民生问题

Livelihood issues —— 民生问题

2011年全国两会已经闭幕，中国民众在两会中最关注哪些问题？新华网和人民网最新的调查显示，民生问题最受关注。

请看《中国日报》的报道：
“Livelihood issues”, including an improved social security system and the provision of affordable housing, remain the top concerns of Chinese people, according to online polls conducted ahead of the country’s annual parliamentary and political advisory sessions.

文中的livelihood issues指的就是“民生问题”，也称为bread-and-butter issues或者pocketbook issues，livelihood意思是“生计、谋生”。简单地说，livelihood issues就是与百姓生活密切相关的问题，最主要表现在吃穿住行、养老就医子女教育等日常生活的方方面面。

The topic earned some 5.92 percent of the 362,126 votes cast and was followed by concerns about inflation, employment and income.

China has witnessed escalating housing prices over the last few years, while owning an affordable house has been a dream that has been extremely hard to realize for many citizens.

In their postings, the netizens expressed hope that the government could accelerate the supplying of affordable houses to low-income groups and tighten measures to rein in property prices.