您现在的位置: Language Tips> Audio & Video> Special Speed News  
   
 





 
The candidates on the economy
[ 2008-04-18 09:34 ]

Download

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

High food and fuel prices. Housing and credit problems. Job losses. Worries about a recession. No wonder the economy is a top issue for American voters.

Senator John McCain says tax cuts are needed for growth. The Republican presidential candidate set out his economic plan in a speech this week in Pennsylvania.

He would push Congress to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent. And he would aim to lower the top rate of income tax for businesses, from thirty-five percent to twenty-five percent.

In all, Senator McCain proposes about two hundred billion dollars in new tax cuts for businesses and individuals. To help pay for them, he would cut earmarks, those special interest projects added to spending bills.

He would also hold federal spending at most agencies to current levels and cut wasteful programs. But many experts say it is unlikely these cuts would equal the cost of the tax cuts.

The campaigns of Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton dismissed the McCain plan as a continuation of George Bush's policies. Both Democrats say they are against tax cuts for the wealthy. They propose moderate tax cuts for the middle class.

Right now, falling property values are a big worry for millions of families. Some people who borrowed more for houses than they should have, or took out loans with rising payments, may lose their homes.

This week, researchers from the Pew Charitable Trusts predicted that three percent of all homeowners will be in foreclosure in the next few years. This would be the result of high-cost subprime loans made in 2005 and 2006, and the effects on local property values.

Problems can be found nationally, though some areas and neighborhoods are more affected than others.

Hillary Clinton proposes to stop foreclosures for at least ninety days and freeze interest rates on adjustable-rate mortgages for five years. She also proposes thirty billion dollars in aid to help states prevent foreclosures. Barack Obama's plan calls for ten billion dollars for homeowner aid.

Last month, John McCain said "it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers." But he now proposes to let some homeowners replace their subprime mortgages with federally guaranteed loans. His campaign says the plan would help up to four hundred thousand homeowners.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

(Source: VOA 英语点津姗姗编辑)

 
英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
相关文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本频道最新推荐
 
新加坡开展促友善全民教育活动
小长假的前一天 virtual Friday
英语中的“植物”喻人
Burying loved ones deadly expensive
经济危机时期入读哈佛难上加难
翻吧推荐
 
论坛热贴
 
“学会做人”如何翻译
做作怎么翻译
美国人电话留言精选
大话西游中英文对白
夜宵怎么翻译比较地道