占经济的比例预计不会下降——如果我们没有达到目标，如果国会未能采取行动——那么我的计划将要求我们走到一起，通过更多的支出削减和税法中的更多支出来弥补额外的储蓄。这应该激励我们现在大胆行动，而不是把问题踢到以后。
There will be those who vigorously disagree with my approach. I can guarantee that as well. Some will argue we should not even consider ever -- ever -- raising taxes, even if only on the wealthiest Americans. It's just an article of faith to them. I say that at a time when the tax burden on the wealthy is at its lowest level in half a century, the most fortunate among us can afford to pay a little more. 所以这是我们对美国的愿景——这是我对美国的愿景——一个我们在量入为出的同时仍然投资于未来的愿景；一个每个人都做出牺牲但没有人承担所有负担的愿景；一个我们为公民提供基本安全保障、为我们的孩子提供不断上升机会的愿景。
I don't need another tax cut. Warren Buffett doesn't need another tax cut. Not if we have to pay for it by making seniors pay more for Medicare. Or by cutting kids from Head Start. Or by taking away college scholarships that I wouldn't be here without and that some of you would not be here without. 会有人强烈反对我的方法。我可以保证这一点。有些人会争辩说，我们甚至不应该考虑——永远不应该——增税，即使只是对最富有的美国人。对他们来说，这只是一种信仰。我说，在富人的税收负担处于半个世纪以来最低水平的时候，我们中最幸运的人可以多付一点。我不需要另一项减税。沃伦·巴菲特不需要另一项减税。不是如果我们必须通过让老年人为医疗保险支付更多来支付它。或者通过削减启蒙计划的孩子。或者通过取消我不会在这里、你们中的一些人也不会在这里的大学奖学金。
And here's the thing: I believe that most wealthy Americans would agree with me. They want to give back to their country, a country that's done so much for them. It's just Washington hasn't asked them to. 事情是这样的：我相信大多数富有的美国人会同意我的观点。他们想回馈他们的国家，一个为他们做了这么多的国家。只是华盛顿还没有要求他们这样做。
Others will say that we shouldn't even talk about cutting spending until the economy is fully recovered. These are mostly folks in my party. I'm sympathetic to this view -- which is one of the reasons I supported the payroll tax cuts we passed in December. It's also why we have to use a scalpel and not a machete to reduce the deficit, so that we can keep making the investments that create jobs. But doing nothing on the deficit is just not an option. Our debt has grown so large that we could do real damage to the economy if we don't begin a process now to get our fiscal house in order. 还有人会说，在经济完全复苏之前，我们甚至不应该谈论削减支出。这些人大多是我党内的。我同情这种观点——这也是我支持去年12月通过的工资税削减的原因之一。这也是为什么我们必须用手术刀而不是砍刀来减少赤字，这样我们才能继续进行创造就业的投资。但在赤字问题上无所作为根本不是一个选择。我们的债务已经增长到如此之大，如果我们现在不开始一个过程来整理我们的财政，我们可能会对经济造成真正的损害。
Finally, there are those who believe we shouldn't make any reforms to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security, out of fear that any talk of change to these programs will immediately usher in the sort of steps that the House Republicans have proposed. And I understand those fears. But I guarantee that if we don't make any changes at all, we won't be able to keep our commitment to a retiring generation that will live longer and will face higher health care costs than those who came before. 最后，有些人认为我们不应该对医疗保险、医疗补助或社会保障进行任何改革，因为他们担心任何关于改变这些项目的言论都会立即引入众议院共和党人提出的那种措施。我理解这些担忧。但我保证，如果我们根本不做任何改变，我们将无法履行我们对退休一代的承诺，他们将比前人更长寿，面临更高的医疗保健成本。
Indeed, to those in my own party, I say that if we truly believe in a progressive vision of our society, we have an obligation to prove that we can afford our commitments. If we believe the government can make a difference in people's lives, we have the obligation to prove that it works -- by making government smarter, and leaner and more effective. 事实上，对我自己党内的人，我说，如果我们真正相信我们社会的进步愿景，我们有义务证明我们负担得起我们的承诺。如果我们相信政府可以在人们的生活中发挥作用，我们有义务证明它是有效的——通过使政府更聪明、更精简、更有效。
Of course, there are those who simply say there's no way we can come together at all and agree on a solution to this challenge. They'll say the politics of this city are just too broken; the choices are just too hard; the parties are just too far apart. And after a few years on this job, I have some sympathy for this view. 当然，有些人 simply 说我们根本不可能走到一起，就这一挑战的解决方案达成一致。他们会说这个城市的政坛已经支离破碎；选择太难了；两党分歧太大。在这份工作干了几年之后，我对这种观点有些同情。
But I also know that we've come together before and met big challenges. Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill came together to save Social Security for future generations. The first President Bush and a Democratic Congress came together to reduce the deficit. President Clinton and a Republican Congress battled each other ferociously, disagreed on just about everything, but they still found a way to balance the budget. And in the last few months, both parties have come together to pass historic tax relief and spending cuts. 但我也知道，我们以前曾经走到一起，迎接重大挑战。罗纳德·里根和蒂普·奥尼尔走到一起，为子孙后代拯救了社会保障。老布什总统和民主党国会走到一起，减少了赤字。克林顿总统和共和党国会激烈争斗，几乎在所有事情上都意见不合，但他们仍然找到了平衡预算的方法。在过去的几个月里，两党走到一起，通过了历史性的税收减免和支出削减。
And I know there are Republicans and Democrats in Congress who want to see a balanced approach to deficit reduction. And even those Republicans I disagree with most strongly I believe are sincere about wanting to do right by their country. We may disagree on our visions, but I truly believe they want to do the right thing. 我知道国会中有共和党人和民主党人希望看到平衡的赤字削减方法。即使是那些我最强烈反对的共和党人，我也相信他们是真诚地想为国家做正确的事情。我们可能在愿景上存在分歧，但我真正相信他们想做正确的事。
So I believe we can, and must, come together again. This morning, I met with Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress to discuss the approach that I laid out today. And in early May, the Vice President will begin regular meetings with leaders in both parties with the aim of reaching a final agreement on a plan to reduce the deficit and get it done by the end of June. 所以我相信我们可以，而且必须，再次走到一起。今天早上，我会见了国会的民主党和共和党领导人，讨论我今天提出的方法。5月初，副总统将开始与两党领导人定期会晤，目标是在6月底前达成减少赤字的最终协议。
I don't expect the details in any final agreement to look exactly like the approach I laid out today. This a democracy; that's not how things work. I'm eager to hear other ideas from all ends of the political spectrum. And though I'm sure the criticism of what I've said here today will be fierce in some quarters, and my critique of the House Republican approach has been strong, Americans deserve and will demand that we all make an effort to bridge our differences and find common ground. 我不指望任何最终协议的细节与我今天提出的方法完全一样。这是一个民主国家；事情不是这样运作的。我渴望听到政治光谱各端的其他想法。尽管我确信我今天所说的话在某些方面会招致猛烈批评，而且我对众议院共和党方法的批评也很强烈，但美国人应该并且将要求我们所有人都努力弥合分歧，找到共同点。
This larger debate that we're having -- this larger debate about the size and the role of government -- it has been with us since our founding days. And during moments of great challenge and change, like the one that we're living through now, the debate gets sharper and it gets more vigorous. That's not a bad thing. In fact, it's a good thing. As a country that prizes both our individual freedom and our obligations to one another, this is one of the most important debates that we can have. 我们正在进行的这场更大的辩论——关于政府规模和角色的更大辩论——自我们建国以来就一直伴随着我们。在我们现在正在经历的巨大挑战和变革时刻，辩论变得更加尖锐和激烈。这不是坏事。事实上，这是好事。作为一个珍视个人自由和彼此义务的国家，这是我们能够进行的最重要的辩论之一。
But no matter what we argue, no matter where we stand, we've always held certain beliefs as Americans. We believe that in order to preserve our own freedoms and pursue our own happiness, we can't just think about ourselves. We have to think about the country that made these liberties possible. We have to think about our fellow citizens with whom we share a community. And we have to think about what's required to preserve the American Dream for future generations. 但无论我们争论什么，无论我们站在哪里，我们作为美国人始终持有某些信念。我们相信，为了保护我们自己的自由和追求我们自己的幸福，我们不能只想着自己。我们必须想到使这些自由成为可能的国家。我们必须想到与我们共享社区的同胞。我们必须想到为子孙后代保留美国梦所需的一切。
This sense of responsibility -- to each other and to our country -- this isn't a partisan feeling. It isn't a Democratic or a Republican idea. It's patriotism. 这种责任感——对彼此和对我们国家——这不是一种党派情绪。这不是民主党的或共和党的想法。这是爱国主义。
The other day I received a letter from a man in Florida. He started off by telling me he didn't vote for me and he hasn't always agreed with me. 前几天，我收到了佛罗里达州一位男士的来信。他一开始告诉我，他没有投票给我，而且他并不总是同意我。但尽管他担心我们的经济和政治状况——他是这样说的——他说，"我仍然相信。我相信我祖父告诉我的那个伟大的国家。我相信在每个新闻台琐碎争吵的泥潭中某个地方，美国梦仍然活着……我们需要用我们的美元在这里重建、翻新和恢复我们祖先努力创造和维护的一切……作为一个民族，我们必须一起做这件事，无论一个人来自哪个州或坐在过道的哪一边。"
But even though he's worried about our economy and the state of our politics -- here's what he said -- he said, "I still believe. I believe in that great country that my grandfather told me about. I believe that somewhere lost in this quagmire of petty bickering on every news station, the 'American Dream' is still alive...We need to use our dollars here rebuilding, refurbishing and restoring all that our ancestors struggled to create and maintain...We as a people must do this together, no matter the color of the state one comes from or the side of the aisle one might sit on." "我仍然相信。"我也仍然相信。我知道，如果我们能够走到一起，履行我们对彼此和对这个更大的事业——美国——的责任，我们将在我们的时代保持我们建国梦想的生命力；我们将把它传给我们的子孙。我们将把我们所信仰的国家传给我们的子孙。
"I still believe." I still believe as well. And I know that if we can come together and uphold our responsibilities to one another and to this larger enterprise that is America, we will keep the dream of our founding alive -- in our time; and we will pass it on to our children. We will pass on to our children a country that we believe in. "我仍然相信。"我也仍然相信。我知道，如果我们能够走到一起，履行我们对彼此和对这个更大的事业——美国——的责任，我们将在我们的时代保持我们建国梦想的生命力；我们将把它传给我们的子孙。我们将把我们所信仰的国家传给我们的子孙。
Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. 谢谢。上帝保佑你们，上帝保佑美利坚合众国。