美國：生存之上，生活之下

2009-01-01 00:00:00

瘋狂英語·口語版 2009年1期

除了信用卡使用者，我們關心的還有數量眾多的房奴們。泡沫經濟一旦破滅，首當其沖的便是這群孜孜不倦、勞勞碌碌，卻為房貸而活的人。

Now over the past decades， more Americans than ever became homeowners for the first time. Many of them， we now find out couldn’t handle the responsibility of maintaining those homes and it turns out they may have known that going in as well.

Investment 1)sage Warren Buffet offered this theory about how millions of Americans got in over their heads.

Carey: Most people aspire to own their own home and I， then when somebody makes it very easy for you to do it by saying you don’t really have to put up any money， or you know， we’ll give you 100 percent mortgage， you are gonna do it.

Mary-Jane: Um， everybody looks for their American dream and they do their best to try to get that… that dream and I know， for us， we thought we were gonna be okay.

Today， Carey and Mary-Jane Bird are far from okay. They’re facing 2)foreclosure on their dream home in New Jersey.

Reporter: Did you feel that you were getting in over your head? They can’t grab your hand and force you to sign in blind.

Mary-Jane: No， I don’t think it’s our fault. If they really want to give you a mortgage， they’ll find someone to give you a mortgage.

So just who is to blame for this on-going economic crisis， Wall Street or 3)Main Street?

Mary-Jane: I don’t feel it’s necessary for us to try to bail， to have to bail them out. They should be taking care of us， the people that they… they wronged.

Not everyone agrees.

Leah : I lost my home to foreclosure. I didn’t go to the government and go “Hey， listen. I’m losing my home. I think you guys should bail me out.”

Leah Tali took out a loan for a home she couldn’t afford and she knew it.

Leah: There was this little voice， little Jiminy Cricket voice going “Don’t… don’t do this. They valued that loan at too high of a value.” I went ahead and did it anyway.

Like many victims of the mortgage crisis， Leah and the Birds do agree on one important point.

Reporter: And have you told your son that there’s a chance that he may not be living in the place he’s been living in half his life.

Carey: I made a promise to my kids and they right now have a place to live in， but， how much longer? Once we get ourselves back on our feet， we won’t be in this， this， uh， situation or predicament ever again.

Nearly 400，000 Americans facing foreclosure will get a 4)lifeline after Countrywide Financial reached an $8 billion settlement with 11 states to help those homeowners to rework their mortgages. We know， there are so many more suffering.

與過去幾十年相比，今天，更多美國人第一次擁有了自己的房子。但是我們發現，大部分人都已經無法承擔維持房子的責任，而他們或許早就知道這種情況可能會發生。

投資專家華倫·巴菲特早就有理論闡述數百萬美國人是怎樣惹上麻煩的。

凱里：絕大多數人都渴望擁有自己的房子，而我當時，當別人把一切都弄得相當簡單，對你說你根本不需要積攢什么錢，或者，你知道，我們能給你提供百分之百的貸款時，你就蠢蠢欲動了。

瑪麗-簡：嗯，每個人都在尋求他們的美國夢。他們都會付出所有的努力去達成那個……那個夢想。我知道，對我們來說，我們以為一切都會沒事的。

如今，凱里·伯德和瑪麗－簡·伯德麻煩大了。他們在新澤西州的夢想之家正面臨著被抵押收回的命運。

記者：你是否覺得你們當時有點頭腦發熱？他們不可能抓住你們的手，在你們什么都不了解的情況下強迫你們簽名。

瑪麗-簡：不，我不覺得這是我們的錯。如果他們真想貸款給你，他們肯定會找到人貸款給你。

那么，究竟誰要為這場持續的經濟危機負責呢，華爾街還是主干道？

瑪麗-簡：我覺得我們不必去嘗試還……必須去還清房貸債務。他們必須照顧我們，照顧這些被他們……被他們誤導了的人。

也不見得所有人都同意這種說法。

莉亞：我的房子被抵押收回了。我沒有跑到政府前面去，說“喂，聽著，我的房子快沒了。我覺得你們這些家伙應該幫我們還清債務。”

莉亞·泰利為了購買房子申請了一個她根本負擔不起的房貸，而她清楚這一點。