時(shí)差N小時(shí): 社會(huì)保障法 Social Security Act

Today's Social Security program has its roots in theGreat Depression of the 1930s. With 22 millionunemployed, many Americans lived in poverty, andmany elderly workers lost all their pension fundswhen their companies went bankrupt.

如今的社會(huì)保障計(jì)劃在20世紀(jì)30年代的經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條時(shí)期就有其歷史根源。在大蕭條時(shí)期有兩千兩百萬(wàn)人失業(yè)，許多美國(guó)人在貧困線上掙扎。各類(lèi)公司紛紛倒閉，致使許多老年人失去了所有的養(yǎng)老基金。

As part of the government's response, known as the "New Deal," President Franklin Rooseveltcreated an advisory panel to make recommendations to Congress for a program to protectworkers from losing their pensions or retirement savings.

作為政府的應(yīng)對(duì)措施，即“新政”的一部分，富蘭克林·總統(tǒng)設(shè)立了顧問(wèn)小組，專(zhuān)門(mén)為國(guó)會(huì)提供建議，以保護(hù)工人的養(yǎng)老基金和退休金不受損失。

In January of 1935, Congress began its consideration of the Social Security Act. Not everyonethought it was a good idea. There was a lot of opposition expressed during the congressionaldebates and in the opinion pages of the nation's newspapers.

1935年1月，國(guó)會(huì)開(kāi)始考慮成立社會(huì)保障法。這一法案并沒(méi)有得到每個(gè)人的支持。國(guó)會(huì)就這一問(wèn)題進(jìn)行了激辯，美國(guó)各大報(bào)紙的輿論頁(yè)面也出現(xiàn)許多反對(duì)聲。

Supporters praised it as a form of social responsibility, while others found it "dangerous andunconstitutional," imposing too much government in the private economic sector. Yetproponents carried the day, and the House and Senate passed the Social Security Act.Expanded by Congress over the years, Social Security has had a major impact on the lives ofolder Americans.

支持者贊美這項(xiàng)法案體現(xiàn)了一種社會(huì)責(zé)任，然而反對(duì)者則稱(chēng)這是“危險(xiǎn)的、違反憲法的”，稱(chēng)其在私企強(qiáng)加了過(guò)多的政府干涉。然而支持者占優(yōu)勢(shì)，眾議院和參議院通過(guò)了這條法案。許多年來(lái)，社會(huì)保障體系對(duì)老年美國(guó)人的生活產(chǎn)生了重大影響。

Without it, almost half of all Americans over 65 would be living in poverty. Often consideredone of government's greatest achievements, it is also the single most costly federal program;and the system's continued financial viability is currently a major issue of national concern.

如果沒(méi)有這項(xiàng)法案，近一半的65歲以上的老人將會(huì)生活在貧困中。社會(huì)保障常被視為政府最偉大的成就，但它也是聯(lián)邦各項(xiàng)計(jì)劃中最昂貴的一項(xiàng)。目前社會(huì)保障體系的財(cái)務(wù)可行性將成為一個(gè)國(guó)民主要關(guān)注的問(wèn)題。