美国企业界广泛担忧财政悬崖

Alarm about the fiscal cliff has spread across a swath of US business, the Federal Reserve said yesterday as President Barack Obama appealed to middle-class Americans to inundate Congress with demands to reach a budget deal.

美联储(Fed)昨日表示，对于财政悬崖的恐慌已扩散到美国企业界，同时美国总统巴拉克·奥巴马(Barack Obama)呼吁美国中产阶级，向国会发出达成预算协议的强烈要求。

In its Beige Book, the central bank’s regular collection of anecdotal reports from business, the Fed said it had picked up “concern and uncertainty about the federal budget, especially the fiscal cliff.

美联储在褐皮书(Beige Book)中表示，它注意到了人们“对于联邦预算、特别是财政悬崖的担忧和不确定情绪。褐皮书由美联储定期收集来自企业的坊间报告汇编而成。

The range of concerns in different industries across the country suggests that fear of the fiscal cliff could damp business activity for the rest of the year even if Congress eventually strikes a deal.

美国不同行业的各种担忧表明，即便国会最终达成协议，对于财政悬崖的担忧也可能会在今年余下时间内抑制企业活动。

“A number of contacts across [Fed] districts expressed uncertainty about business conditions for the months ahead as the firms and their customers waited for the outcome of federal budget negotiations, the Fed said.

美联储表示：“所有（联邦储备）地区的很多联系人表达了对未来几个月商业状况的不确定，此时企业及其客户正等待联邦预算谈判结果。

Its concerns came as Mr Obama sought to increase pressure on Republicans to give ground by launching a new social media campaign.

在美联储表示担忧之际，奥巴马希望通过发动一场新的社交媒体运动，加大共和党做出让步的压力。

The move heightened the political theatre surrounding the stand-off, with little more than a month left before the American economy is hit by a mix of spending cuts and tax increases that could tip it back into recession.

此举导致围绕这一预算僵局的政治戏剧升级，距离美国经济受到支出削减和增税双重打击仅剩下一个月的时间，这一打击可能会让美国重新陷入衰退。

“I’m asking Americans all across the country to make your voice heard, Mr Obama said, suggesting emails, phone calls and the use of social media such as Facebook and a new Twitter hashtag called #My2k, a reference to the $2,000 tax increase per family that would occur if the US plunged over the fiscal cliff.

奥巴马表示：“我请求全体美国人表达自己的观点。他建议人们借助电子邮件、电话以及社交媒体——比如Facebook和在Twitter使用名为#My2k的新主题标签——表达观点。#My2k是指，如果美国坠落财政悬崖，每个家庭将增税2000美元。