独家首发，新鲜出炉，高级口译阅读部分MC第一篇。2010年9月12日高级口译阅读部分MC第一篇

文章再次出自“老地方”《The Christian Science Monitor》，2010年2月23日。

文章大致讲述了，美国国会通过了一项经济刺激计划，旨在促进就业、创造就业机会，已经初见成效。现在准备通过另一刺激方案，使用联邦失业基金来发展创造就业机会的基础项目，同时延长失业人群福利。但是，联邦失业基金已经囊中羞涩，而且在经济萧条的此时，国会已经多次延展失业者福利，基金已近枯竭。政府陷入两难局面，要不减少福利，或者增加工资税收。而这之后的结果就是，企业很难或大招聘规模或者提高工资。因此，作者建议，国会应该放手，让企业去创造就业，让工人们保留自己的劳动所得。

Forget the jobs bill. Workers need a better safety net for layoffs.

The jobs bill will deepen debt at a time when state unemployment trust funds are going bankrupt. Current jobless benefits are a bad deal. Chile’s plan provides real security.

By Eileen Norcross, Emily Washington / February 23, 2010

Congress began 2010 with a bad case of legislative déjà vu. Last year, it approved a $787 billion stimulus package meant to "create or save" millions of jobs. President Obama says the stimulus has saved or created as many as 2 million jobs so far. But even if that highly optimistic figure is true, in the real world, over 3 million jobs have been lost since the stimulus was signed into law – a dismal feat all financed with enormous debt.

Now Congress is working on another stimulus package, but they're calling it a jobs bill. In December, the House passed a $174 billion "Jobs for Main Street Bill" that would use federal dollars to fund job-creating infrastructure projects, while extending unemployment benefits. The Senate this week moved ahead on a much-leaner jobs bill. Sound familiar?

Unemployment remains at about 10 percent and state unemployment insurance funds are running out of money. While the Obama administration works to artificially inflate the number of jobs, the unemployed face diminished opportunities and income security. By 2012, 40 state unemployment trust funds are projected to be empty, requiring $90 billion in federal loans to continue operating.

Normally, state unemployment benefits pay jobless workers between 50 and 70 percent of their salaries for up to 26 weeks. But during this recession, Congress has extended those benefits four times. The result is that some workers can now claim benefits for 99 weeks – almost two years.

Now Congress may enact a record fifth extension. What would be wrong with that? Everything. The state-federal unemployment insurance program (UI) is an economic drag on businesses and states. And it's a poor safety net for the unemployed.

UI, a relic of the Great Depression, fails workers when they need it most. UI trust funds depend on a state-levied payroll tax on employers. During boom years, these funds are generally flush. But during recessions, they can get depleted quickly.
The bind is that to replenish their UI fund, states have to raise payroll taxes. That hurts the bottom line for businesses both large and small. Passed on to workers as a lower salary, high payroll taxes discourage businesses from hiring.

During steep recessions, states face a fiscal Catch-22: Reduce benefits or raise taxes. To date, 27 states have depleted their UI funds and are using $29 billion in federal loans they'll have to start repaying in 2011. Other states are slashing benefits. Kentucky House members passed a measure in February to increase employers' contributions (read: a tax hike) and cut benefits from 68 percent to 62 percent of wages.