Lexington

116. Of debt and deadbeats
Oct 8th 2009 From The Economist print edition

A new culture war is brewing over capitalism

116-1-542
SEVENTEEN Uncle Sams were seen begging on the streets of Washington, DC, this week. They were a sad sight, with their slightly bedraggled red, white and blue hats and their cardboard signs with the hand-scrawled plea: "I want YOU to give me $12 trillion." It was a publicity stunt, of course, staged by DefeatTheDebt.com, a fiscally hawkish pressure group. But it captured something important about the national mood.
Unemployment is nearly in double digits. Most Americans think the economy will recover next year, but only 2% think it will make a complete recovery. And many are worried about Uncle Sam's ongoing borrowing binge. Has all that money averted disaster and eased the pain of the recession, as Barack Obama insists? Or did it merely postpone the pain? DefeatTheDebt.com's television commercials leave no room for doubt. A classroom full of children stand as if to recite the pledge of allegiance, but the words are different: "I pledge allegiance to America's debt, and to the Chinese government that lends us money, and to the interest, for which we pay, compoundable, with higher taxes and lower pay, until the day we die."

A. 어휘
debt 債務(채무). deadbeat 빚을 갚지 않는 사람, 돈 떼어먹는 사람.
brew 준비중이다, 임박하다, 釀造(양조)하다. Uncle Sams 미국인들.
sad sight 슬픈 광경. slightly 약간. bedraggled 더러워진.
cardboard 板紙(판지), 마분지. sign 간판, 게시판.
hand-scrawled 손으로 갈겨 쓴. plea 탄원, 간청. trillion 兆(조).
publicity 홍보. stunt 耳目(이목)을 끄는 행위, 묘기.
defeat 패배시키다. debt 빚, 채무. Defeat The Debt 빚을 없애자.
fiscal 재정상의, 재무의. hawkish 매 같은, 强硬(강경)한.
pressure group 압력단체. capture 捕捉(포착)하다.
double digits 두 자리 수. Uncle Sam 미국정부. ongoing 현재 진행중인.
binge 술잔치. avert 막다, 돌리다, 피하다. recession 경기후퇴.
postpone 연기하다. commercials 광고방송.
leave no room for doubt 의심할 餘地(여지)를 남기지 않는다.
recite 암송하다, 復唱(복창)하다. pledge 서약. allegiance 충성.
interest 利子(이자). compoundable 화해할 수 있는, 타협할 수 있는, 혼합할 수 있는.

116-2-543
Many Americans think much of this money might as well have been tied up in bundles and burned. On average, according to Gallup, Americans believe that 50 cents of every dollar the federal government spends is wasted. This is an outlandish figure. Not even the Department of Agriculture is that profligate. Yet even Democrats, who are supposed to believe in big government, guess that 41 cents of every federal dollar is wasted. Republicans think it is 54 cents, and independents, whose votes Democrats will sorely need at the mid-terms next year, are if anything slightly more cynical, putting the number at 55 cents in the dollar.
The hyperkinetic Mr Obama is trying to fix everything from car firms and banks to Chicago's Olympic bid. Yet a poll last month found that most Americans would rather their government did less. Some 57% said it was doing too many things that were better left to individuals and businesses. Only 38% thought it should do more. The proportion who believe that government over-regulates private businesses has also risen from 38% to 45% in a year. And despite the attention lavished on Michael Moore's new movie excoriating capitalism, only 24% of Americans think firms are under-regulated.

A. 어휘
might as well ...하는 편이 낫다, ...을 하면 좋을 텐데. bundle 다발, 꾸러미.
on average 평균적으로. the federal government 연방정부.
outlandish 기이한, 이국풍의, 색다른. figure 數値(수치).
the Department of Agriculture 농무부. profligate 낭비하는.
Democrats 미국 민주당 당원. Republicans 미국 공화당 당원.
independents 당파에 속하지 않는 사람, 무소속 의원. sorely 대단히, 애처롭게.
the mid-terms 중간 선거. hyperkinetic 대단히 활동적인.
fix 고치다. firm 회사. Olympic bid 올림픽개최 신청.
proportion 비율. over-regulate 지나치게 규제하다.
despite ...에도 불구하고. lavish 아낌없이 주다(사용하다), 낭비하다.
excoriate 몹시 비난하다, 껍질을 벗기다.

B. 구문
- it was doing too many things . . . left to individuals and businesses.
[민간인이나 기업이 하도록 맡겨두면 더 잘 할 수 있는 일을 정부가 너무 많이 하고 있다.]