Last week,the Federal Reserve responded to Wall Street's coronavirus panic with an"emergency"interest rate cut.This emergency cut failed to revive the stock market,leading to predictions that the Fed will again cut rates later this month.
上周，美联储(federalreserve)针对华尔街冠状病毒引发的恐慌，"紧急"降息。这次紧急降息未能重振股市，导致市场预测美联储将在本月晚些时候再次降息。
More rate cuts would drive interest rates to near,or even below,zero.Lowering interest rates punishes people for saving,thus encouraging consumers and businesses to spend every penny they make.This may give the economy a short-term boost.But,it inhibits long-term economic growth by depleting the savings necessary for investments in businesses and jobs.The result of this policy will be more pressure on the Fed to indefinitely maintain low interest rates and on the Congress and president to create another explosion of government"stimulus"spending.
更多的降息将使利率接近甚至低于零。降低利率惩罚人们的储蓄，从而鼓励消费者和企业花掉他们赚的每一分钱。这可能会在短期内提振经济。但是，它会耗尽企业和就业投资所需的储蓄，从而抑制长期经济增长。这一政策的结果是，美联储将面临更大压力，无限期地维持低利率水平，国会和总统也将面临更大压力，制造又一轮政府"刺激"支出的爆炸式增长。
Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren has suggested that Congress allow the Federal Reserve to add assets of private companies to the Fed's already large balance sheet.Allowing the central bank to buy assets of,and thus assume a partial ownership interest in,private companies would give the Federal Reserve even greater influence over the economy.It could also allow the Fed to advance a political agenda by,for example,favoring investment in"green energy"companies over other companies or refusing to purchase assets of retailers who sell firearms or tobacco products.
波士顿联邦储备委员会主席 Eric Rosengren 建议国会允许联邦储备委员会在美联储已经很大的资产负债表上增加私营公司的资产。允许中央银行购买私营公司的资产，从而获得其部分所有权，将使美联储对经济拥有更大的影响力。它还可以让美联储推进一项政治议程，例如，支持投资"绿色能源"公司，而不是其它公司，或者拒绝购买出售武器或烟草制品的零售商的资产。
Mr.Rosengren's proposal to allow the central bank to"invest,"in private companies seems like something one would hear from democratic socialists like Senator Bernie Sanders.This is not surprising since the entire Federal Reserve system is a textbook example of socialism.
罗森格伦先生提出的允许央行"投资"私营公司的建议，似乎可以从参议员伯尼·桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)等民主社会主义者那里听到。这并不奇怪，因为整个联邦储备系统是社会主义的教科书样本。
The essence of socialist economics is government allocation of resources either by seizing direct control of the"means of production"or by setting prices business can charge.Federal Reserve manipulation of interest rates is an attempt to set the price of money.Federal Reserve attempts to set interest rates distort the signals sent by the rates to investors and business.This results in a Fed-created boom,which is inevitably followed by a Fed-created bust.
社会主义经济学的本质是政府通过直接控制"生产资料"或者通过定价来分配资源。美联储操纵利率是为了设定货币价格。美联储试图设定利率，扭曲了利率向投资者和企业发出的信号。这导致了美联储创造的繁荣，随之而来的必然是美联储创造的萧条。
Economic elites benefit when the Federal Reserve pumps new money into the economy because they have access to the money created before there are widespread price increases.Artificially low interest rates also facilitate the growth of the welfare-warfare state.
当美联储向经济注入新的资金时，经济精英们会从中受益，因为他们可以在价格普遍上涨之前动用所创造的资金。人为的低利率也促进了福利战国家的发展。
The Federal Reserve's inflationary policies harm the average American by eroding the dollar's purchasing power.This forces consumers to rely on credit cards and other forms of debt to maintain their standard of living.Many Americans are unable to afford their own homes because they are saddled with student loan debt that can even exceed their income.
美联储的通货膨胀政策侵蚀了美元的购买力，损害了普通美国人的利益。这迫使消费者依靠信用卡和其他形式的债务来维持他们的生活水平。许多美国人买不起自己的房子，因为他们背负的学生贷款债务甚至可能超过他们的收入。
Since the bailouts of 2008,there has been a growing understanding that the current system is rigged in favor of the elites and against the average American.Unfortunately,popular confusion of our system of Keynesian neoliberalism with a free-market economy,combined with a widespread entitlement mentality,has led many Americans to support increasing government control of our economy.
自从2008年的紧急援助以来，人们越来越认识到，当前的体系被操纵，有利于精英阶层，而不利于普通美国人。不幸的是，我们的凯恩斯主义新自由主义体系与自由市场经济的普遍混淆，再加上普遍存在的权利意识，导致许多美国人支持加强政府对经济的控制。
The key to beating back the rising support for socialism on both the left and right is helping more people understand that big government and central banking are the cause of their problems and that free markets in all areas—and especially in money—is the solution.It is important that the liberty movement put pressure on Congress to cut spending and rein in or,better yet,end the Fed.
击退左翼和右翼对社会主义日益高涨的支持的关键在于，帮助更多的人认识到，大政府和央行是他们问题的根源，而所有领域的自由市场——尤其是货币市场——是解决问题的办法。重要的是，自由运动向国会施加压力，要求其削减开支，控制开支，或者更好的做法是结束美联储。
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来源：http://ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/featured-articles/2020/march/09/central-banking-is-socialism/
