為拮據(jù)的工人提供經(jīng)濟刺激資金，卻幾乎沒有地方可花

為拮據(jù)的工人提供經(jīng)濟刺激資金，卻幾乎沒有地方可花

The Trump administration wants to give Americans an emergency shot of spending money, even as it's closing many of the places they would ordinarily spend it.

特朗普政府想要給美國人一個緊急的花錢機會，盡管它關(guān)閉了許多他們通常會花錢的地方。

As part of its $1 trillion proposal to address the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the administration has proposed sending up to $500 billion directly to U.S. households.

作為解決冠狀病毒疫情對經(jīng)濟造成的影響的1萬億美元提議的一部分，美國政府提議直接向美國家庭提供高達5000億美元的資金。

That money would come in two installments: one in the first week of April, the second in mid-May. While details are still being negotiated with Congress, that works out to more than $1.000 per person.

這筆錢將分兩批發(fā)放:第一批在4月的第一周發(fā)放，第二批在5月中旬發(fā)放。雖然具體細節(jié)仍在與國會協(xié)商中，但算下來每人將超過1000美元。

Ordinarily, such checks would be designed to stimulate spending and employment. But that's at odds with recommendations from public health officials that Americans avoid crowds.

通常情況下，此類支票的目的是刺激支出和就業(yè)。但這與公共衛(wèi)生官員的建議相悖，他們建議美國人避開人群。

"This is an usual recession because we don't want people to be working," said Harvard economist Gregory Mankiw. "We do want people to be staying home. We don't want all those restaurants to be bustling."

哈佛大學經(jīng)濟學家曼昆說:“這是一次常見的衰退，因為我們不想讓人們工作。”“我們希望人們呆在家里。我們不希望所有這些餐館都是熙熙攘攘的。”

Mankiw, who served in the George W. Bush administration, says the proposed payments should be viewed more as social insurance than a traditional Keynesian stimulus.

曾在小布什政府任職的曼昆表示，擬議中的支出應(yīng)該更多地被視為一種社會保險，而不是傳統(tǒng)的凱恩斯主義刺激。

"The reason for the cash payments is not only to help the people who need the help but also to encourage them to stay at home, which helps everybody else," Mankiw said.

曼昆說:“發(fā)放現(xiàn)金的原因不僅是為了幫助那些需要幫助的人，也是為了鼓勵他們待在家里，這對其他人都有好處。”

Bars and restaurants around the country have been closed — except for take-out — and many retail shops have also gone dark, as the government encourages Americans to practice social distancing in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

美國各地的酒吧和餐館都已關(guān)閉，外賣店除外，許多零售商店也關(guān)門了，因為政府鼓勵美國人保持社交距離，努力減緩冠狀病毒的傳播。

That's entirely appropriate, said economist Jason Furman, but it will come with a steep price tag.

經(jīng)濟學家賈森·弗曼說，這完全是適當?shù)?，但會帶來高昂的代價。

"The public health measures are going to hurt the economy quite a lot in the short run, Furman told Weekend Edition Sunday. "Our economic policy, though, should be aiming to cushion the blow as much as possible."

“公共衛(wèi)生措施將在短期內(nèi)對經(jīng)濟造成相當大的傷害，”弗曼周日對《周末版》說。“然而，我們的經(jīng)濟政策的目標應(yīng)該是盡可能地減輕這一打擊。”

Furman, who was a top adviser in the Obama administration, says direct payments to Americans are an important part of an economic recovery package.

曾在奧巴馬政府擔任高級顧問的弗曼說，對美國人的直接支付是經(jīng)濟復蘇計劃的重要組成部分。

"For some people, that would enable them not to work," Furman said. "So that's not necessarily for them about increasing economic growth. It's about public health. For others, it would let them continue to pay the rent. And for still others, it would put them in a better position to spend after all of this is over."

“對一些人來說，這將使他們無法工作，”弗曼說。“所以這對他們來說不一定是為了增加經(jīng)濟增長。是關(guān)于公共衛(wèi)生的。對其他人來說，這會讓他們繼續(xù)付房租。而對于其他人來說，這將使他們在所有這些都結(jié)束后，能夠更好地消費。”

The administration's plan would also devote $300 billion to loan guarantees for small businesses, so this temporary disruption doesn't cascade into a permanent shutdown.

政府計劃還將拿出3.000億美元為小企業(yè)提供貸款擔保，這樣暫時的混亂不會導致永久性的關(guān)閉。

"There are a lot of businesses that are going to struggle here that we want to survive in the long run," Mankiw said. "So we really need to help the businesses through this time. That doesn't mean a bailout. It doesn't mean handing them cash. But it does perhaps mean providing them with loans so they can keep operating and get back on their feet when this is over."

曼昆說:“有很多企業(yè)將在這里掙扎，我們希望長期生存下去。”“所以我們真的需要幫助企業(yè)度過這段時間。這并不意味著救助。這并不意味著給他們錢。但這可能意味著向他們提供貸款，讓他們能夠繼續(xù)經(jīng)營，并在危機結(jié)束后重新站起來。”

The proposed loan guarantees would go to small businesses that agree to keep paying workers for eight weeks. Coronavirus closings have already triggered a wave of layoffs. A crush of applications for unemployment insurance this week temporarily crashed computer systems in several states.

擬議中的貸款擔保將發(fā)放給同意向工人支付8周工資的小企業(yè)。冠狀病毒關(guān)閉已經(jīng)引發(fā)了一波裁員潮。本周大量的失業(yè)保險申請使得幾個州的電腦系統(tǒng)暫時癱瘓。

"The longer it goes on, the more people lose their jobs," Furman said. "And you don't snap back very quickly when you're in a situation like that."

“失業(yè)持續(xù)的時間越長，失去工作的人就越多，”弗曼說。“在這種情況下，你不會很快恢復過來。”

The administration's rescue package would be even larger than the American Recovery and Reconstruction Act, passed during the Great Recession. Mankiw said that's worthwhile, even though it would add to the mounting federal debt.

美國政府的救助方案將比大蕭條時期通過的《美國復蘇與重建法案》還要大。曼昆說，這是值得的，盡管這會使聯(lián)邦債務(wù)不斷增加。

"In many cases, I am a deficit scold, but not in this circumstance," he said.

他說:“在很多情況下，我是批評赤字的人，但在這種情況下不是。”

"There are certain times that are crises — deep economic downturns, wars --when running a budget deficit and running up the government debt is exactly the right thing to do. And it sounds like in the next few months we're going to be in one of those situations."

“在某些危機時期——深度經(jīng)濟衰退、戰(zhàn)爭，出現(xiàn)預算赤字和增加政府債務(wù)正是我們應(yīng)該做的事情。聽起來在接下來的幾個月里，我們將會遇到這樣的情況。”