米大統領選 ロムニー氏の再生策は本物か

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 4, 2012)
Is Mitt Romney the answer to U.S. economic, fiscal problems?
米大統領選　ロムニー氏の再生策は本物か（9月3日付・読売社説）

There are just over two months left until the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6.
　米大統領選は、１１月６日の投開票まで、あと２か月余りに迫った。

The Republican Party, aiming to reclaim the office after a four-year absence, held its national convention in the state of Florida last week and officially nominated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as its president and House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan as its vice president.
　４年ぶりの政権奪還を目指す共和党がフロリダ州で党大会を開き、ロムニー前マサチューセッツ州知事とライアン下院予算委員長を正副大統領候補にそれぞれ指名した。

In his acceptance speech, Romney sharply criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's administration for its mismanagement of the country. He pledged to rebuild the struggling U.S. economy to "restore the promise of America," an apparent dig at Obama.
　ロムニー氏は、指名受諾演説で、オバマ政権の失政を厳しく批判し、経済を立て直して「米国を再生させる」と公約した。対決色を鮮明にしたと言える。

Romney is a "small government" advocate, a policy line that would attempt to boost the economy with a variety of tax cuts and regulatory easing while drastically cutting back on federal spending, including social security programs.
　社会保障など連邦政府の歳出は大幅に削減する一方、幅広い減税策や規制緩和によって、民間活力を通じた景気浮揚を図ろうとする「小さな政府」路線である。

For instance, he pledged to make the United States energy self-sufficient, expand trade, create 12 million jobs through assistance to small and midsize businesses, slash the nation's huge fiscal deficit, oppose cuts to the defense budget and abolish Obama's reform of the health care system.
　具体的には、エネルギー自給の推進や貿易拡大、中小企業支援を通じた１２００万人の雇用創出計画、巨額の債務削減、国防予算の削減反対、オバマ政権の医療保険制度改革の撤廃などを挙げた。

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Obama under pressure

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party does not see defense spending as untouchable when cutting expenditures to rebuild government finances.
　民主党は、財政再建に必要な歳出削減では国防費も例外扱いにしていない。

The party has staked out a position that, as much as possible, will not cut federal spending for the underprivileged, including low-income earners and senior citizens, and emphasize correcting income disparities.
格差是正を重視し、低所得者や高齢者など弱者への政府支出は極力削らない立場だ。

However, the U.S. economy has been stuck in slow gear, and reverberations from the debt crisis in Europe have made its future uncertain. The U.S. unemployment rate has never gone below the 7.8 percent mark it stood at when Obama took office. Recently, it has hovered between 8 percent and 8.5 percent.
　米国は、景気減速が続いており、欧州債務危機の影響を受けて、先行きも不透明だ。
　失業率はオバマ大統領の就任時の７・８％を下回ることなく、８％台前半に高止まりしている。

The U.S. fiscal deficit has exceeded 1 trillion dollars for four straight years. Obama needs effective policies to quickly boost the economy, as well as restore the health of government finances in the medium- and long-term.
　財政赤字は４年連続で１兆ドルを超えた。当面の景気浮揚と中長期的な財政再建で、実効性ある政策が求められよう。

Although Romney claims he could do both, simultaneously cutting taxes drastically and reducing the country's huge debt seems incompatible. He needs to clearly state what steps he would take to cut the federal deficit without losing tax revenue. This will undoubtedly be a major issue in the remainder of the campaign.
　ロムニー氏の唱える、大幅減税と巨額の財政赤字減らしは、両立し難く見える。歳入を減らさずに赤字は減らせるという道筋を具体的に明示する必要がある。選挙戦で争点になるのは間違いない。

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is scheduled to kick off its national convention in the state of North Carolina on Tuesday, where it is expected to stress party unity during the march toward Obama's reelection.
　民主党は４日からノースカロライナ州で党大会を開き、大統領再選へ挙党態勢をアピールする。

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Parties agree on Asian issues

Recent polls have shown Obama and Romney in a dead heat. The three debates between the presidential candidates to be held in October will be major opportunities to determine the course of this close contest. We hope Obama and Romney have frank and heated discussions on the economy, diplomacy and defense policy.
　世論調査では、オバマ、ロムニー両氏の支持率は拮抗(きっこう)している。１０月に３回にわたって行われる大統領候補討論会が、接戦の帰趨(きすう)を決する重要な機会となる。経済や外交・安保政策を巡り、大いに論戦を展開してもらいたい。

Both parties call the United States a Pacific nation and value its relations with Asian countries, and both agree the United States should work toward completing negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.
　共和党も民主党も、ともに「米国は太平洋国家」とアジア重視を唱えている。環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）交渉を完了させるという主張でも一致している。

The two parties also share the view that the stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region should be maintained under U.S. leadership. This is an ideal course also for Japan as a U.S. ally.
　米国主導によるアジア太平洋地域の安定と繁栄の維持を図る狙いがあろう。同盟国の日本にとっても望ましい方向だ。

The result of the U.S. presidential election will affect Japan's domestic and foreign policies. We will keep a close eye on Obama and Romney's battle over policies.
　米大統領選は、日本の内政、外交にも影響する。両候補の政策対決の行方を注視したい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 3, 2012)
（2012年9月3日01時17分 読売新聞）