你們這兒要人麼 哥們兒給個工作吧大綱

'California Comeback!' is the favorite slogan of Gov. Jerry Brown and other Sacramento politicians cheering a temporary budget surplus provided by a roaring stock market. But California also has the highest poverty rate in America at 24%. Is California really back?

得益於股市的上漲，美國加州實現了短暫的預算盈餘，該州州長布朗(Jerry Brown)和薩克拉門託的其他政治家在爲此歡呼時最喜歡用的口號是“加州經濟已復甦！”。不過，該州的貧困率高達24%，在美國各州中是最高的。那麼加州經濟真的復甦了嗎？

I wanted to see firsthand what that comeback looks like for many Californians. So, on the Morning of July 21 I took a Greyhound bus from Los Angeles to Fresno. With only $40 in my pocket (and no credit cards), a backpack, a change of clothes and a toothbrush, I planned to find a job and earn enough money to get by. I am an able-bodied 41-year-old. Surely I could find some work.

我想親眼看看對於加州人而言，“加州經濟已復甦！”究竟是怎樣一番景象。爲此，在7月21日早上，我乘坐灰狗巴士從洛杉磯前往弗雷斯諾。我只帶了40美元（沒有信用卡）、一個揹包、一套換洗衣服和一個牙刷，打算找一份工作，掙到能夠維持自己生活的錢。我今年41歲，身強力壯，因此肯定能找到工作。

Over the next seven days, I walked mile after mile in 100-degree heat searching for a job. I offered to do anything: wash dishes, sweep floors, pack boxes, cook meals, anything. I went to dozens of businesses in search of work but wasn't able to get any. In seven days, I didn't see a single 'Help Wanted' sign, but I did see plenty of signs that fast-food outlets now accept food stamps.

在接下來的七天裏，爲了找工作，我頂着100華氏度的高溫，走了一英里又一英里。我提出可以從事任何工作：洗盤子、拖地、打包、做飯，什麼都行。我去了幾十家公司求職，但一份工作都沒找到。在七天裏，我沒有見到過一個“招工”的指示牌，倒是見到很多寫着“快餐店現接受食品券”的指示牌。

I was committed to finding a job. It was my top priority, but halfway through the week my priority was forced to change: I barely had any money left and needed to find food. Fortunately, kindhearted homeless residents in Fresno pointed me to a shelter, Poverello House, which provides services to the homeless. I had no choice but to join the hundreds of men, women and families who go to the shelter for food. As the shelter did not have any beds for me I slept on the streets all six nights. I had only one shower during that time.

我決心找到一份工作，這是我的第一要務，但中途我不得不改變目標：我囊中羞澀，需要先填飽肚子再說。幸運的是，弗雷斯諾那些好心的流浪漢們介紹我來到Poverello House避難所，這裏可以向無家可歸者提供服務。我別無選擇，只能加入數以百計的流浪大軍，來到這裏尋找食物。由於這家避難所無法爲我提供牀鋪，我只好連續六晚露宿街頭。在這段時間裏，我只洗過一次澡。

The meals at Poverello House were a Godsend. But they introduced a new challenge: I now needed to stay within a short walk of the shelter so I could be back in time for my next meal. I had only enough money left to take the city bus once, so my job-search area shrank. The odds of me finding a job were getting smaller by the day.

在Poverello House裏享用的餐食乃是天賜之物。但我面臨一個新的挑戰：眼下我需要一直待在避難所附近，以便及時趕回來能拿到下一餐。我口袋裏的錢只夠乘坐一次公共汽車了，所以找工作的範圍也因此縮窄。在規定時間內找到一份工作的希望變得越來越渺茫。

Since I had little money, a motel was out of the question. I tried to sleep on park benches or in parking lots. Anywhere I wouldn't be chased out. Night after night, however, I was woken up and told to move along by security guards or the police.

口袋裏沒錢，汽車旅館就別想了。我曾嘗試着睡在公園的長椅上或停車場裏，總之任何我認爲不會被驅趕的地方我都去過。但夜復一夜，我還是數次被保安或警察叫醒並趕走。

The people I met during my week in Fresno are proud. They don't want to be homeless. They don't want to be poor. They don't want to depend on a shelter or the state. Most want jobs but simply cannot find one.

在弗雷斯諾的這一週，我遇到的人都很驕傲。他們不想成爲無家可歸的人，不想貧困潦倒，也不願依賴避難所或政府生存。大多數人都想有一份工作，但就是找不到。

But this poor job market doesn't just affect people seeking minimum-wage jobs; it also affects people up the education ladder. An educated, professionally trained photographer told me that when the economy faltered, his photography work dried up. Now he is grateful to have a job serving coffee. Unfortunately, stories similar to his are playing out in many cities across California.

然而，疲軟的就業市場不僅影響到初級工種，還影響到了高知人羣。一位接受過教育和專業訓練的攝影師告訴我說，經濟舉步維艱導致他丟掉了飯碗，現在他很慶幸地找到了一份咖啡服務生的工作。不幸的是，在加州許多城市，與他境遇相似的人大有人在。

The Fresno Community Food Bank is doing a record business these days, serving food to 220,000 residents, including 90,000 children, each month, up 340% from a few years ago, according to the food bank. Fresno is in the heart of California's agriculture economy. With a third year of record drought, farmers don't have enough water for their almond, cantaloupe and other crops. The rising cost of water had forced farmers to idle about 500,000 acres of land. One young woman in line at the food bank said it simply: 'There's not enough water. Crops can't be grown. My family works in the fields and they can't get work every day... sometimes just on weekends.'

弗雷斯諾社區食物銀行(Fresno Community Food Bank)的數據顯示，該機構目前的救濟規模創下紀錄，每月向220,000位居民提供食物，其中包括90,000名兒童，較幾年前增加340%。弗雷斯諾是加州農業經濟的核心，連續三年的乾旱導致農民無法獲得足夠的水用於灌溉杏樹、蜜瓜和其他作物。不斷攀升的水成本迫使農戶將大約50萬英畝土地閒置。一位正在食物銀行排隊的年輕女性直白地說：沒有充足的水源，莊稼無法生長，我的家庭成員全部務農，而他們現在每天無事可做……有時只在週末纔有活幹。

I walked for hours and hours in search of a job, giving me a lot of time to think. Five days into my search, hungry, tired and hot, I asked myself: What would solve my problems? Food stamps? Welfare? An increased minimum wage?

我步行好幾個小時去找工作，這使我有大量的時間思考。在找工作的第五天，我感到 餓、疲倦和炎熱，我問自己：什麼能解決我的問題？食品救濟券？福利？提高最低工資？

No. I needed a job. Period. Like others, I have often said the best social program in the world is a good job. Even though my homeless trek was only for a week, with a defined endpoint, that statement became much more real for me. A job was the one thing that could have solved my food, housing and transportation problems.

都不是，我需要一份工作。就是這樣。像其他人一樣，我經常會說世界上最好的社會項目就是一份好工作。我的無家可歸經歷只有一週，有明確的終止時間，但我對這句話的體會已經深切得多。一份工作就可以解決我的食物、住房和交通問題。

California's record poverty is man-made: over-regulation and over-taxation that drive jobs out of state, failing schools that don't prepare students for the skilled work force and misguided water policies that prevent us from saving surplus water in wet years to prepare for our inevitable droughts. We have the power to tackle poverty if we implement smart, pro-growth economic policies, as many other states have done.

加州創紀錄的貧困狀況是人爲造成的：過度監管和過度徵稅導致就業機會從加州流失，糟糕的學校教育不能讓學生成爲熟練的勞動者，具有誤導性的水價政策阻止人們在多雨年份節省多餘的水以備迎接不可避免的乾旱。如果像其他許多州那樣，實施巧妙的、有利於增長的經濟政策，我們就有力量解決貧困問題。

While the politicians who run California pat themselves on the back and claim a 'California Comeback,' they willfully ignore millions of our neighbors who are living in poverty. California's most vulnerable citizens deserve leaders who will fight for them. It's a fight that Republicans should lead. We have the policy ideas--improving education and reducing regulations to help create jobs--to rebuild the middle class and give every Californian, and every American, real economic opportunity.

雖然加州的執政者自我表揚，並宣稱“加州經濟已復甦”，但他們卻有意忽視了在我們身邊數百萬生活在貧困中的人們。加州最易受到傷害的民衆理應得到願爲他們而戰的領導者。這是一場應由共和黨人領導的戰鬥。我們有改善教育並減少監管以幫助創造就業的政策理念，以此來重建中產階級，併爲每位加州人和每個美國人提供真正的經濟機會。