Forget China – it's America's own economic system that's broken
忘了中國吧，是美國自己的經濟體系壞了
原文(The Gaurdian)： https://tinyurl.com/y4xah4d9
中譯(觀察者)：https://www.guancha.cn/RobertReich/2019_06_25_506908.shtml
Robert Reich
加州大學伯克利分校公共政策教授
US weakness is inbuilt – the big 500 companies owe loyalty only to
themselves and the public is shut out from prosperity
美國的弱點是內生的 - 大型500強公司只對自己忠誠，而公眾則被排除在繁榮之外
Xi Jinping might possibly agree next weekend on further steps to bring down
China’s trade imbalance with the US, giving Donald Trump a face-saving way
of ending his trade war.
But Xi won’t agree to change China’s economic system. Why should he?
習近平下周可能會同意採取更多措施以減少對美貿易順差，以便讓川普能有面子的結束貿
易戰。然而習不可能同意對中國的經濟體製做出改動。他有什麼理由要這樣做呢?
The American economic system is focused on maximizing shareholder returns.
And it’s achieving that goal: on Friday, the S&P 500 notched a new all-time
high.
But average Americans have seen no significant gains in their incomes for
four decades, adjusted for inflation.
China’s economic system, by contrast, is focused on maximizing China. And it
’s achieving that goal. Forty years ago China was still backward and
agrarian. Today it’s the world’s second-largest economy, home to the world’
s biggest auto industry and some of the world’s most powerful technology
companies. Over the last four decades, hundreds of millions of Chinese people
have been lifted out of poverty.
The two systems are fundamentally different.
美國的經濟體制著眼於如何使股東收益最大化，而且這個目標正在實現：標準普爾500指
數已創新高。然而對於普通的美國民眾來說，考慮到通貨膨脹的因素，他們的收入已經40
年未見任何增長。相比之下，中國的經濟體制卻是著眼於如何讓國家實現最大程度的發展
。中國的這個目標也正在成為現實。40年前的中國是一個落後的農業國，而如今的中國已
是全球第二大經濟體，中國擁有全球最大規模的汽車產業和一些全球最強大的高科技企業
。在過去40年裡，數億中國人擺脫了貧困。美中兩國的經濟體制從根本上來說是完全不同
的。
At the core of the American system are 500 giant companies headquartered in
the US but making, buying and selling things all over the world. Half of
their employees are non-American, located outside the US. A third of their
shareholders are non-American.
總部在美國的500家大公司處於美國經濟體制的核心位置，它們的生產、採購和銷售活動
遍及全球，這些跨國公司裡一半的僱員不是美國人，三分之一的股東也不是美國人。
These giant corporations have no particular allegiance to America. Their only
allegiance and responsibility is to their shareholders.
They’ll do whatever is necessary to get their share prices as high as
possible – including keeping wages down, fighting unions, reclassifying
employees as independent contractors, outsourcing anywhere around world where
parts are cheapest, shifting their profits around the world wherever taxes
are lowest, and paying their top CEOs ludicrous sums.
這些公司對美國並無特別的忠誠可言，它們只忠於自己的股東，他們只對股東負責。他們
會想盡辦法抬高公司的股價，具體手段包括壓低工資、打擊工會、使用合同工而非正式僱
員、將業務外包到成本最低的國家進行生產、把利潤轉移到稅率最低的國家、付給公司高
管過高的薪水等等。
At the core of China’s economy, by contrast, are state-owned companies that
borrow from state banks at artificially low rates. These state firms balance
the ups and downs of the economy, spending more when private companies are
reluctant to do so.
They’re also engines of economic growth making the capital-intensive
investments China needs to prosper, including investments in leading-edge
technologies.
相比之下，處於中國經濟核心位置的是國有企業，它們可以在國有銀行獲得低息貸款。這
些中國國有企業能夠在民營企業不願投資時拿出更多的錢，從而在經濟起伏的情況下發揮
穩定器的作用。此外，中國國有企業還是經濟增長的強大引擎，它們能夠在包括尖端科技
產業在內的諸多產業上進行資本密集型投資以促進中國的繁榮。
China’s core planners and state-owned companies will do whatever is
necessary both to improve the wellbeing of the Chinese people and become the
world’s largest and most powerful economy.
Since 1978, the Chinese economy has grown by an average of more than 9% per
year. Growth has slowed recently, and American tariffs could bring it down to
6% or 7%, but that’s still faster than almost any other economy in the
world, including the US.
中國的核心戰略規劃者和國有企業為了增進中國民眾福祉、為了使自己的國家成為全球最
大、最強經濟體可以付出任何代價。自1978年以來，中國經濟年均增長率超過9%。近年來
，中國經濟增長已有所放緩，而且美國加征關稅措施還可能進一步將其增長數字拉低到6%
或7%，然而中國經濟增速仍將遠遠高於包括美國在內的其他經濟體。
The American system relies on taxes, subsidies and regulations to coax
corporations to act in the interest of the American public. But these levers
have proven weak relative to the overriding corporate goal of maximizing
shareholder returns.
美國體制依靠稅收、補貼和監管等措施引導那些美國跨國公司向美國社會的公共利益看齊
。然而在“使股東收益最大化”這個壓倒一切的公司目標之下，上述手段是非常軟弱無力
的。
Last week, for example, Walmart, American’s largest employer, announced it
would lay off 570 employees despite taking home more than $2bn courtesy of
Trump and the Republican corporate tax cuts. Last year, the company closed
dozens of Sam’s Club stores, leaving thousands of Americans out of work.
At the same time, Walmart has plowed more than $20bn into buying back shares
of its own stock, which boosts the pay of Walmart executives and enriches
wealthy investors but does nothing for the economy.
以美國最大僱主沃爾瑪為例，雖然受惠於川普政府和共和黨該公司已經享受了20億美元的
減稅待遇，但上週該公司還是宣佈將裁員570人。去年，沃爾瑪關閉了數十家山姆會員店
，導致數千名美國僱員失去了工作。與此同時，沃爾瑪拿出200億美元回購自己的股票，
該公司高管薪水因此大漲，富裕的股東們也受益頗豐，然而這對美國經濟沒有任何正面影
響。
It should be noted that Walmart is a global company, not adverse to bribing
foreign officials to get its way. On Thursday it agreed to pay $282m to
settle federal allegations of overseas corruption, including channeling more
than $500,000 to an intermediary in Brazil known as a “sorceress” for her
ability to make construction permit problems disappear.
值得注意的是，沃爾瑪是一家全球性公司，不會反對去賄賂外國官員以達目的。週四，它
同意支付2.82億美元來解決聯邦海外腐敗指控，其中包括向巴西一名被稱為“女巫”的中
間人提供超過50萬美元，因為她有能力使建築許可證問題消失。
Across the American economy, the Trump tax cut did squat for jobs and wages
but did nicely for corporate executives and big investors. Instead of
reinvesting the savings into their businesses, the International Monetary
Fund reports that companies used it to buy back stock.
川普政府的減稅措施並沒有促進企業提供更多工作崗位或提高僱員工資水平，但那些減免
的稅收卻讓公司高管和大股東大大受益。根據國際貨幣基金組織的一份報告，美國公司高
管並沒有把因減稅獲得的資金投入公司的運營，他們其實把錢花在了回購股票上。
But wait. America is a democracy and China is a dictatorship, right?
True, but most Americans have little or no influence on public policy –
which is why the Trump tax cut did so little for them.
可是請等一等。人們不是說美國是民主國家而中國是專制國家嗎？的確，然而大多數美國
人對公共政策的制定毫無影響力，這也是川普減稅措施並沒有惠及普通美國民眾的原因。
That’s the conclusion of professors Martin Gilens of Princeton and Benjamin
Page of Northwestern, who analyzed 1,799 policy issues before Congress and
found that “the preferences of the average American appear to have only a
minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy
”.
Instead, American lawmakers respond to the demands of wealthy individuals
(typically corporate executives and Wall Street moguls) and of big
corporations, those with the most lobbying prowess and deepest pockets to
bankroll campaigns.
普林斯頓大學教授馬丁·吉倫斯（Martin Gilens）和西北大學教授本傑明·佩奇（
Benjamin Page）也得出了上述結論。兩位學者在研究1799項公共政策後發現，“美國民
眾的好惡似乎對美國公共政策制定的影響力接近於零，或者只有在統計上存在無關緊要的
影響”。相反，美國立法者只對富裕人士（大多是公司高管或華爾街精英）和大公司的聲
音給予了回應，富裕人士和大公司有雄厚的經濟實力推動有利於自己的遊說活動。
Don’t blame American corporations. They’re in business to make profits and
maximize their share prices, not to serve America.
But because of their dominance in American politics and their commitment to
share prices instead of the wellbeing of Americans, it’s folly to count on
them to create good American jobs or improve American competitiveness.
請不要責怪美國公司，他們存在的目的在於創造利潤並儘量抬高自己的股價，他們沒有服
務美國社會的義務。那些大公司主導著美國的政策走向，他們滿腦子都是自己的股價而不
是美國民眾的福祉，指望他們為美國民眾創造就業崗位或提高美國的國家競爭力是非常愚
蠢的想法。
I’m not suggesting we emulate the Chinese economic system. I am suggesting
that we not be smug about the American economic system.
Instead of trying to get China to change, we should lessen the dominance of
big American corporations over American policy.
China isn’t the reason half of America hasn’t had a raise in four decades.
The simple fact is Americans cannot thrive within a system run largely by big
American corporations, organized to boost their share prices but not boost
Americans.
我並不是在向大家暗示美國應該模仿中國的經濟制度，我只是建議大家不應認為美國的經
濟制度已經完美。我們要做的應該是降低美國大公司對公共政策制定的影響力，而不是改
變中國。半數美國民眾在過去40年裡收入沒有實質增加，這並非中國的錯。事實很簡單，
美國是不可能在一個由大公司主導政策制定、以大公司股價為重而不是美國人民利益為重
的制度下實現繁榮的。