Let's face it: that belief has suffered some serious blows. Over more than three decades, even before the Great Recession hit, massive shifts in technology and global competition had eliminated a lot of good, middle-class jobs, and weakened the economic foundations that families depend on.

讓我們面對現實：這種信念遭受了一些嚴重的打擊。超過30年的時間里，甚至在經濟大衰退之前，技術和全球競爭的巨大變化已經削減了中產階級的許多好的工作機會，并削弱了中產家庭依賴的經濟基礎。

Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by - let alone get ahead. And too many still aren't working at all.

現在，經過4年的經濟增長，企業利潤和股價均開始上升，而那些身處高位的人從來沒有做的更好。平均工資卻幾乎沒有變化。社會不平等加深，向上流動幾近停滯。冰冷而又無法回避的事實是，即使是在復蘇之中，太多的美國人還是在勉強度日，更不用說出人頭地。還有許多人仍然沒有工作。

Our job is to reverse these trends. It won't happen right away, and we won't agree on everything. But what I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class. Some require congressional action, and I'm eager to work with all of you. But America does not stand still - and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do.

我們的工作就是要扭轉這些趨勢。雖然局勢不會馬上好轉，我們也不會就所有事情達成一致。但是，我今晚提出的是一組促進增長、壯大中產階級的具體實際的方案。有些需要國會采取行動，我渴望與大家合作。不過，美國不會停滯不前，我也不會。所以無論何時何地，我都要采取不必立法的措施去為更多美國家庭擴大機會，這就是我要做的。

As usual, our first lady sets a good example. Michelle's Let's Move partnership with schools, businesses, and local leaders has helped bring down childhood obesity rates for the first time in thirty years - an achievement that will improve lives and reduce health care costs for decades to come. The Joining Forces alliance that Michelle and Jill Biden launched has already encouraged employers to hire or train nearly 400,000 veterans and military spouses. Taking a page from that playbook, the White House just organized a College Opportunity Summit where already, 150 universities, businesses, and nonprofits have made concrete commitments to reduce inequality in access to higher education - and help every hardworking kid go to college and succeed when they get to campus. Across the country, we're partnering with mayors, governors and state legislatures on issues from homelessness to marriage equality.

像往常一樣，我們的第一夫人就是一個范例。米歇爾的“讓我們繼續前進”活動與學校、企業和地方領導人合作，30年來第一次降低了兒童肥胖率 。這一成就將改善他們的生活質量，并降低未來幾十年的醫療成本。米歇爾和副總統拜登推出的“聯合力量(Joining Forces)”活動已經鼓勵雇主雇用或培訓近40萬名退伍軍人及其配偶。比如，白宮剛剛舉辦了“大學教育峰會”， 會議期間，150所大學、企業和非營利組織已作出具體承諾，以減少接受高等教育的不均等狀況， 幫助每一個勤奮的孩子去上大學，確保他們上大學后能夠獲得成功。在全國范圍內，我們正在與市長、州長和州議員合作解決從無家可歸到婚姻平等的問題。

The point is, there are millions of Americans outside Washington who are tired of stale political arguments, and are moving this country forward. They believe, and I believe, that here in America, our success should depend not on accident of birth, but the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams. That's what drew our forebears here. It's how the daughter of a factory worker is CEO of America's largest automaker; how the son of a barkeeper is speaker of the House; how the son of a single mom can be president of the greatest nation on Earth.

問題的關鍵是，在華盛頓之外有成千上萬的美國人厭倦了陳腐的政治爭論，正是他們在推進這個國家前行。他們相信，我也相信，在這里，在美國，我們的成功不應取決于出身，而是要依賴于我們的工作倫理和我們的夢想。這正是吸引我們祖先之所在。這就是一個工人的女兒如何成為美國最大的汽車制造商的CEO 的原因，也是一個酒吧老板的兒子怎么成為眾議院議長，一個單身母親的兒子又如何成為地球上最偉大國家總統之所在。

Opportunity is who we are. And the defining project of our generation is to restore that promise.

機會屬于我們自己。而我們這一代人的目標就是恢復這一承諾。

We know where to start: the best measure of opportunity is access to a good job. With the economy picking up speed, companies say they intend to hire more people this year. And over half of big manufacturers say they're thinking of insourcing jobs from abroad.

我們知道從哪里開始：促進就業是創造機會的最佳措施。隨著經濟增長，企業表示有意在這一年雇傭更多員工。超過半數的大型制造商表示正在考慮讓海外的就業崗位回歸美國。

So let's make that decision easier for more companies. Both Democrats and Republicans have argued that our tax code is riddled with wasteful, complicated loopholes that punish businesses investing here, and reward companies that keep profits abroad. Let's flip that equation. Let's work together to close those loopholes, end those incentives to ship jobs overseas, and lower tax rates for businesses that create jobs here at home.

那么，讓我們促使更多企業更輕松地做出這樣的決定吧。民主黨人和共和黨人都認為，我們的稅法充滿復雜的漏洞，效率低下，使得在美國投資的企業受損，把利潤留在國外的企業受益。讓我們扭轉這樣的局面。讓我們一起努力，填補這些漏洞，消除將就業包給海外的誘因。為了在這里，在祖國創造就業的企業，讓我們降低稅率。

Moreover, we can take the money we save from this transition to tax reform to create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes - because in today's global economy, first-class jobs gravitate to first-class infrastructure. We'll need Congress to protect more than three million jobs by finishing transportation and waterways bills this summer. But I will act on my own to slash bureaucracy and streamline the permitting process for key projects, so we can get more construction workers on the job as fast as possible.

還有，我們在稅制改革中節約的資金可以用于創造就業崗位，可以修路、升級港口、疏導交通。在今天的全球經濟中，一流的基礎設施吸引一流的工作。我們需要國會今年夏天完成運輸和水路法案，保護超過300萬的就業崗位。而我會盡最大努力，消除官僚作風，使重要工程的審批程序更合理。這樣我們就能讓更多的建設者盡快走上崗位。

We also have the chance, right now, to beat other countries in the race for the next wave of high-tech manufacturing jobs. My administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing in Raleigh and Youngstown.

我們現在也有機會、有權利在下一輪高科技制造業崗位的競爭中戰勝其他國家。我的政府已經在羅利和揚斯敦開始運行高科技制造業中心。