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JonathanSmith_MonetaryStimulus_2021E-_政府是如何凭空造钱的？_
In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rocked economies worldwide . 在2020年三月,新冠疫情 震荡了世界经济。
Millions of people lost their jobs, and many businesses struggled to survive or shut down completely. 数百万人失业, 而许多企业挣扎求生或完全倒闭。
Governments responded with some of the largest economic relief packages the United States alone spent $2.2 trillion on a first round of relief. 政府们通过一些历史上 最大的经济救助项目—— 单是美国就在其首次救助中 花费了22亿美金。
pandemic:adj.(疾病等)全国流行的;普遍的;n.流行性疾病; economies:n.经济;经济结构;节约;(economy的复数) worldwide:adj.全世界的;adv.在世界各地; struggled:v.奋斗;努力;争取;艰难地行进;抗争;(struggle的过去式和过去分词) responded:v.回答,回应;作出反应;响应;反应灵敏;(respond的过去式和过去分词) economic:adj.经济的,经济上的;经济学的; relief:n.救济;减轻,解除;安慰;浮雕; United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式) trillion:n.[数]万亿;adj.万亿的;num.[数]万亿;
So where did all this money come from? 那么这些钱都是从哪来的？
Most countries have a central bank that manages the money supply and is independent from the government to prevent political interference . 大多数国家有一间中央银行 来管理货币储备 并且独立于政府来防止政治干预。
The government can implement many types of economic policy , like decreasing people's taxes and creating jobs through public infrastructure projects, but it actually can’t just increase the money supply. 政府可以施行多种经济政策, 比如减少税收 和通过公共基建项目创造工作机会, 但是政府并不能直接地 增加货币储备。
central bank:n.中央银行; money supply:n.货币供应量; independent:adj.独立的; n.无党派议员(或候选人等); interference:n.干扰,冲突;干涉; implement:v.实施;执行;贯彻;使生效;n.工具; policy:n.政策,方针;保险单; decreasing:v.(使大小、数量等)减少,减小,降低;(decrease的现在分词) infrastructure:n.基础设施;公共建设;下部构造;
The central bank determines how much money is in circulation at a time. 中央银行决定有多少资金在流通。
So why can’t central banks authorize the printing of unlimited money to help an economy in crisis ? 那么为什么中央银行 不能授权印无限数量的钞票 帮助危机中的经济呢？
They could, but that’s a short-term solution that doesn’t necessarily boost economic growth in the long-term , and can actually hurt the economy. 它们可以, 但是这是一种短期手段, 它在长期并不真正帮助经济增长, 而且还可能损害经济。
determines:v.查明;测定;准确算出;决定;裁决;安排;(determine的第三人称单数) circulation:n.流通,传播;循环;发行量; authorize:vt.批准,认可;授权给;委托代替; unlimited:adj.无限制的;无限量的;无条件的; economy:n.经济;节约;理财; crisis:n.危机;危险期;决定性时刻;adj.危机的;用于处理危机的; short-term:adj.短期的; solution:n.解决方案;溶液;溶解;解答; necessarily:adv.必要地;必定地,必然地; boost:n.提高;增长;帮助;激励;v.使增长;使兴旺;偷窃; long-term:adj.长期的;从长远来看;
Why? 为什么？
With more money in circulation, manufacturers of goods like food, clothing, and cars could respond to demand simply by raising prices, rather than manufacturing more of these goods and creating new jobs in the process . 流通的钱越多, 例如食品、衣物、和汽车制造商 能够简单地针对需求抬高价格, 而不是制造更多产品 并同时创造新工作。
This would mean you could no longer buy as much with the same amount of money— a situation known as inflation . 这意味着你再也不能 用同样多的钱买同样多的东西—— 这个状况叫做通货膨胀。
A little bit of inflation, about 2% a year, is considered a sign of economic health, but more can quickly derail an economy. 一点点通货膨胀, 大该一年百分之二, 被认为是经济健康的表现, 但更多可以快速导致经济脱轨。
manufacturers:n.生产者;制造者;生产商;(manufacturer的复数) manufacturing:n.制造业;工业;v.制造;生产(manufacture的现在分词); process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的; inflation:n.膨胀;通货膨胀;夸张;自命不凡; derail:v.(火车)使出轨;出轨;n.脱轨;[铁路]脱轨器;
In recent decades, central banks have tried an approach called quantitative easing to infuse the economy with cash while maintaining a low risk of severe inflation. 在最近几十年, 中央银行尝试过一种 叫做量化宽松的方式 来为经济注入资金 同时保持较低的严重通货膨胀风险。
In this approach, a central bank increases cash flow by purchasing another entity’s bonds. 在这个方法中, 一间央行通过购买 另一机构的债券来增加基金流动。
Anyone can buy bonds from corporations or governments. 任何人都能从公司 或政府那里购买债券。
When you buy a bond, you’re essentially loaning money to the company— or government— with the promise that they’ll pay it back later with interest. 在你购买债券时, 你实际上是把钱借给公司—— 或政府——接受它们会在之后 把本金和利息一起归还的承诺。
approach:n.方法;路径;v.接近;建议;着手处理; quantitative:adj.定量的;量的,数量的; infuse:v.使具有,注入(某特性);全面影响;泡制(草药等); maintaining:n.维护;保养;v.维持;保养;(maintain的现在分词) severe:adj.极为恶劣的;十分严重的;严厉的;苛刻的; cash flow:现金流转; purchasing:n.购买;采购;v.买;购买;采购;(purchase的现在分词) corporations:n.[贸易]公司,[经]企业(corporation的复数形式); essentially:adv.本质上;本来;
This is why buying bonds is sometimes referred to as buying debt . 这是为什么购买债券 有时被称作是购买债务。
When an individual buys a bond, they're using money that's already in circulation. 当一个个体购买一份债券, 他们用的是已经在流通中的钱。
But when the central bank buys a bond, it essentially creates cash, supplying money that didn’t exist before in exchange for bonds. 但是当央行购买一份债券, 它本质上是在造钱, 提供出之前不存在的资金来换成债券。
referred:v.提到;引用;认为;指示;涉及;(refer的过去式和过去分词) debt:n.债务;借款;罪过; individual:n.个人;有个性的人;adj.单独的;个别的; in exchange for:作为…的交换;
Both during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and again in 2020, the United States’ central bank, the Federal Reserve , bought bonds from the US government called treasury bonds. 在2008-2009金融危机 以及2020年又一次, 美国的中央银行,也就是美联储, 向美国政府购买 叫做长期国债的债券。
Historically , many people have purchased these bonds as a safe form of investment , knowing the US government will pay them back with interest. 历史上来说,很多人购买国债 来作为一种安全的投资, 因为美国政府会连本带利一起付还。
In early 2020, the Federal Reserve pledged to buy unlimited treasury bonds, loaning the U.S. government an unprecedented amount of money— cash that the government used to fund relief efforts like stimulus checks and unemployment benefits. 在2020早期,美联储保证购买 不限量的长期国债 借给美国政府空前大量的资金—— 给政府用来为救济募资, 比如经济刺激补助和失业补贴。
financial:adj.金融的;财政的,财务的; Federal:adj.联邦的;同盟的;联邦政府的;联邦制的;adv.联邦政府地; Reserve:n.储备,储存; vt.储备; vi.预订; treasury:n.国库,金库;财政部;宝库; Historically:adv.历史上地;从历史观点上说; purchased:v.买;购买;采购;(purchase的过去式和过去分词) investment:n.投资;投入;封锁; pledged:v.保证给予(或做);正式承诺;抵押(pledge的过去分词和过去式) unprecedented:adj.空前的;无前例的; fund:n.基金;资金;存款;v.投资;资助; stimulus:n.刺激;激励;刺激物; unemployment:n.失业;失业率;失业人数;
This isn’t equivalent to simply printing money, though it may sound similar. 这和简单地印钱并不相同, 即使它听起来相似。
Because of the way bonds are priced, by buying so many, the Federal Reserve effectively lowered the return on them, which incentivizes other investors to lend to riskier entities— like small and midsize companies— in order to get a decent return. 由于债券被定价的方式, 通过购买很多, 美联储有效地降低了它们的回利, 这促使其他投资者 向更有风险的选择放贷—— 比如中小企业——
equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物; incentivizes:以物质刺激鼓励; riskier:冒险的(risky的比较级); midsize:adj.中型的;中等大小的; decent:adj.正派的;得体的;相当好的;
Encouraging lending this way should help companies of all sizes borrow money to funnel into projects and hires, boosting the economy over time in addition to helping the government supply people with urgently needed cash in the short term. 通过鼓励这种借贷方式 应该能帮助大小公司借款 来投入到项目和雇佣, 从长期促进经济并帮助政府 为有紧急需求的人们 在短期提供资金。
The Federal Reserve’s pledge to buy unlimited government debt has raised some questions— and eyebrows . 美联储对购买不限量长期国债的保证 引发一些问题和怀疑。
In theory, this means the government could issue more bonds, which the central bank would purchase. 理论上,这意味着政府 可以发放更多债券, 央行会购买这些债券。
funnel:n.漏斗;烟囱;v.通过漏斗或烟囱等;使成漏斗形; boosting:n.助推,局部通风;升压加力;v.推进(boost的现在分词形式); in addition to:除…之外; urgently:adv.迫切地;紧急地;急切地; eyebrows:n.眉;眉毛;(eyebrow的复数) issue:n.重要议题;争论的问题;v.宣布;公布;发出;发行;
The government could then use the money from the new bonds to pay off the old bonds, effectively meaning the government never pays back its debt to the central bank. 政府之后可以用新债券得到的钱 来还清以前的债券, 这意味着政府 永远不会归还欠央行的钱。
Citing this and other theoretical scenarios , some economists have raised concerns that a central bank buying government debt is a subversion of a system designed to protect the economy. 引用这个和其它理论上的情景, 一些经济学家担心央行购买国债 是对经济保护系统的颠覆。
Others have insisted these measures are necessary, and have so far helped stabilize economies. 其他人则坚持这些手段是必要的, 认为至目前为止 已经帮助稳定了经济。
Though quantitative easing has become a lot more common in recent years, it’s still relatively new, and potential consequences are still unfolding . 虽然量化宽松 在近年已变得更加普遍, 它依旧相对较新, 且可能产生的后果还有待观察。
Citing:v.提及(原因);列举;引用;传唤;(cite的现在分词) theoretical:adj.理论的;理论上的;假设的;推理的; scenarios:n.情节;脚本;情景介绍(scenario的复数); concerns:n.关注; v.使关心(concern的三单形式); subversion:n.颠覆;破坏; stabilize:vt.使稳固,使安定;vi.稳定,安定; relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地; potential:n.潜能;可能性;[电]电势;adj.潜在的;可能的;势的; consequences:n.后果,结果;影响(consequence的复数); unfolding:v.(使)展开;打开;展示;透露;(unfold的现在分词)