耶伦证词显示出的五点不同
The main takeaway from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee was that central bank policy is on cruise control until officials get a better read on the economy's performance. The Fed will continue to gradually reduce its monthly bond purchases unless officials decide the economy has slowed substantially. A recent spate of bad weather in parts of the country make it hard to form a judgment now, Ms. Yellen said.
从美国联邦储备委员会(Federal Reserve，简称：美联储)主席耶伦(Janet Yellen)在参议院银行委员会(Senate Banking Committee)的证词主要可以看出的一点是，在官员们对美国经济的表现有更清晰的了解之前，美联储的政策处于“定速巡航模式”。在官员们认为经济已大幅放缓之前，美联储将继续逐步缩减其每月购债规模。耶伦说，近期美国部分地区连续遭遇恶劣天气，因此现在还难以做出判断。Here are five other takeaways that don't involve the weather:
从耶伦的证词中还可以得出以下五点与天气无关的内容：#1: There is distance between Ms. Yellen and the White House
1、耶伦和白宫在一些问题上看法不同
She subtly pushed back at the White House, which criticized a recent Congressional Budget Office report on raising the minimum wage. The CBO report said the White House proposal to increase it to $10.10 would lift 900,000 people out of poverty, but lead to the elimination of 500,000 other jobs. Republicans said the report showed the proposal was a bad idea. The White House said CBO overstated the job losses and its view didn't represent the consensus among economists. Ms. Yellen contradicted that argument. The CBO 'is as qualified as anyone to evaluate the literature,' she said. 'I wouldn't want to argue with their assessment.'
对于白宫批评国会预算办公室(Congressional Budget Office)最近一份有关上调最低工资的报告，她巧妙地反驳了白宫。国会预算办公室的报告称，如果按白宫提议的那样将最低时薪上调至10.10美元，将有90万人摆脱贫困，但会导致另外50万个就业岗位被裁。共和党议员说，这份报告显示出白宫的提案是个坏主意。白宫则说，国会预算办公室夸大了就业岗位的丧失，它的看法不代表经济学家的普遍看法。耶伦反驳了白宫的这一说法。她说，国会预算办公室和任何人一样有资格评估这份报告。如果是我，我不会对他们的评估进行争论。#2: There is distance between Ms. Yellen and Senate Democrats
2、耶伦和参议院民主党议员在一些问题上看法不同Sen. Jack Reed (D., R.I.) pressed Ms. Yellen to comment on whether Congress should pursue fiscal stimulus, as many Democrats want. Ms. Yellen didn't take the bait and instead stuck to her predecessor Ben Bernanke's line. Fiscal policy has been a 'substantial drag' on the economy in the short-run, she said. The Fed does indeed want less fiscal restraint in the short-run. But she wouldn't endorse fiscal stimulus without some effort to rein-in long-run budget deficits. 'There are substantial long-term budget issues,' she said. At a minimum, she urged both parties, 'do no harm.'
罗德岛州民主党参议员里德(Jack Reed)要求耶伦就国会是否应该像很多民主党议员希望的那样寻求财政刺激措施发表看法。耶伦没有上钩，而是坚持了她的前任贝南克(Ben Bernanke)的立场。她说，短期来看，财政政策对经济造成相当大的拖累。短期内，美联储确实希望减少财政限制。但如果没有一些控制长期预算赤字的措施，她不会支持实施财政刺激政策。她说，长期预算问题相当可观。她敦促两党至少不要造成损害。#3: There is distance between Ms. Yellen and Mr. Bernanke
3、耶伦和贝南克在一些问题上看法不同She departed slightly from him on the question of whether the Fed's low interest rate policies of the 2000s contributed to the housing bubble. Mr. Bernanke has argued they didn't. Instead, he has said an influx of foreign capital into the U.S. spurred a housing boom and lax regulation allowed it to get out of control. Ms. Yellen said she 'would not argue' with other economists who believe low rates contributed to the buildup of leverage in the financial system in the 2000s and a housing bubble. If she thinks low rates helped cause the bubble, she might be willing to raise rates if she sees a new bubble emerging.
至于美联储在21世纪前10年实施的低利率政策是否助涨了楼市泡沫，耶伦的看法与贝南克稍有不同。贝南克认为，低利率政策没有加剧楼市泡沫。他说，是大量流入美国的外资引发了楼市大幅增长，松懈的监管使楼市增长失去了控制。耶伦则说，对于那些认为21世纪前10年实施的低利率政策助推了金融体系内的杠杆积聚和楼市泡沫的经济学家，她不会和他们争论。如果她认为低利率是造成楼市泡沫的原因之一，当她看到新的泡沫出现时，她可能会加息。#4: There is distance between Ms. Yellen and bitcoin
4、耶伦和比特币有一定距离Yellen said the Fed doesn't have authority to regulate bitcoin. If there is fraud or money laundering involved, she suggested, it is an issue the Justice Department would need to look at. She said, however, the Fed has been looking at bitcoin to figure out what role, if any, the central bank had to play in this world of emerging online currency.
耶伦说，美联储没有监管比特币的权力。她表示，如果涉及到欺诈或洗钱，则属于美国司法部应该介入的问题。不过，她说，美联储一直在研究比特币，以便弄清楚美联储是否应该介入新兴的虚拟货币世界，如果介入，它需要扮演什么角色。#5: There is distance between Ms. Yellen and past Fed practices
5、耶伦和美联储以往的做法有一定距离Pressed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) for more transparency on the regulatory front, Ms. Yellen said the Fed was moving in that direction. The Fed rarely holds public votes on issues such as its enforcement actions taken against banks, Ms. Warren noted. 'You have raised a very important question,' Ms. Yellen said. 'I do think it is appropriate for us to make changes and I fully expect that we will.'
马萨诸塞州民主党参议员沃伦(Elizabeth Warren)要求增加监管层面的透明度，耶伦说，美联储正在朝着这个方向努力。耶伦指出，美联储很少就针对银行采取的执法行动等事宜进行公开投票。耶伦说，你提出了一个非常重要的问题。我确实认为我们应该做出调整，对此我充满期待。Bottom line: Ms. Yellen showed, in her willingness to veer from others' views on a number of these questions that she is starting in subtle ways to carve out her own path as the central bank's leader.
总而言之，耶伦愿意在一些问题上保持与其他人不同的看法，她由此显示出，作为美联储主席她正在开始以微妙的方式开辟自己的道路。
