美國《華盛頓時報》近日報道，舊金山聯邦儲備銀行的一項新研究表明，拜登政府的1.9萬億美元經濟刺激計劃導致美國陷入高通脹。2021年3月11日，美國總統拜登正式簽署1.9萬億美元新冠紓困法案，致力于緩解疫情給美國民眾帶來的經濟困境，推動個人消費增長，提升經濟增速。但一些經濟學家認為，結果與預期相差甚遠。
Washington’s multitrillion-dollar spending habit has driven inflation across the US higher than in most other Western countries, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
據舊金山聯邦儲備銀行稱，拜登政府的萬億美元財政刺激政策導致美國的通脹率高于其他西方國家。
A report released by the bank said the US inflation rate spiked higher than other countries in March 2021, shortly after Congress passed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
該機構發布報告稱，2021年3月，美國國會通過拜登總統的1.9萬億美元（約合12.1萬億元人民幣）新冠紓困計劃不久之后，美國的通貨膨脹率飆升，超過其他國家。
“Fiscal support measures designed to counteract the severity of the pandemic’s economic effect may have contributed to this divergence by raising inflation about 3 percentage points by the end of 2021,” analysts wrote.
分析人士稱：“這些財政支持政策旨在抵消疫情對經濟造成的嚴重影響，但2021年底美國的通脹率因此提高了約三個百分點。”
Economists argue that the current round of inflation that is wracking the economy results from the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the supply-chain crisis it spawned. They say COVID-19 shuttered businesses while driving up overhead costs through public health mandates for those that remained open.
經濟學家們認為，新冠疫情及其引發的供應鏈危機產生的持續影響導致了當前一輪正在摧毀美國經濟的通貨膨脹。疫情致使企業停工，同時強制防疫措施導致仍在經營的企業成本增加。
As factories closed and international trade came to a halt, businesses still in operation were forced to hike prices even higher to account for the limited supply of goods and services, according to economists. Congress only boosted the demand for those goods and services by doling out trillions of dollars in coronavirus relief, including three direct payments to families worth upwards of $3,200.
經濟學家表示，隨著工廠關門，國際貿易陷入停滯，仍在運營的企業被迫進一步提高價格，以應對商品和服務供應有限的問題。美國國會只是通過發放數萬億美元的新冠救濟金來刺激需求，包括向美國家庭直接發放三筆超過3200美元（約合2萬元人民幣）的款項。
Officially, the money was meant to stimulate an economy that was in free fall. Although that worked in theory, when coupled with the supply chain issues, the result was far different than desired.
據公布，此舉旨在提振不景氣的經濟。雖然理論上是可行的，但再加上供應鏈問題，結果與預期相差甚遠。
“Both Democrats and Republicans have dangerously inflated prices by pumping trillions into the economy since the onset of the pandemic,” said David Ditch, a federal budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation. “They essentially created a situation where too much money was chasing too few goods.”
美國傳統基金聯邦預算分析員大衛·迪奇表示：“疫情發生后，民主黨和共和黨都通過發放數萬億美元的刺激金，而引發了危險的通貨膨脹。他們基本上造成了一種情況，即錢太多商品太少。”
Democrats disagree that Mr. Biden’s massive coronavirus relief bill is the culprit. They say the supply chain crisis started long before Mr. Biden entered the White House and that other factors like corporate greed are at play.
民主黨人士并不認同拜登政府的新冠紓困法案是導致高通脹的罪魁禍首的觀點。他們稱，供應鏈危機早在拜登入主白宮之前就開始了，企業的貪婪等其他因素也是通脹率上升的原因。
“There is more to these price spikes — some businesses are simply price gouging consumers,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey. “These outrageous actions have been constant throughout the pandemic, evolving with each phase and disproportionately harming the most vulnerable when they can least afford it.”
新澤西州眾議院能源和商務委員會主席弗蘭克·帕隆說：“商品和服務價格飆升的原因還不止這些——一些企業在哄抬物價，這些令人憤慨的行為在整個疫情期間一直存在，隨著每個階段的發展而變化，并在人們最不堪重負的時候給他們帶來巨大的傷害。”
Although the coronavirus relief bills passed under then-President Trump helped fuel inflation, Mr. Biden’s $1.9 trillion exacerbated the situation by pouring more money into the economy just as it was starting to rebound from the pandemic, according to economists.
據經濟學家稱，特朗普政府時期通過的新冠救助法案加劇了通貨膨脹，但拜登政府1.9萬億美元的刺激計劃使情況更加惡化，因為經濟回暖之際，拜登政府發放了更多刺激金。
“Even liberal economists like the Obama White House’s Larry Summers warned that Biden’s big spending spree would set off inflation,” said Sen. Mike Braun, Indiana Republican.
印第安納州共和黨參議員邁克·布勞恩稱：“就連奧巴馬政府的拉里·薩默斯等自由派經濟學家也警告稱，拜登的大舉支出會引發通貨膨脹。”
The San Francisco Federal Reserve supports that view. The bank’s report notes that when not accounting for food and energy, inflation rose by 3% throughout 2021 — the highest rate since the 1980s. In comparison, countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany saw a more gradual increase over the same time.
舊金山聯邦儲備銀行認同這一觀點。該機構報告指出，在不考慮食品和能源的情況下，通貨膨脹率在2021年間上升了3%，這是自20世紀80年代以來的最高水平。相比之下，加拿大、英國和德國等在同一時期的通脹率增長較為緩慢。
來源：華盛頓時報
編輯：董靜
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