It begins with our economy. Seven years ago, Rebekah and Ben Erler of Minneapolis were newlyweds. She waited tables. He worked construction. Their first child, Jack, was on the way. They were young and in love in America. And it doesn't get much better than that. "If only we had known," Rebekah wrote to me last spring, "what was about to happen to the housing and construction market."

首先讓我們談?wù)劷?jīng)濟。七年前，明尼阿波利斯的瑞貝卡和本?艾勒是一對新婚夫婦。瑞貝卡是飯店服務(wù)員，艾勒在建筑工地上班，他們當(dāng)時即將迎來第一個孩子杰克。他們很年輕，在美國相愛，沒有什么比這更好的了。瑞貝卡去年春天寫信給我稱：“如果我們當(dāng)時知道住房和建筑市場將發(fā)生什么就好了。”

As the crisis worsened, Ben's business dried up, so he took what jobs he could find, even if they kept him on the road for long stretches of time. Rebekah took out student loans and enrolled in community college, and retrained for a new career. They sacrificed for each other. And slowly, it paid off. They bought their first home. They had a second son, Henry. Rebekah got a better job and then a raise. Ben is back in construction -- and home for dinner every night.

隨著危機惡化，本的生意越來越少，他只能做他能找到的工作，即便這些工作讓他花漫長的時間在路上。瑞貝卡辦理了學(xué)生貸款，在社區(qū)大學(xué)上學(xué)，為一份新的職業(yè)生涯培訓(xùn)。他們?yōu)楸舜藸奚Ｂ兀麄兊呐Φ玫搅嘶貓螅麄冑I了首套房子，他們有了第二個兒子亨利。瑞貝卡找到了一份更好的工作，還加了薪。本也重返建筑業(yè)，每天晚上能回家吃晚餐。

"It is amazing," Rebekah wrote, "what you can bounce back from when you have to…we are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times."

瑞貝卡寫道：“這是令人驚奇的，你在被迫的情況下東山再起，我們是一個強有力的、關(guān)系密切的家庭，我們一起熬過了一段非常非常艱難的時刻。”

America, Rebekah and Ben's story is our story. They represent the millions who have worked hard and scrimped, and sacrificed and retooled. You are the reason that I ran for this office. You are the people I was thinking of six years ago today, in the darkest months of the crisis, when I stood on the steps of this Capitol and promised we would rebuild our economy on a new foundation. And it has been your resilience, your effort that has made it possible for our country to emerge stronger.

美國同胞們，瑞貝卡和本的故事就是我們的故事，他們代表著那些努力工作，精打細算，作出犧牲，重新培訓(xùn)的數(shù)百萬人。你們是我競選總統(tǒng)職位的原因。在那個危機最黑暗的歲月里，你們是我六年前的那一天所想到的人，那天當(dāng)我站在國會山的臺階上，承諾我們將在一個新的基石上重建我們的經(jīng)濟。你們的努力和堅韌，使美國在危機過后變得更加強大成為可能。

We believed we could reverse the tide of outsourcing and draw new jobs to our shores. And over the past five years, our businesses have created more than 11 million new jobs.

我們相信，我們能夠扭轉(zhuǎn)勞務(wù)外包的勢頭，將新就業(yè)機會帶回國內(nèi)。在過去五年期間，我國企業(yè)創(chuàng)造了1100多萬個新就業(yè)機會。

We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet. And today, America is number one in oil and gas. America is number one in wind power. Every three weeks, we bring online as much solar power as we did in all of 2008. And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save about $750 at the pump.

我們相信，我們能夠降低對外國石油的依賴，并保護我們的地球。如今，美國的石油和天然氣產(chǎn)量位居世界第一。美國的風(fēng)力發(fā)電量位居世界首位。我國每三個星期產(chǎn)出的太陽能，就相當(dāng)于2008年的總量。由于石油價格下跌和燃料標準提高，一個典型的美國家庭今年會節(jié)省750美元油費。

We believed we could prepare our kids for a more competitive world. And today, our younger students have earned the highest math and reading scores on record. Our high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high. More Americans finish college than ever before.

我們相信，我們能夠使我們的孩子們?yōu)槊鎸σ粋€更具有競爭性的世界做好準備。現(xiàn)在，我國年輕學(xué)生們的數(shù)學(xué)和閱讀分數(shù)都達到了前所未有的水平。我國的高中生畢業(yè)率也達到歷史新高。完成大學(xué)學(xué)業(yè)的人數(shù)超過了以往任何一個時期。

We believed that sensible regulations could prevent another crisis, shield families from ruin, and encourage fair competition. Today, we have new tools to stop taxpayer-funded bailouts, and a new consumer watchdog to protect us from predatory lending and abusive credit card practices. And in the past year alone, about 10 million uninsured Americans finally gained the security of health coverage.

我們相信，明智的規(guī)章能夠避免另一場危機，使家庭免于被毀，并鼓勵公平競爭。如今，我們擁有新手段，不再使用納稅人的錢來救助企業(yè)；我們擁有新的消費者監(jiān)管機構(gòu)，保護我們免受掠奪性借貸和信用卡違規(guī)行為之害。僅在去年一年，就有大約一千萬沒有醫(yī)保的美國人終于得到醫(yī)療保險。

At every step, we were told our goals were misguided or too ambitious; that we would crush jobs and explode deficits. Instead, we've seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade, our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has doubled, and health care inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years. This is good news, people.

在我們采取每個步驟時，我們曾被警告：我們的目標被誤導(dǎo)，或者過于雄心壯志，我們將破壞就業(yè)或使赤字大幅增長。但與這些觀點相反的是，我們看到了過去十年最快的經(jīng)濟增長，我們的赤字減少了三分之二，股市市值翻了一倍，醫(yī)療通貨膨脹率是過去50年來最低的。這是個好消息，同胞們。

So the verdict is clear. Middle-class economics works. Expanding opportunity works. And these policies will continue to work as long as politics don't get in the way. We can't slow down businesses or put our economy at risk with government shutdowns or fiscal showdowns. We can't put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we've got to fix a broken system. And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it. It will have earned my veto.

因此，結(jié)論是明確的。中產(chǎn)階級經(jīng)濟行之有效。擴大機會行之有效。只要政治權(quán)術(shù)不予掣肘，這些政策就將繼續(xù)行之有效。我們不能允許政府機構(gòu)關(guān)閉或財政關(guān)門迫使企業(yè)活動放緩，或使我國經(jīng)濟面臨危險。我們不能讓家庭安全面臨危險，所以我們不能剝奪家庭的醫(yī)保，不能取消針對華爾街的新規(guī)則，不能在我們需要休整一個破敗不堪的機制時，再為移民問題爭執(zhí)不休。如果哪個議案想做以上任何一件事，一旦送交到我辦工桌上，我將予以否決。它必將獲得我的否決票。

Today, thanks to a growing economy, the recovery is touching more and more lives. Wages are finally starting to rise again. We know that more small business owners plan to raise their employees' pay than at any time since 2007. But here's the thing: Those of us here tonight, we need to set our sights higher than just making sure government doesn't screw things up; that government doesn't halt the progress we're making. We need to do more than just do no harm. Tonight, together, let's do more to restore the link between hard work and growing opportunity for every American.

現(xiàn)在，由于經(jīng)濟不斷增長，越來越多的人受到經(jīng)濟振興的影響。工資水平終于開始再次上升。我們知道，自2007年以來，從未有任何一個時期比現(xiàn)在有更多的小企業(yè)主計劃提高雇員的工資。但需要注意一點，今晚在座諸位需要把眼光放得更遠，不能僅僅是確保政府不去阻礙我們正在取得的進步。我們需要做得更多，而不僅是不造成損害。今晚，讓我們共同采取更多措施，重建努力工作與每個美國人獲得更多機會之間的紐帶。

Because families like Rebekah's still need our help. She and Ben are working as hard as ever, but they've had to forego vacations and a new car so that they can pay off student loans and save for retirement. Friday night pizza, that's a big splurge. Basic childcare for Jack and Henry costs more than their mortgage, and almost as much as a year at the University of Minnesota. Like millions of hardworking Americans, Rebekah isn't asking for a handout, but she is asking that we look for more ways to help families get ahead.

因為，像瑞貝卡這樣的家庭仍需要我們的幫助。她和本比任何時候都要努力工作，但不得不放棄休假和購買新車，以支付貸款和為退休存錢。杰克和亨利的基本兒童護理費用超出了房貸費用，幾乎相當(dāng)于明尼蘇達州立大學(xué)一年的學(xué)費。與數(shù)百萬努力工作的美國人一樣，瑞貝卡并不是在討要施舍，但她在要求我們找到更多幫助改善家庭生活的方法。

And in fact, at every moment of economic change throughout our history, this country has taken bold action to adapt to new circumstances and to make sure everyone gets a fair shot. We set up worker protections, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid to protect ourselves from the harshest adversity. We gave our citizens schools and colleges, infrastructure and the Internet -- tools they needed to go as far as their effort and their dreams will take them.

實際上，在我國歷史上的每個經(jīng)濟變化時刻，美國都采取果敢行動以適應(yīng)新環(huán)境，確保每個人都得到公平的機會。我們采取了工人保護、社保、醫(yī)保以及醫(yī)療救助等措施，保護我們免于陷入最困難的處境。我們?yōu)槲覈裉峁┝嘶A(chǔ)教育和高等教育、基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，他們需要這些手段使自己的努力獲得最大成果。

That's what middle-class economics is -- the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, everyone plays by the same set of rules. We don't just want everyone to share in America's success, we want everyone to contribute to our success.

這就是中產(chǎn)階級經(jīng)濟，只要每個人獲得公平的機會，每個人做出公平的貢獻，每個人遵循同樣的規(guī)則，美國就能發(fā)展得最好。我們不僅希望每個人共享美國的成功，也希望每個人都為美國的成功做出貢獻。