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Life is still more costly in the United States than it was about two years ago. But new research shows Americans are starting to feel better about the economy.
美国的生活成本仍然比大约两年前更高。但新的研究显示，美国人对经济的感觉正在好转。
An opinion study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Americans are increasingly hopeful that the inflation rate will continue to go down. The survey also found that the number of Americans who expect their financial situation to improve within the next year is at its highest since June 2021.
纽约联邦储备银行的一项意见调查发现，美国人越来越希望通货膨胀率会继续下降。调查还发现，预计未来一年内其财务状况会有所改善的美国人数是自2021年6月以来最高的。
In addition, the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers recently reported the largest two-month jump in consumer sentiment since 1991. Consumer sentiment is a measure of how optimistic consumers feel about the economy.
此外，密歇根大学对消费者的调查最近报告了自1991年以来最大的两个月内消费者情绪上升。消费者情绪是衡量消费者对经济感到乐观程度的指标。
That optimism is balanced, however, by the fact that most Americans remember paying much less for daily purchases such as fuel and food only two or three years ago.
然而，这种乐观情绪受到一个事实的制衡，即大多数美国人记得仅仅在两三年前，他们的日常购物，如燃料和食物，要便宜得多。
Many food items such as bread, milk and chicken are more costly than they were in February 2021. But economists say price increases have slowed significantly in the last year. At the same time, Americans are seeing pay increases higher than the rate of inflation.
许多食品，如面包、牛奶和鸡肉，比2021年2月更昂贵。但经济学家表示，在过去的一年里，价格上涨已经显著放缓。与此同时，美国人看到的薪资涨幅高于通货膨胀率。
The inflation rate was about 9 percent in June 2022. Today, the rate is 3.4 percent. The U.S. Federal Reserve would like to see the rate at only 2 percent.
通货膨胀率在2022年6月约为9%。如今，这个比率是3.4%。美联储希望将通货膨胀率维持在仅为2%。
Grace Zwemmer is an analyst at Oxford Economics. She said it took some time for Americans to feel the effects of falling inflation. But, she said, “it appears the good news is finally getting through.”
格雷斯·兹韦默是牛津经济学分析师。她说，美国人感受到通货膨胀下降的影响花了一些时间。但她说，“好消息似乎终于传递到了。”
Political observers wonder if the change in feelings about the economy will help U.S. President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. Will people feel the drop in inflation or will they still remember that prices are much higher than they were two or three years ago?
政治观察家们想知道，对经济感觉的变化是否会帮助美国总统乔·拜登的连任竞选。人们会感受到通货膨胀的下降，还是他们仍然记得物价比两三年前高得多？
Ryan Cummings is an economist who studies how politics affect consumer confidence. He said many Americans today base their feelings about the economy on what they hear from the politicians they support.
瑞恩·卡明斯是一位研究政治如何影响消费者信心的经济学家。他说，今天许多美国人根据他们支持的政治人物所说的话来判断他们对经济的感觉。
Cummings said Republicans are likely to speak negatively about the economic performance during Biden’s presidency, even as Democrats speak of the economic gains.
卡明斯表示，共和党人很可能会对拜登总统任内的经济表现发表负面言论，而民主党人则会谈论经济的收益。
The University of Michigan research shows consumer sentiment among Democrats jumped almost 12 percent in January. That is the second-highest increase ever.
密歇根大学的研究显示，一月份民主党人的消费者信心几乎增加了12%，这是有史以来的第二大增幅。
Many Americans say they want to see the government take steps to bring the prices of food, oil and meat back to where they were in 2020 or 2021. But economic experts say that is not a good idea. The moves that would be required to make that happen would hurt the economy overall. Taxes could increase and jobs would be lost.
许多美国人表示，他们希望政
府采取措施将食品、石油和肉类的价格恢复到2020年或2021年的水平。但经济专家表示，这并不是一个好主意。为实现这一目标所需的措施将会对整体经济造成伤害。税收可能会增加，就业岗位可能会流失。
David Andolfatto is an economist at the University of Miami. He used to work for the Federal Reserve. He said the better idea for Americans is to “just move ahead.” He explained that while the cost of living is higher than it was two or three years ago, many Americans are making more money than they were then.
大卫·安多尔法托是迈阿密大学的经济学家。他曾在美联储工作。他表示，对于美国人来说，更好的想法是“继续前进”。他解释说，虽然生活成本比两三年前更高，但许多美国人的收入比当时更多。
“There’s no need for (the government) to bring the price level back down. It would be too painful,” Andolfatto said.
安多尔法托说：“(政府)没有必要将价格水平拉回去。那将是太痛苦的。”
Claudia Sahm is another former Federal Reserve economist. She added that “people are angry” because they cannot afford the cost increases.
克劳迪亚·萨姆是另一位前美联储经济学家。她补充说，“人们感到愤怒”，因为他们无法承受成本上涨。
“Can you afford it?” she asked. “Not everybody can say yes to that question. But over time, more and more people will be able to say yes.”
“你能负担得起吗？”她问道。“并非每个人都能对这个问题回答‘是’。但随着时间的推移，越来越多的人将能够回答‘是’。”
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Words in This Story
survey –n. public opinion research
optimistic – adj. feeling good or hopeful
significantly –adv. a large or great amount
analyst – n. a person who is knowledgeable about a topic and discusses or studies it
afford –v. the ability to pay for something
