美国债务上限究竟何去何从？(2/2)

英语自学网

概述：1917年美国的债务上限为110亿美元，而如今已高达16.4万亿美元，如何消减债务成了一大难题。
HINTS:
Congressional Budget Office
Congress
Robert Bixby
ps: 文中有2处破折号，3处连字符
校对：MilanISIS
翻译&注解：Yuki_90
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答疑：jackmgheart
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口语节目地址：http://bulo.hujiang.com/menu/11921/item/705174/So to imagine the size of the U.S. debt -- simply multiply that double-stacked football field 16 times.
Japan also owns a sizable amount, as does Europe, along with private investors around the world.
Many conservative politicians want to cut the debt sharply, and some say the debt limit should not be raised without more spending cuts.
The Congressional Budget Office says the so-called fiscal cliff -- automatic tax increases on January 1st, along with spending cuts mandated by Congress to force negotiations on the debt ceiling -- would cut next year's deficit in half.
But doing so all at once poses serious risks, says fiscal responsibility advocate, Robert Bixby.
"They've been pretty clear, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, that if we go over the fiscal cliff, their projection is that it would cause a recession and I've seen private sector forecasts that are even more adamant."
Some in Congress would like to see a higher debt ceiling as part of negotiations. For now, many economists say avoiding the shock that would come from higher taxes and government cutbacks is far more critical to the world's largest economy. Experts say any missteps could have big ramifications domestically and abroad, just when the global recovery appears to be losing momentum.那么来想象下美国债务的规模，只需简单地做个乘法，将双层的足球场乘以16倍之大。
这些钱里，欠了日本很大一部分，还欠了欧洲及世界上一些私人投资者的钱。
很多保守派政客想要锐减债务。一些人说，债务限额在没有更多的削减开支的情况下不应该被提高。
国会预算办公室称，所谓的财政悬崖（1月1日的自动税收增长以及国会为推动债务限额磋商而强制进行的开支缩减）会造成明年的赤字减半。
财政责任倡导者罗伯特•比克斯比说，若这样做会带来严重风险。
“无党派性质的国会预算办公室态度明确，如果我们仔细研究一下财政悬崖（就会明白）他们预测这必然导致经济衰退。我看过私营部门的报告，其中对此更加确信无疑。”
作为磋商的一部分，国会中的一些人会很高兴看到一个更高的债务限额。目前，很多经济学家表示，避免来自于高税收和政府削减的冲击对于世界最大的经济体来说更为重要。专家称，当全球经济复苏失去动力的时候，每一步过失都会为国内外带来大影响。