Weekly Address: Creating Opportunity for All

每周电视讲话：为所有人创造机会
In this week’s address, the President highlighted the importance of expanding opportunity for all Americans -- a principle that has guided his work throughout the past six years. This past week, the President attended a summit at Georgetown University where he discussed issues like poverty and inequality, and what we can do to ensure everyone gets a fair shot. We’ve seen real results in this area, but there is still more that can be done. And lack of opportunity is not the only barrier to success. That’s why, on Monday, the President will travel to Camden, New Jersey to visit with local law enforcement, meet with young people, and hear directly about efforts to build trust between the police and the community in a city that has faced one of the highest crime rates in America.
在本周的讲话中，奥巴马总统强调了为所有民众创造更多机遇的重要性，这也是他主政六年来一直坚持的原则。上周，总统出席了在乔治城大学召开的峰会，会上总统与与会者讨论了贫困和不公平的议题，并介绍了为确保所有人都享有公平的机会我们所应该做的事情。在这些方面，我们已经取得实质性的成果，但仍然还有大量工作等着我们去做。而机遇缺乏并非挡在成功道路上的唯一障碍。因此，下周一，总统将访问新泽西州的卡姆登市，看望当地的执法人员，会见年轻人，在这座犯罪率居于美国最前列的城市，直接倾听大家的意见，寻求在警察和社会民众间建立信任的途径。

Hi, everybody. Everything we’ve done over the past six years has been in pursuit of one overarching goal: creating opportunity for all.
大家好！过去六年里，我们所做的一切工作都是为了一个终极目标：为所有人创造机会。

What we’ve long understood, though, is that some communities have consistently had the odds stacked against them. That’s true of rural communities with chronic poverty. That’s true of some manufacturing communities that suffered after the plants they depended on closed their doors. It’s true of some suburbs and inner cities, where jobs can be hard to find and harder to get to.
尽管一直以来我们都知道，某些地区就是与机会毫无缘分。农村地区的长期贫困是事实。一些以制造业为主的地区在工厂倒闭之后，以此为生的人们深受创伤，这也是事实。在某些郊区和市中心的平民区，找一份工作十分困难，找到合适的更是难上加难，这也是事实。

That sense of unfairness and powerlessness has helped to fuel the kind of unrest that we’ve seen in places like Baltimore, Ferguson, and New York. It has many causes -- from a basic lack of opportunity to groups feeling unfairly targeted by police – which means there’s no single solution. But there are many that could make a different and could help. And we have to do everything in our power to make this country’s promise real for everyone willing to work for it.
这种不公平和无助的情绪助长了巴尔的摩、弗格森、纽约等地的骚乱。导致这种局面的原因很多，从缺少最基本的机会到人们因警察引发的不公平感，凡此种种，这也意味着并没有单一的解决途径。但有很多方法可以带来变化，改变现状。我们必须尽一切努力，确保每一位愿意为这个国家付出的人都能得到这个国家的切实承诺。

That’s why last Tuesday, at a summit organized by Catholics and evangelicals, I sat down with a conservative scholar and a poverty expert for a discussion on what it takes to open more doors of opportunity. We know our efforts matter: since 1967, we’ve brought poverty down by about 40 percent, thanks in part to programs like Social Security and the Earned Income Tax Credit for working families. And we know that there are folks from all faiths, and across the ideological spectrum, who care deeply about “the least of these.” So I hope this conversation continues, not as a question of whether, but of how, we can work together to grow opportunity. Because it’s not words, but deeds, that make a difference. And from expanding tax cuts for working parents, to raising high school graduation rates, to helping millions of Americans secure health insurance when they didn’t have it just a few years ago -- our actions are making a difference.
正因如此，上周二，由天主教和福音教会组织的一次峰会上，我与一位保守派学者和一位贫困问题专家坐在一起，讨论为人们打开更多机遇之门的必要条件。我们都知道我们的努力不会白费：自1967年以来，我们将贫困人口比例降低了40个百分点，这其中有社会保险和针对工薪阶层的所得税优惠政策的功劳。我们也知道，拥有各种信仰、各种意识形态的人们，都极为关注“至少该做什么”这一问题。因此，我希望这类交流能够继续下去，而且不仅仅是讨论应不应该去做的问题，而是如何去做的问题，我们可以共同努力为大众创造机会。因为只有行动而不是口号才能带来改变。从扩大工薪父母群体的税收减免，到提高高中的毕业率，再到帮助几年前还没有医疗保险的亿万民众得到这一保障，我们的努力正在改变社会面貌。

Of course, lack of opportunity is not the only barrier between too many of our young people and the kind of future they deserve. On Monday, I’ll travel to Camden, New Jersey, a city that has faced one of the highest violent crime rates in America. I’ll highlight some of the innovative things they’ve done to help police do their jobs more safely and reduce crime in the process. And I’ll highlight steps all cities can take to maintain trust between the brave law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line, and the communities they’re sworn to serve and protect.
当然，机会的缺乏并非阻挡在大量年轻人和他们应该得到的美好未来之间的唯一障碍。下周一，我将到访新泽西州的卡姆登市，这座城市的犯罪率一直居于全国前列。在那里，我将重点介绍该市在促进警察安全执法和降低犯罪率等方面所做的创新性工作。而且，我还将重点介绍所有城市都可以采取的措施，在冒着生命危险英勇执法的警察和他们誓愿为之服务和保护的社会民众之间保持相互信任。

Whether we are Democrats, Republicans, or independents; whether we live in one of our poorest communities, one of our wealthiest, or anywhere in between, we all want our country to be one where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded. We want a place where you can make it if you try. That’s the promise we make to our young people. That’s the promise that makes us exceptional. And it’s the promise I’ll never stop fighting to keep, for my children and for yours.
无论你是民主党人、共和党人还是无党派人士，无论你生活在最贫困的地区还是最富裕的地区，抑或是其它任何地方，我们都希望我们的祖国成为辛勤劳动能够得到回报，负责任的人能够得到奖赏的地方。我们都希望这是一个只要你努力尝试就可以成功的地方。这是我们对年轻人的承诺。这也是我会一直为之奋斗的承诺，为了我的孩子以及你们的孩子们，我永不放弃。

Thanks, and have a great weekend.
谢谢大家！祝周末愉快！