Bush Says Economic Meltdown Forced Aggressive Intervention
布什：金融危机蔓延政府只能干预

　
President Bush says the ongoing financial crisis has forced him to endorse aggressive government intervention in numerous economic sectors in spite of his core, free market principles. President Bush restated his desire to prevent the U.S. auto industry from going bankrupt, while stressing that federal intervention should be temporary.

布什总统星期四说，尽管他主张自由市场原则，但是由于金融危机持续蔓延，他不得不支持在很多经济部门采取激进的政府干预政策。布什重申了防止汽车工业陷入破产的立场。但是，他说，政府对汽车业的干预必须是临时性的。

President Bush came into office eight years ago with an agenda of low taxes and limited government. But, in a wide ranging discussion in Washington, Mr. Bush admitted that the economic meltdown of the last year has forced him to set some of those principles aside.

布什总统8年前入主白宫的时候大力倡导低税收、小政府。但是，布什总统现在说，持续肆虐的经济下行迫使他暂时搁置了这些原则。

The latest example is a rescue package the administration is contemplating for troubled U.S. automakers. An earlier attempt at a rescue plan passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but the measure failed in the Senate.

最近的一个例子是美国行政当局正在酝酿的对汽车工业的救助方案。早些时候，国会众议院通过了一项救助方案，但是这个议案没能在参议院过关。

Mr. Bush noted that the U.S. auto industry employs millions of people, and that it is on the brink of collapse. "I am worried about a disorderly bankruptcy and what it would do to the psychology and the markets," he said.

布什说，雇用了数百万人的美国汽车工业现在处于崩溃边缘。布什说：“我担心汽车工业无序的破产会对人们的心理和市场产生的影响。”

Mr. Bush said he intends to act, but has yet to decide how best to do so.

布什说，他计划采取行动，但是尚未决定最佳方案是什么。

Earlier this year, Congress approved a $700-billion financial rescue package. Mr. Bush said he disliked the idea of such massive government expenditure and intervention, but that he had been warned of a possible economic catastrophe worse than the Great Depression if no action were taken.

今年早些时候，国会批准了7千亿美元的金融救市计划。布什说，他不喜欢动用庞大政府开支干预市场的做法。但是，他接到的警告说，如果政府不采取行动，美国可能会遭遇比大萧条更为严重的经济灾难。

The president was speaking at a gathering of the free market policy organization, the American Enterprise Institute. He was asked to respond to accusations from Democrats that his economic agenda sowed the seeds of the financial crisis.

布什总统在主张自由市场的保守派智库美国企业研究所发表演讲时，有人问他如何回应民主党对他经济政策的批评。这些批评者认为，布什的经济政策为金融危机埋下了伏笔。

"I'm looking forward to the true history of this financial crisis being written," said Mr.Bush. "No question part of the crisis came about because of excesses in lending in the housing market. My administration early on expressed concern about implicit government guarantees in the mortgage industry, in Fannie and Freddie."

布什回答说：“我期待着了解有关这场金融危机的历史真相。毫无疑问，危机的部分原因来自房地产市场的过度借贷行为。我的政府从一开始就对向房贷部门，房利美和房地美，提供政府担保表达了关注。”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored mortgage insurers that have benefited from the financial rescue package.

房利美和房地美是获得美国政府支持的房贷融资机构。这两家公司接受了政府的金融救助。

Mr. Bush added that he understands the frustrations of ordinary Americans whose tax dollars are propping up corporations because of what he described as the "excesses on Wall Street."

布什说，他理解美国民众对于政府用纳税人的钱来救助私人企业表达的不满。

The president, whose term ends next month, also expressed disappointment that free trade pacts with Colombia and Panama have not been ratified during his time in office.

即将于明年1月卸任的布什总统还对于他在任内没能看到国会批准美国和巴拿马以及哥伦比亚的自由贸易协定表示失望。