奥巴马每周电视讲话总统呼吁改善美国经济大环境

Hi, everybody.

大家好！

As President, my top priority is rebuilding an economy where everybody who works hard has the chance to get ahead.

作为总统，我最首要的职责就是重建一个让所有辛勤工作的人都能取得成功的经济环境。

That's what I'll spend some time talking about on Monday, at the White House Summit on Working Families.

我将在周一举行的白宫工薪家庭峰会上就此话题谈论我的观点。

We're bringing together business leaders and workers to talk about the challenges that working parents face every day, and how we can address them together.

届时我将与众多企业领导和员工们汇聚一堂，共同探讨工薪父母们每天面对的挑战，并对此提出我们所能实现的解决办法。

Take paid family leave.

带薪产假和探亲假。

Many jobs don't offer adequate leave to care for a new baby or an ailing parent, so workers can't afford to be there when their family needs them the most.

多数岗位都不提供足够的假期让员工有时间去照顾新生婴儿或生病的父母，因此，员工无法在他们的家庭急需他们的时候及时到位，因为他们无法承受这一代价。

That's wrong. And it puts us way behind the times.

这不合理。我们没有跟上时代的步伐。

Only three countries in the world report that they don't offer paid maternity leave.

全世界只有三个国家公开表示不提供带薪产假。

Three. And the United States is one of them.

只有三个。而我们的国家就是其中之一。

It's time to change that.

是时候做出改变了。

A few states have acted on their own to give workers paid family leave, but this should be available to everyone, because all Americans should be able to afford to care for a family member in need.

有少数州已经做出了调整，给员工提供带薪产假和探亲假，但这应该是每个人都能享受到的福利，因为所有美国人民都应该具备照顾需要照料的家庭成员的能力。

Childcare is another challenge.

子女抚养是另一个挑战。

Most working families I know can't afford thousands a year for childcare, but often that's what it costs.

大多数工薪家庭，据我所知，无法承受每年数千美元的子女抚养费用，但通常这都是他们必须的支出。

That leaves parents scrambling just to make sure their kids are safe while they're at work-forget about giving them the high-quality early childhood education that helps kids succeed in life.

这让父母们很纠结，这些支出只是为了确保他们在上班的时候孩子们有安全的环境，根本谈不上高质量的儿童早期教育去帮助孩子们成长成功。

Then there's the issue of flexibility-the ability to take a few hours off for a parent-teacher conference or to work from home when your kid is sick.

那么，灵活解决问题的方式是，让父母有几个小时的时间去参加一次家长会或是当孩子生病的时候可以在家办公。

Most workers want it, but not enough of them have it.

大多数的员工都需要这些，但并不是大部分人都可以享受到。

What's more, it not only makes workers happier-studies show that flexibility can make workers more productive and reduce worker turnover and absenteeism.

更重要的是，这这不仅能让员工更开心，有研究证明，弹性工作时间可以让员工的工作效率更高，并减少员工离职和缺勤。

That's good for business.

企业可以从中获益良多。

At a time when women make up about half of America's workforce, outdated workplace policies that make it harder for mothers to work hold our entire economy back.

在妇女撑起半边天的时代，过时的工作制度让妈妈们的工作更加艰难，也拉了整个经济发展的后腿。

But these aren't just problems for women.

但这不仅仅是针对女性存在的问题。

Men also care about who's watching their kids.

男性也关心谁能够照顾孩子的问题。

They're rearranging their schedules to make it to soccer games and school plays.

他们要不断调正他们的日程表，赶上球赛和校园演出。

Lots of sons help care for aging parents.

很多当儿子的照顾上了年纪的父母。

And plenty of fathers would love to be home for their new baby's first weeks in the world.

很多当父亲的更愿意在孩子出生的第一个星期在家陪伴宝宝。

In fact, in a new study, nearly half of all parents-women and men-report that they've said no to a job, not because they didn't want it, but because it would be too hard on their families.

实际上，有新的研究表明，几乎有一半的父母，男女都包括在内，他们对一份工作说不，不是因为他们不想要，而是同时要顾及家庭会是分艰难。

When that many talented, hard-working people are forced to choose between work and family, something's wrong.

当大量有能力，肯付出的人被迫在工作和家庭之间做选择的时候，可定就有问题了。

Other countries are making it easier for people to have both.

其它国家都在努力让人们更好坚固二者。

We should too, if we want American businesses to compete and win in the global economy.

如果我们想要保持美国企业的竞争力，并在全球经济发展中胜出，我们也应该这么做。

Family leave. Childcare. Flexibility. These aren't frills-they're basic needs.

带薪产假，子女抚养，弹性工作时间。这些不是花架子，而是人们的基本需求。

They shouldn't be bonuses-they should be the bottom line.

这不应该是奖励，而应该是底线。

The good news is, some businesses are embracing family-friendly policies, because they know it's key to attracting and retaining talented employees.

好消息是，有些企业正在向适合家庭工作制度方面转向，因为他们知道，吸引并留住高素质的员工至关重要。

And I'm going to keep highlighting the businesses that do.

我将继续鼓励这些企业的做法。

Because I take this personally.

因为作为个人我认同这一点。

I take it personally as the son and grandson of some strong women who worked hard to support my sister and me.

两位坚强的女性努力工作抚养了我和我妹妹，作为儿子和孙子，我赞同这一点。

As the husband of a brilliant woman who struggled to balance work and raising our young ladies when my job often kept me away.

作为一位努力在工作和抚养我们的女儿们之间艰难平衡的杰出女性的丈夫，因为我的工作将我经常离开他们，我认同这些企业的做法。

And as the father of two beautiful girls, whom I want to be there for as much as I possibly can-and whom I hope will be able to have families and careers of their own one day.

作为两个漂亮姑娘的父亲，我想尽可能多的与她们呆在一起，希望能陪她们到她们自己成家立业的那一天。

We know from our history that our economy grows best from the middle-out; that our country does better when everybody participates; when everyone's talents are put to use; when we all have a fair shot.

历史告诉我们，我们的经济在中产阶级壮大的时候发展的最好；我们的国家在所有人都积极参与建设的时候更强大；当每个人的才能都被发挥出来，当我们都有机会取得成功。

That's the America I believe in. That's the America I'll keep fighting for every day.

这才是我们希望中的美国。这也是我们每天都将为之奋斗的美国。

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

谢谢大家，祝你们周末愉快。

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