第4章 为什么劳动人民的愤怒，政治家应该倾听(3)

When it comes to creating jobs，some in Washington say：Go slow -take half steps，don"t spend rea l money.T hose voices are harming millions of unemployed Americans and their families-and they are jeopardizing our economic recovery.It is responsib letohave aplan for paying for job creation over time.But it is bad economics and suicidal politics not to aggressively address the job crisis at a time of stubbornly high unemployment.In fact，budget deficits over the medium and long term will be worse if we allow the economy to slide into a long job stagnation unemployed workers don"t pay taxes and they don"t go shopping；businesses without customers don"t hire workers，they don"t invest and they also don"t pay taxes.

But we must do much more to restore broadly shared prosperity.

We must take action to restore workers"voices.The systematic silencing of America"s workers by denying their freedom to form unions is at the heart of the disappearance of good jobs in America.We must pass the Employee Free Choice Act so that workers can have the chance to turn bad jobs into good jobs，and so we can reduce the inequality which is undermining our country"s prospects for stable economic growth.

We must have an agenda for restoring American manufacturing-a combination of fair trade and cur rency policies，worker training，infrastructure investment and regional development policies targeted to help economically distressed areas.We cannot be a prosperous middle class society in a dynamic global economy without a healthy manufacturing sector.

We must have an agenda to address the daily challenges workers face on the job to ensure safe and healthy workplaces and family-friendly work rules.

And we need comprehensive reform of our immigration policy based on ending exploitation and securing fairness，working for an America where there are no second class workers.

Each of these initiatives should be rooted in a crucial alliance of the middle class and the poor-the majority of the American people.And those of us in the labor movement know that we can only achieve these great things if we work together with community partners who share our goals，and with government leaders who share our vision.

Government that acted in the interests of the majority of Americans has produced our greatest achievements.The New Deal.The Great Society and the Civil Rights movement-Social Security，Medicare，the minimum wage and the forty-hour work week，and the Voting Rights Act.This is what made the United States a beacon of hope in a confused and divided world.In the end，I believe the health care bill signed into law last month is an achievement on this order，one we can continue to improve upon to secure health care for all.

But too many thought leaders have become the servants of a different kind of politics-a politics that sees middle-class Americans as overpaid and underworked.That sees Social Security as a problem rather than the only piece of our retirement system that actually works.A mentality that feels sorry for homeless people，but fails to see the connections between downsizing，outsourcing，inequality and homelessness.A mentality that sees mass unemployment as something that will take care of itself，eventually.

We need to return to a different vision.

President Obama said in his inaugural address，"The state of the economy calls for action，bold and swift，and we will act-not only to create new jobs，but to lay a new foundation for growth."Now is the time to make good on these words for Congress，for President Obama and for the American people.

These are big challenges.But it is long past time to take them on.If you are worried about the anger in our country，if you don"t want the forces of hatred to grow，be a part of the fight for economic justice and a new economic foundation for America.

Be a critic of power and privilege，not its servant.Be the source of the ideas that can rebuild our economy and restore confidence in government.As students，as teachers，as workers-all of us can play a role in this great effort.Whether here within the university，at think tanks，in the government，in the press，or even working with us in the labor movement，working people need the help of engaged policy intellectuals if we are together going to build an economy that works for all.

Think about the great promise of America and the great legacy we have inherited.Our wealth as a nation and our energy as a people can deliver，in the words of my predecessor Samuel Gompers，"more schoolhouses and less jails；more books and less arsenals；more learning and less vice；more leisure and less greed；more justice and less revenge；in fact，more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures."

That is the American future the labor movement is working for.Let me be clear：There is no excuse for racism and hatred.All Americans need to unite against it.The labor movement must be a powerful voice against it.But you cannot fight hatred with greed.Working people are angry-and we are right to be angry at the betrayal of our economic future.Help us turn that anger into the energy to win a better country and a better world.

参考译文（王伟明译）

晚上好！谢谢你，约翰。我永远无法表达我对你的感激之情，无法表达美国工人运动对你的感激之情。政治学院很荣幸这学期能邀请到你，很荣幸今晚能和你坐在一起，为此请允许我向政治学院和比尔·珀塞尔表达我的谢意。

今晚我将谈论一下愤怒，尤其是劳动人民的愤怒。我想解释一下，为什么劳动人民对经济，以及国家发生的事非常的愤怒。然后我还想讨论一下为什么愤怒和仇恨之间会有区别。我们国家正努力地改变人们这种正当的愤怒，然而结果却使我们中的一些人对种族主义和同性恋的态度是仇恨和暴力，而这些行动又是由我们的总统和英雄领导的，例如约翰·路易斯。最重要的是，仇恨的势力即将分裂劳动人民，使我们对彼此愤怒。

因此今晚我还想告诉你们，我认为对付人们这种带有强烈进步传统的仇恨力量的唯一方式就是：使人们行动起来，组织工会，组织选举那些承诺采取大胆措施解决经济困境的政府官员。

这种进步的力量已经为穷人和中产阶级，甚至是每一个为生存而工作的人组成了联盟，凝聚了力量。劳动人民和热心公益的知识分子之间的联盟也很重要，它坚决抵抗根深蒂固的经济实力和对富裕的自满。这个联盟取决于知识分子能否成为批评者，而不是拥有经济特权的公务员。