美国需要一个整合的商务部

President Barack Obama said that the most “salient message from the election was the voters’ demand that all levels of government and the private sector work together to “help the middle class move forward. He’s right.

美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)表示，大选传递出来的“最重要信息是，选民们要求各级政府以及私人部门共同努力、“帮助中产阶级前行。总统说得没错。

Real unemployment, in all categories, remains above 16 per cent; wages for 90 per cent of workers remain stagnant; there is little business confidence despite cash-rich treasuries; and the trade deficit in manufactured goods is a persistent $300bn each year.

无论按照何种统计口径得出的美国实际失业率都仍然在16%以上；90%的工人薪水停滞不前；尽管企业现金充足，但他们对未来几乎毫无信心；工业制成品的对外贸易赤字一直维持在每年3000亿美元。

Voters, particularly those in the industrial heartland, and only slightly less so on each coast, have demanded a more balanced economy. They want an economy that restores the vitality of the manufacturing sector. These workers supported the bailout of the auto industry because they believed there was no reasonable alternative. And they feel that the private sector, acting alone, cannot sufficiently advance the economy or protect their interests.

选民们（尤其是核心工业区的选民，其次是东西海岸地区的选民）一直要求经济发展更均衡。他们期待美国经济能够让制造业重新焕发生机。作为雇员，他们支持为汽车业纾困，因为他们认为这是唯一合理的做法。他们还觉得，仅凭私营部门自身的力量不足以让美国经济前进，也不足以保护自己的利益。

It is no surprise then that during the campaign Mr Obama called frequently for combining the executive branch’s nine distinct department and agency commerce-related efforts into a reconfigured “department of business. It is not a new department but, rather, under a reconstituted and renamed commerce department, a consolidation of responsibilities and activities.

因此，意料之中的是，奥巴马在竞选活动中频繁呼吁，将美国政府行政机构中9个与商业有关的不同部门和机构整合成一个全新的“商务部。这并不是要创建一个新的部门，而是通过重组，将原有的一些职责与职能合并到一个部门下，并将这个部门改名为商务部。

Given the complexity of the steps that need to be taken to speed up economic recovery, Mr Obama’s proposal is not just practical and expedient, it is also imperative.

考虑到加速经济复苏所需措施的复杂性，奥巴马的提议不仅实用、合宜，而且势在必行。

The steps to be taken are obvious. First, adopt a manufacturing and industrial policy that integrates the government’s policies related to financing, research and development, and investment tax credits, taxation, trade, subsidies and domestic procurement.

需要采取的措施很明显。首先，应该推出统一的制造业和工业政策，将政府有关融资、研发、投资税收抵免、税收、贸易、补贴和国内采购的所有政策整合到一起。

Second, overhaul the corporate tax code to change the provisions that discourage some US companies from expanding domestically. Eliminate the incentives that encourage other companies to ship jobs overseas and lower tax rates in exchange for eliminating certain special tax breaks.

其次，重修企业税制，修改那些导致一些美国企业不愿在国内扩张业务的条款。废除那些导致其他一些企业有动力将工作岗位转移至海外的条款，并在降低税率的同时取消某些特殊税收优惠。

Third, invest significantly in the rebuilding and upgrading of the nation’s infrastructure, ideally through a new, independent national infrastructure bank, with a capitalisation of at least $1tn.

第三，大举投入本国基础设施的重建和升级，最好是通过新成立一家独立的国家基建银行进行，这家银行的资本金至少要有1万亿美元。

Finally, create a justice department bureau to enforce trade agreements and protect the nation’s intellectual property. The current system places trade agreement negotiation side-by-side with enforcement, often in the same hands, and without prescribed IP protection protocols.

最后，建立一个司法部门，以加强贸易协定的执行力度以及对本国知识产权的保护力度。当前体制下，贸易协定谈判与执行在一处，经常是同一套班子，而且也没有知识产权保护方面的法规。

With Mr Obama’s proposed “one-stop-shop reform of the commerce-side of the executive branch, whose stated goal is to “help American businesses succeed, there would just be a single, encompassing department of business with focused front-end guidance, resource allocation and follow-up. It would replace the nine disconnected agencies whose efforts are further complicated by the multiplicity of Congressional oversight committees.

奥巴马提出的对行政机构商务相关部门的“一站式服务改革方案宣称，方案的目标是“帮助美国企业成功。按照这个方案，只需要有一个商务部，统一包揽对企业的前期引导、资源配置以及后续工作。这个部门将取代现有的9个相互独立的商务职能部门。目前，在这9个部门之外，还有一些国会下属的监督委员会，令这些部门的工作更加复杂。

A rationalised business department is the best hope for a unified, national effort to boost productivity. We last saw such an effort during the extraordinary inter-department, inter-agency period of co-operation of the second world war.

要让美国能全国一起努力、提振生产力，最有可能成功的办法就是成立一个设计合理的商务部。这种情况上一次出现是在二战时期，当时各政府部门之间进行了非常紧密的合作。

“Helping the middle class move forward and “helping American businesses succeed means, of course, creating millions of high-quality jobs. In this, business leaders have a vital and primary role to play – from identifying the steps that the administration and Congress should take to helping the administration be as effective as possible.

当然，“帮助中产阶级前行以及“帮助美国企业成功，意味着创造数百万高质量的工作岗位。在这方面，商界领袖应该发挥重要及主要的作用——首先就是要告诉美国政府和国会应采取哪些措施，以帮助政府部门尽可能高效地工作。

In difficult times, what distinguishes great business leaders is an ability to position their companies – and in the process the national economy – for growth and success. While Mr Obama undertakes his executive branch reform, chief executives should be supporting this reform rather than falling back on the discredited libertarian canard that government has no meaningful role to play in the nation’s commerce. It is imperative in these challenging times to find a way to cut deficits while at the same time investing for the future. The creation of a department of business would be a reflection of enlightened political and corporate leadership.

面对严峻形势，伟大的商界领袖伟大之处在于，他们能够让自己的企业取得增长和成功，并在这一过程中让本国经济取得增长和成功。在奥巴马推行行政机构改革之际，企业高管们应支持这一改革，而不是搬出自由派的论调，说政府对国家的商业活动发挥不了实质性作用。这种论调已被证明是谣言。如今困难重重，我们必须找到一种办法，在削减赤字的同时为将来做投资。成立商务部的想法，可能正是政界及企业界领袖智慧的体现。

The writer is chair of the US Economy/Smart Globalization Initiative at the New America Foundation, co-chair of the Task Force on Jobs Creation and founder of Jobs First 2012

本文作者是智库新美国基金会(New America Foundation)美国经济及智能全球化倡议(US Economy/Smart Globalization Initiative)主席、Task Force on Jobs Creation联合主席以及Jobs First 2012创始人