VOA慢速英語:Major US City Detroit Files for Bankruptcy

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語經濟報道。

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing had to report some bad news last month. He said Detroit was seeking bankruptcy protection. The move would give the city court protection from creditors.

底特律市市長戴夫·賓(Dave Bing)上個月不得不報告了一些壞消息。他說，底特律市正在尋求破產保護。此舉將為該市提供針對債權人的法庭保護。

"This is very difficult for all of us but if it's going to make the citizens better off, then this is a new start for us."

他說，“申請破產保護對我們所有人來說都是一個非常艱難的抉擇。但如果它能給市民們帶來好處，那么它就是我們的新起點。”

The decision to declare bankruptcy is an offer to restruction and reduce debt. It comes at a difficult time for Detroit.

宣布破產決定是重建和減少債務的前提。該決定出臺于底特律市的困難時期。

In March, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder named Kevyn Orr, a bankruptcy expert to oversee the city's financial problems. Detroit has been struggling to reduce a budget deficit of more than $300 million. In addtion, the city's long-term debt has increased to at least $18 billion.

3月份，密歇根州長里克·斯奈德(Rick Snyder)任命破產專家凱文·奧爾(Kevyn Orr)監(jiān)督底特律市的財政問題。底特律市一直在努力減少為數3千多萬美元的赤字。此外，該市的長期債務已經上升到了至少180億美元。

Detroit's problems have grown over many years. Michigan State University professor Eric Scorsone says the city depended to much on one-industry.

底特律市的問題由來已久。密歇根大學教授埃里克·斯科宋(Eric Scorsone) 表示，該市過度依賴單一產業(yè)。

"You know, Unlike Chicago, New York and other cities where had more economic diversity, Detroit really didn't. It had the auto industry, it had suppliers to the auto industry, and so as those went away, the city began a very long decline that's really occurred over 50 years essentially."

他說，“底特律市不像芝加哥、紐約和其它城市具有經濟多樣化。它只有汽車產業(yè)和汽車行業(yè)供應商，當這些沒了之后，該市開始走長下坡路并一直持續(xù)了50多年。

Jobs with car manufactures were a big reason why Detroit was one of the country's largest cities half a century ago. In the 1950s, it had a population of about 1.8 million people. Today, the number is down to less than 800,000.

汽車制造崗位是半個世紀前底特律市是美國最大城市之一的一大原因。20世紀50年代，該市人口約為180萬人。如今這一數字下降到了80萬人。

Robin Boyle is a professor of urban planning at Wayne State University. He says over the years, many Detroit residents moved to areas outside the city, or even left the state. That hurt Detroit's ability to invest in the city.

羅賓·博伊爾是韋恩州立大學的城市規(guī)劃教授。他表示，多年來，許多底特律市的居民搬到了郊外，甚至離開了該州。這傷害了底特律市的投資能力。

"They have so little disposable income to reinvest in their communities, that if they have money they leave, they go to the suburbs or they go to find work elsewhere, putting us into this vicious cycle that drives us further and further down. How you break that is the challenge in Detroit."

他說，“他們再投資于社區(qū)的可支配收入如此之少，如果有錢他們就搬走了，搬到郊區(qū)或到其它地方找工作，這進一步使得我們進入這種惡性循環(huán)并越陷越深。如何打破這一惡性循環(huán)是底特律市面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。

It is rare for a large city to seek bankruptcy protection. In 1975, New York City came close before the federal government agree to provide money.

大城市尋求破產保護非常罕見。1975年，紐約市在聯邦政府同意提供資金前，差點尋求破產保護。

Detroit, however, is the largest city to seek bankruptcy. A federal judge will consider Detroit's request. The judge's decision is expected in one to three month.

然而底特律市是尋求破產的最大城市。一位聯邦法官將考慮底特律市的申請。該法官預計將在一到三個月內做出決定。

One of the main issues is what to do about the retirement pay of city workers. Currently, there are many more retired workers than those pay into the pension system.

重要問題之一是城市工人的退休工資怎么辦。目前，該市的退休工人比繳納養(yǎng)老保險者多得多。