翻译 ｜ 傅凡真
Billionaires are failing us when we need them most
在最需要的时刻，亿万富翁们令我们失望了
April 6, 2020
By Morris Pearl, CNN
With coronavirus pushing the US economy to the brink of disaster, the ultra wealthy have an obligation to step up and use their money and power for the greater good.As the people who benefited the most from a decade of economic growth, the hundreds of billionaires in America are in a unique position to do a great deal of good at a pivotal moment. But so far, they're failing to do so.
随着新冠肺炎将美国经济推向灾难的边缘，超级富豪有义务加紧利用自己的金钱和力量谋取更大的利益。身为过去十年来从经济成长中受益最大的一群人，美国数百名亿万富翁正处在独特的位置，可以在关键时刻做许多好事。但是至今为止，他们没有任何行动。
Indeed, some have committed some of their millions to relief efforts or public health projects. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for example, has pledged $100 million to fight the coronavirus and Jeff Bezos has pledged $100 million to US food banks. But many more billionaires have done nothing. The scattered response from the world's wealthiest people to a massive systemic threat has been utterly disappointing. And that's not surprising.
确实，某些富豪已经拨出数百万资产中的一部分用于救济工作或健康计划。比尔和梅琳达•盖茨基金会已承诺捐款1亿美元与冠状病毒抗争；而杰夫•贝佐斯已向美国食品银行捐款1亿美元。但是更多的富豪却无所作为。对于大规模的体制性威胁，世界上最富有的人们散漫的态度令人非常失望。这并不奇怪。
The spreading coronavirus is laying bare the fundamental flaws with our country's reliance on philanthropic giving. Decades of cutting taxes on the wealthy and shrinking the social safety net have left the United States less prepared to handle a global pandemic than virtually any other developed country in the world. Rich people's philanthropy might be nice for the people receiving it, but when that philanthropy is used as an excuse to cut taxes on the wealthy, it may end up doing more harm than good.I'd rather feed three people through taxpayer-funded federal food assistance programs than feed one person through charity.
四处传播的冠状病毒暴露了美国过分依赖慈善捐赠的根本缺陷。几十年来，富有人口的减税和社会安全网络的缩减，导致美国几乎比其他所有发达国家更缺乏应对全球大流行的准备。有钱人的慈善捐赠或许对于接受者而言是有益的，但是当这种慈善事业被用作富人减税的借口时，最终可能弊大于利。我情愿通过纳税人资助的联邦食品援助计划来养活三个人，而不是通过慈善机构养活一个人。
The very least billionaires and wealthy business owners can do is to ensure that their workforce, the people who made them wealthy in the first place, remain employed and paid during a business downturn. Some, like Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, are already doing this. And it's great if they're willing to spend their own money on relief efforts. But no individual, no matter how wealthy, is going to be able to make a significant dent in this crisis on their own. That's why they need to use their power, too.
亿万富翁和富有的企业主所能做的最基本的工作是，确保他们的劳动力，也就是使他们变得富有的人，在企业低迷时期保持就业并获得报酬。有些人，例如达拉斯小牛队的马克•库班（Mark Cuban），已经开始这样做。如果他们愿意将自己的钱花在救灾工作上就更完美了。但是，无论有多富裕，任何人都无法独自在这场危机中发挥重要作用。这就是为什么他们也需要利用自己的力量。
The ultra wealthy should fight for systemic change through government action, even if that change might come with tax increases that make them slightly less wealthy at the end of the day. Here are some ideas:
超级富豪应该通过政府的行动为体制性的改变而战，即便这些改变可能伴随着赋税的增加，使他们最终的富裕程度略微下降。以下是一些想法：
Fight for universal paid sick leave
争取全薪的带薪病假
It should go without saying that during a global pandemic, we don't want sick people coming in to work. But unlike virtually every other developed nation in the world, the United States does not mandate paid sick leave.
不用说，在全球大流行的时期，我们不希望病患继续上班。但是，与世界其他发达国家不同，美国没有规定带薪病假。
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act put in place some requirements for employers to offer two weeks of paid sick leave. But it fell far short of what was actually needed thanks to an exemption for companies with over 500 employees and some small businesses.
首部家庭冠状病毒应急法案要求雇主落实两周带薪病假的政策。但是这远小于实际所需的数量，因为拥有超过500名员工的公司和部分小型企业有豁免权。
It is absurd that not all companies in this country are required to offer paid sick leave, especially considering that many of the exempted corporations employ thousands of low-wage workers who cannot afford to skip a day's wages to stay home sick. If any billionaire wants to make a tangible difference to the physical and economic health of tens of thousands of American workers, lobbying for truly universal paid sick leave is the place to start.
最荒谬的是，并非所有美国境内的公司都被要求提供带薪病假，特别是许多豁免企业雇佣成千的低薪劳工，而这些劳工根本无法承受损失一日的工资在家养病。如果任何亿万富翁想要为美国数以千计的劳工的身体和经济健康做出实质改变，就应该开始游说争取全面的带薪病假。
Demand the government directly support employment
要求政府直接地支持就业
The CARES Act allocated hundreds of billions of dollars for small business loans and $500 billion to larger corporations in at-risk industries, and offers tax breaks for businesses that keep their workers employed, but the federal government needs to take a much larger and more direct role in protecting employment.
《The CARES Act》为小型企业分配了数千亿的贷款，并向处于风险行业的企业资助五千亿美元，同时为那些持续雇佣员工的企业提供税收减免。但是，在保护就业方面，联邦政府需要扮演更强大、更直接的角色。
Countries like Britain have had success implementing programs in which the government pays a significant portion of a worker's paycheck (in some cases up to 80%) so that employees remain on payroll rather than becoming unemployed.
像英国这样的国家，已经成功推行一些计划，由政府负担了极大比例的工人薪资（在部分案例中高达80%）所以员工可以继续领取工资，而不是失业。
It's hard to deny that lawmakers in America are extraordinarily sensitive to the wishes of the powerful and well-connected, particularly business owners. If a critical mass of billionaires and corporate executives started demanding a program like this, there's a good chance Congress would feel pressure to act. It'd be expensive, yes, but by expressing a willingness to have their own taxes raised to pay for it, the billionaire class could both assuage the fears of deficit hawks and strike a blow against economic inequality all at once.
很难否认，美国的立法者对于强大、政商关系良好的企业拥有者的意愿异常敏感。如果一大批亿万富翁和企业高级主管开始要求这样的计划，国会可能会承受采取行动的压力。是的，这很昂贵，但通过表达愿意提高自身税率来支付，亿万富翁阶层可以缓解对营收赤字的恐惧，同时立刻打击经济不平等。
These are ambitious policy goals, but a critical mass of people with political power fighting for these policies is just what the nation needs right now. It's time for the billionaires in this country to stop using their positions of influence and wealth to shape the rules of the economy in their favor, and start using their positions to fight to keep our economy afloat.
这些是雄心勃勃的政策目标，但是，拥有强大政治力量以争取这些政策的民众正是国家目前最需要的。是时候，国内的亿万富翁该停止运用他们的影响力和财富地位去制定有利于他们的经济规则，并开始使用其职位来保持我们的经济持续增长。
Billionaires shouldn't hide in their bunkers, make donations and wait in comfort for the world to end. They should get up and do something about it, and we'll all be better off.
亿万富翁们不应该躲在掩护中，仅是捐款并舒适地等待世界乱象结束。他们应该挺身而出并为此做些贡献，只有这样，我们才都能过的更好。
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