双语：美国主要城市仍未从危机中复苏

英语自学网

　　Thirty major U.S. cities face a tough and uncertain road to recovery, according to a report released Monday by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
　　据皮尤慈善信托基金会(Pew Charitable Trusts)周一发布的报告说，美国30个主要城市面临着艰难且不确定的复苏之路。
　　The revenues collected by a majority of the cities analyzed by Pew were still below their precrisis peaks, even as populations and costs have generally gone up.
　　皮尤分析的这些城市中，有一大半的收入仍然低于危机前的高峰水平，同时其人口和开支总体上都在增加。
　　'For many of these large cities, the impact of the housing crisis on local revenue could have just been starting, several years after the worst of the nationwide collapse,' says Pew, a research nonprofit.
　　非营利研究机构皮尤说，对于许多这类大城市来说，在全美楼市崩盘最严重的时期过去几年后，楼市危机对于地方收入的影响可能才刚刚开始。
　　The findings by Pew are largely in line with a recent series by The Wall Street Journal on the financial health of U.S. cities. The 30 cities analyzed by Pew and their metropolitan areas make up 49% of U.S. gross domestic product, the nonprofit says. Pew looked at cities such as New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Franciso, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
　　皮尤的研究结果基本上与《华尔街日报》最近有关美国城市财务状况的一个系列报道相符。皮尤说，其分析的30个城市及其都市区在美国国内生产总值(GDP)中占了49%的比重。皮尤考察了纽约、波士顿、芝加哥、旧金山、菲尼克斯及洛杉矶等城市。
　　The Journal examined the filings from the 250 largest U.S. cities by population that had published their 2012 financial reports as of August. The analysis found that many of the nation's largest cities are financially fragile as they cope with steep drops in state and federal aid, rising pension and health-care costs and sluggish property-tax revenue. The data for the Journal series were provided by Merritt Research Services LLC, an Iowa research firm that mines cities' financial filings. The Journal series on U.S. cities' financial health looked in detail at Allentown, Pa.; Springfield, Ill.; Fresno, Calif; Providence, R.I., and New Orleans.
　　《华尔街日报》分析了250个美国最大型城市（按人口数量计）提交的备案文件。截至今年8月份，这些城市都发布了2012年的财务报告。分析发现，美国的很多最大型城市在财务方面都很脆弱，它们都在应对州及联邦援助大幅下降、养老金及医疗保健支出上升、房地产税收入疲弱等问题。《华尔街日报》系列报道的数据都是由艾奥瓦州一个名为Merritt Research Services LLC的研究公司提供的，该公司专门深度挖掘各城市的财务备案文件。《华尔街日报》关于美国各城市财务健康状况的系列报道详细审视了宾夕法尼亚州的艾伦敦(Allentown)、伊利诺伊州的斯普林菲尔德(Springfield)、加利福尼亚州的弗雷斯诺(Fresno)、罗得岛州的普罗维登斯(Providence)和新奥尔良。
            
            

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        　　The Pew study found that property-tax collections could continue to decline, straining cities.
　　皮尤的研究发现，房地产税的收入可能持续下降，令各城市承压。
　　'Further projected declines of this key revenue source suggest that cities may face new challenges in coming years with property taxes,' according to the report, which looked at financial filings from 2011, the most recent available for the 30 cities analyzed by Pew.
　　报告指出，这一关键收入来源预计将进一步减少，表明各城市未来几年在房地产税方面可能面临新的挑战。该报告查看了2011年的财务备案文件，这是皮尤分析的30个城市所能得到的最新数据。
　　Property-tax collections typically lag behind changes in the housing market by several years since most cities reassess property values only every few years. That lag means drops in property-tax revenue are starting to hit some cities' budgets. They are only now starting to feel the full impact of the crisis on their coffers.
　　房地产税征收通常要比房地产市场的变化滞后几年，因为大多数城市都是每隔几年才对房地产进行重新估价。这一时滞意味着房地产税收入的下降将开始影响到一些城市的预算。这些城市才刚刚开始感受到危机对它们财政收入的全面影响。
　　Cities have less of a financial cushion to address such sluggish revenues: 29 of the 30 cities Pew examined tapped their reserve funds between 2007 and 2011. 'Using reserves to address shortfalls can help avoid service reductions, but it is also a short-term solution that can compromise a city's long-term fiscal health,' Pew says.
　　这些城市在应对收入疲弱方面所拥有的财务缓冲已经变小：皮尤考察的这30个城市中，有29个在2007年至2011年间已经动用了储备金。皮尤说，利用储备金来应对收入不足有助于避免服务削减的情况，但这也是一种短期解决方案，有可能损害城市的长期财务健康状况。
　　Average reserve levels declined from 18% of general fund revenues in 2007 to 14% in 2011. A general fund is the main pot of cash a city relies on to pay employees and provide day-to-day services. Reserves are similar to a 'rainy-day' fund that cities can access if other sources of revenue decline. Cities have various funds, some of which are restricted to spending on infrastructure, for instance, or technology.
　　平均储备水平已经从2007年占一般性基金收入的18%降至2011年的14%。一般性基金是市政府赖以向市政府雇员发工资以及提供日常服务的主要资金来源。储备金相当于应急基金，如果其他收入来源减少，各城市可以动用这笔资金。各城市都有不同种类的基金，比如，某些基金只限于用来支付基建项目，或是技术费用。
　　Some of the cities in Pew's study saw cuts in aid from states and the federal government - a key driver in revenue decline for those cities. Other cities saw increases, which helped nine of the 30 cities rebounded to their pre-crisis revenue peak as of 2011 - a bright spot in the report. But Pew cautioned that such gains should be viewed with a critical eye.
　　皮尤这项研究考察的城市中，有一些城市的州援助和联邦政府援助都已经减少，这也成为这些城市收入减少的一个关键因素。其他城市的援助有所增长，30个城市中有9个城市受到援助的推动，在2011年恢复到了危机前的收入高峰水平，这是该报告中的一大亮点。但皮尤警告说，应该从批判的角度来看待这一增长。