Most Lawmakers Don't Have Economic Education 美国多数议员无经济教育背景

As Congress works on one of the most important pieces of economic legislation in a generation, a Washington research group has pointed out that more than 8 in 10 members of Congress don't have a formal educational background in the business, economics, or finance fields.
在国会致力于二十多年来最重要的经济立法之时，一家华盛顿研究机构指出，逾八成国会议员没有商业、经济或金融领域的正式教育背景。


The research by the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy, which aims to educate the general public about finance issues, showed that about 14% have degrees in economics-related fields and just 6.7% specifically have an economics degree. More than 30% of members have degrees in politics and government, while 18% majored in humanities.
旨在向普通民众普及金融问题的经济与企业知识普及中心（Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy,CEEL)进行的调查表明，大约有14%的议员有经济相关领域的学位，只有6.7%的议员有经济类学位。逾30%的议员有政治和政府方面的学位，18%的议员为人文学科专业出身。


'It's interesting that those who are responsible for solving the biggest economic crisis in generations don't have the educational background to know the difference between commercial paper and copy machine paper,' said James Bowers, managing director of CEEL.
CEEL董事总经理鲍尔斯(James Bowers)说，有意思的是，负责解决几十年来最大经济危机的人却没有相关的教育背景，连商业票据和复印纸的区别都不知道。


CEEL looked only at undergraduate majors or minors and graduate degrees in economics, business and finance. Law degrees weren't included in the tally.
CEEL只调查了经济学、商业和金融方面的大学本科专业和辅修科目以及研究生学位。调查结果不包括法律方面的学位。


Such a rubric leaves off Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and ranking member Richard Shelby, as well as House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and ranking member Spencer Bachus. They all have law degrees, but don't have formal education in other economics-related fields.
照这个规则，参议院银行委员会(Senate Banking Committee)主席多德(Chris Dodd)、高级成员谢尔比(Richard Shelby)以及众议院金融服务委员会(House Financial Services Committee)主席弗兰克(Barney Frank)、高级成员巴切斯(Spencer Bachus)等人都被排除在外。他们都有法律方面的学位，但没有其他与经济相关领域的正式教育背景。


CEEL's method of not counting law degrees excludes a total of 193 members, or 36% of Congress. However, that still means that just under half of lawmakers have no educational background in economics, finance, business or law.
CEEL不将法律学位计算在内的方法令总共193名议员被排除在外，占国会议员总数的36%。不过，即便算上这部分议员，还是意味着近半数议员没有经济、金融、商业或法律方面的教育背景。


Of course, a lack of a degree doesn't equate to economic illiteracy. The research group made clear that it wasn't aiming to play gotcha, but was just trying to make a broader point about the need for economic education in the U.S. Widespread financial 'illiteracy has been partly to blame for the current credit crunch, as Americans at all income levels acted recklessly by taking on too much debt,' the group said in a statement.
当然，没有学位并不等于对经济一无所知。CEEL解释说，它并不是想玩骗人的游戏，只是想更好地说明在美国推行经济教育的必要性。该机构在一份声明中称，普遍缺乏金融知识在某种程度上是当前信贷危机的罪魁祸首，因为处于所有收入水平的美国人都鲁莽行事，债台高筑。