新的預(yù)算中，新西蘭把錢花在核心問題上

新的預(yù)算中，新西蘭把錢花在核心問題上

The New Zealand government has taken a bold step where no modern government has gone before, telling its citizens the economy doesn't matter so much — as long as they're happy.

新西蘭政府邁出了現(xiàn)代政府從未邁出的大膽一步，它告訴國(guó)民，只要他們高興，經(jīng)濟(jì)并不那么重要。

At last week's budget announcement, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shocked — and maybe even inspired — the world by announcing billions of dollars for programs addressing mental health, suicide and child poverty.

在上周的預(yù)算宣布中，總理杰辛達(dá)·阿德恩宣布了數(shù)十億美元的項(xiàng)目，用于解決心理健康、自殺和兒童貧困問題，這震驚了世界，甚至可能鼓舞了世界。

"We said that we would be a government that did things differently, and for this budget we have done just that," Ardern told reporters. "Today we have laid the foundation for not just one well-being budget, but a different approach for government decision-making altogether."

阿德恩對(duì)記者說：“我們說過，我們將是一個(gè)采取不同做法的政府，在預(yù)算中，我們已經(jīng)這么做了。今天，我們不僅為一項(xiàng)福利預(yù)算奠定了基礎(chǔ)，而且為政府決策提供了完全不同的方法。”

The economy will effectively take a backseat to happiness. Spending on mental health will increase by $1.9 billion NZ ($1.2 billion U.S.) over the next four years. Those funds will ensure thousands more New Zealanders will be able to access mental and addiction services for free. The government also promised to cut the number of children living in poverty — currently estimated at 180,000 — in half over the next 10 years.

實(shí)際上，經(jīng)濟(jì)將讓位于幸福。在未來四年里，心理健康方面的支出將增加19億新西蘭元(合12億美元)，這些資金將確保更多的新西蘭人能夠免費(fèi)獲得心理和戒毒服務(wù)。政府還承諾在未來10年內(nèi)將生活在貧困中的兒童數(shù)量(目前估計(jì)為18萬)減少一半。

Millions more in funding will go towards housing programs for people who need a long-term home — for free with no strings attached.

另外數(shù)百萬美元的資金將用于為那些需要長(zhǎng)期住房的人提供住房的項(xiàng)目，而且是免費(fèi)的，沒有任何附加條件。

Along the way, New Zealand will become the first western country to direct the bulk of its budget toward mental health and poverty.

在此過程中，新西蘭將成為第一個(gè)將大部分預(yù)算用于心理健康和貧困的西方國(guó)家。

You would think that a country that sees just under 5 million people living alongside blue penguins, kiwi birds, dolphins, fur seals and falcon — not to mention some of the world's most breathtaking natural scenery — would have little trouble finding its mental health footing.

你可能會(huì)認(rèn)為，一個(gè)只有不到500萬人與藍(lán)企鵝、幾維鳥、海豚、海狗和獵鷹生活在一起的國(guó)家——更不用說一些世界上最令人嘆為觀止的自然景觀了——找到自己的心理健康立足點(diǎn)不會(huì)有什么困難。

After all, nature has proven such a powerful remedy for what may ail the mind that some doctors even write a prescription for it. But in New Zealand, that drug doesn't seem to be working.

畢竟，大自然已經(jīng)證明，對(duì)于困擾我們心靈的問題，它是一種非常有效的治療方法，有些醫(yī)生甚至?xí)樗_處方。但在新西蘭，這種“藥物”似乎不起作用。

The country has the dubious distinction of being ranked first among all Western countries for teen and young adult suicides.

這個(gè)國(guó)家在所有西方國(guó)家中青少年和青年自殺率排名第一，這一點(diǎn)值得懷疑。

Something has to give, as Finance Minister Grant Robertson told The Associated Press.

正如財(cái)政部長(zhǎng)格蘭特·羅伯遜對(duì)美聯(lián)社所說，必須要付出一些代價(jià)。

"The old way of doing things has left too many people behind," he said. "New Zealanders want us to measure our success, and invest on their behalf, in line with their values. The values of fairness, the protection of the environment, the strength of our communities."

他說：“舊的做事方式把太多的人拋在了后面。新西蘭人希望我們按照他們的價(jià)值衡量我們的成功，并代表他們進(jìn)行投資，包括：公平的價(jià)值觀，對(duì)環(huán)境的保護(hù)以及我們社區(qū)的優(yōu)勢(shì)。”