Companies and the state A world of robber barons中英对照.doc

Companies and the state企业与政府A world of robber barons强盗大亨的世界The relationship between business and government is becoming increasingly antagonistic, says Philip Coggan. But the two sides should not overdo it: they need each other菲利普柯甘(Philip Coggan)说企业和政府的关系在不断恶化。双方都不应该太过分，因为他们都需要对方。Feb 22nd 2014 | From the print edition1 IN THE MIDDLE AGES the Rhine was Europes most important commercial waterway. Like many modern highways, it was a toll route. Toll points were meant to be approved by the Holy Roman Emperor, but local landowners often charged river traffic for passing through. These “robber barons”, as they became known, were a serious impediment to trade, and imperial forces had to take costly punitive action to remove them.中世纪时莱茵河（Rhine）是欧洲最重要的商业水路，和现代高速公路一样是收费通道。收费点的设立应经罗马帝国皇帝（Holy Roman Emperor）批准，但当地地主常常私自向过往船只收取过路费。这些人就是有名的“强盗大亨”。他们是巨大的贸易障碍，皇家军队不得不对其严加惩治。2 The relationship between business and the state bears some resemblance to this medieval tussle. Like those Rhine boatmen, the companies operating within national borders must pay something towards the cost of supporting commerce, but if the tolls are excessive, trade will suffer. At least some of the worlds 200 or so countries will be tempted to act as robber barons, charging the equivalent of protection money to the companies they deal with.企业和政府的关系和上述的中世纪矛盾类似。和莱茵河的商船一样，在国内经营的公司必须向政府缴费，作为政府保护商业的费用；但如果收费过高，贸易就会亏损。全世界约200个国家中至少有一部分想要成为“强盗大亨”，向公司收取类似保护费的费用。3 Some people on the left would argue that the label should be applied in the opposite way. In the late 19th century the term “robber barons” came to refer to the American railway magnates who used their monopoly power to drive competitors out of business. Politicians such as the trustbusting presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft crusaded against such corporate power.左派人士可能会说“强盗大亨”这个标签应该用于企业而非政府。19世纪后期，“强盗大亨”指的是用垄断实力驱逐竞争者的美国铁路巨头。总统西奥多罗斯福（Theodore Roosevelt）、威廉霍华德塔夫脱（William Howard Taft）等政治家开展了反托拉斯运动打击这些公司。4 Since then that anti-corporate mood has never quite dissipated. Modern multinationals are sometimes portrayed as overmighty, using their wealth to subvert politicians through their campaign contributions and lobbying power and to evade their social responsibility.从此反商情绪就再也没有消失。现代跨国企业有时被形容得无比强大，他们提供竞选费用、利用游说实力以影响政治家，借助财富逃避社会责任。5 Much political rhetoric across the spectrum suggests that the relationship between companies and the state is in essence antagonistic. Those on the right argue that government interferes far too much in the process of wealth generation and hinders rather than helps commerce. Those on the left depict business as a ravenous predator that government needs to control, exploiting workers and consumers and evading taxes.各种各样的政治言论都说明企业和政府的关系从本质上来说是敌对的。右派认为政府在企业创造财富的过程中干涉过度，对贸易有害无利；左派则把企业形容为饥饿的捕食者，认为企业剥削工人和消费者、逃税漏税，需要政府予以管制。6 All that combative talk made it harder to respond to the 2007-08 banking crisis. The collapse of the subprime-mortgage market and the subsequent rescue of the banking sector created a sense of anger towards the financial elite which turned into a wider frustration with the corporate world. The crisis led to a plunge in tax revenues and a sharp rise in budget deficits, prompting governments to pursue austerity programmes that imposed tax increases on many middle-class people and cut the benefits of the less well-off. Such a climate breeds resentment of companies that are seen as not paying their fair share of taxes or of exploiting their monopoly pricing power.2007至2008年的银行危机因为这些好斗的言论而更难对付了。次贷市场的崩塌和紧接着的对银行业的救助造成了政府对金融业精英的敌对情绪，继而演变成对整个商业世界的无比失望。金融危机导致税收骤减，财政赤字剧增，迫使政府采取紧缩政策加大对中产阶级的征税力度，减少对穷苦人民的福利补助。这样的氛围更滋生了政府对企业的愤恨情绪，因为政府认为企业缴税不足，利用垄断操纵价格。Perhaps the trickiest relationship at present is between governments and the technology industry目前最棘手的可能是政府和科技产业的关系7 In response, governments have introduced strict new regulation, particularly for banks, and sought to crack down on the use of offshore tax havens. But they have also recognised that they cannot afford to drive multinational business away. Some countries, including Britain, have cut their tax rates in order to attract new business from abroad. “Countries have got to see themselves as being an attractive shop window for multinational investment,” says John Cridland, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry. Even Frances president, Franois Hollande, who in 2012 came into office on a wave of anti-capitalist rhetoric, last month announced a 30 billion ($41 billion) cut in corporate taxes in an attempt to revive a stagnant economy.为了应对企业的做法，政府采取了严格的新规（特别是针对银行），并试图阻止企业使用避税港逃税；但政府也意识到吓走跨国公司的损失将是它们不能承受之重。因此包括英国在内的一些国家已经降低税收，意在吸引外企。英国工业联合会（Confederation of British Industry）主任约翰克里德兰(John Cridland)说：“各国应把自身视为成诱人的商店橱窗，努力吸引跨国投资。”即使是2012年上台时高唱着反对资本主义论调的法国总统弗朗索瓦奥朗德（Franois Hollande）也在上月宣布为法国企业减税300亿欧元（410亿美元），试图振兴萧条的经济。8 For all their differences, the two sides need each other. Governments rely on businesses to drive economic growth, create jobs and generate the exports to ensure that their countries can pay their way in the world. Multinationals are particularly important, argues Ted Moran of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, an American think-tank: they pay higher wages than other companies, export more and have a superior record in research and development. And countries would be unwise to rely on multinationals staying put come what may: WPP, an advertising and marketing group, moved its headquarters from London to Dublin in 2008 in a dispute over tax on overseas profits, then moved it back again after the rules were changed. With growth in emerging markets so much faster than in the developed world, locations like Singapore or Dubai are becoming ever more attractive.企业和政府尽管分歧众多，但是互相依赖。政府依靠企业促进经济增长，提供工作岗位，生产出口商品以平衡收支。美国智库机构彼得森国际经济研究所(Peterson Institute for International Economics)的Ted Moran说，跨国公司十分重要，相比其他公司来说，它们发放的工资更高，出口的商品更多，在研发领域的成绩尤为显著。如果政府觉得企业会束手就擒，那就大错特错了。广告营销公司WPP在2008年卷入了海外收益缴税的纷争中，就把总部从伦敦迁到了都柏林，英国税收改革后又迁了回去。这种就是政府新规可能造成的结果。由于新兴市场的发展速度比发达国家快得多，新加坡、迪拜等地也就越来越具有吸引力了。9 Businesses, for their part, need governments. It is not just that they provide the legal systems and the basic security that allow companies to operate in the first place; they also educate the workers on whom firms depend, and they create the infrastructureroads, railways and air-traffic controlthat enables companies to get their goods to market. Moreover, governments undertake a lot of scientific research that businesses can turn into commercial products, from the internet to satellite positioning systems to drug development.企业也需要政府，不仅仅是因为政府的法律系统和公共安全使企业得以运行；而且因为政府教育培养的工人是企业的支柱；政府建设了基础设施公路、铁路、空中交通管制，企业才能把商品运到市场上。政府还进行大量科研，涵盖网络、卫星定位系统、药物研发等各方面，企业可以把这些科研成果转化成商品。10 In many industries the government is also a key customer; after all, a typical government in a developed country spends around 40% of GDP. Defence is an obvious example, but the pharmaceutical industry is also important: national health services are huge buyers of drugs, and government bodies have to approve new products before they come to market. Construction, too, depends heavily on government action: a boost to infrastructure spending can make a big difference to the industrys prospects.典型的发达国家要花费约40%的国内生产总值（GDP），因而对很多行业来说政府是重要客户。国防是最明显的例子，制药产业也是如此：国家卫生部门需要购入大量药品，而且新产品进入市场之前需要经过政府部门审批。建筑业也非常依赖政府举措：增加基础设施投入能够大大改善建筑行业前景。11 Government policy also has serious (and sometimes unintended) effects on corporate structure. In America, high corporate taxes and a growing body of regulation have led to a decline in the number of public corporations and the emergence of alternative structures such as “master limited partnerships ”. Around the world, the tax deductibility of interest payments has encouraged a greater reliance on debt rather than equity and favoured private-equity firms. Even though executives moan about excessive government interference, shares on Wall Street have been hitting record highs, and profits as a share of Americas GDP are close to a post-war high.政府政策对公司结构也有重大影响（有时候这种影响是无意的）。在美国，高额的公司税和政府调控加强已导致开放式公司减少，一种名为“业主有限合伙”的结构也由此兴起。从全世界范围来说，利息税的减少导致了对债务（而非对股本和私募股权公司）的更大依赖。虽然公司主管都在抱怨政府干涉过度，但是华尔街的股价的确连创新高，美国GDP股票收益甚至接近战后水平。12 Because of the sheer scale of the modern state, companies are obliged to engage with it on many levels. Governments, for their part, are expected to deal with a variety of ills in society, from banning imports of unhealthy or dangerous substances to combating global warming.由于现代国家规模庞大，企业必须和各层政府打交道。政府应该处理各种各样的社会问题，包括禁止进口有害健康的、危险的商品，应对全球变暖等等。You know too much你知道的太多了13 Perhaps the trickiest relationship at present is between governments and the technology industry. Some consumers are uneasy about the large amount of digital data being hoovered up and want governments to regulate the way that businesses use and maintain these data. The governments security services, for their part, want to have access to such information whenever they feel the need. Recent revelations about the extent of government monitoring of e-mails and phone calls have pushed this issue into the headlines and created a dilemma for tech companies. Do they stand up for their customers and risk being accused of compromising security, or do they give in to governments and risk alienating their customers?目前最棘手的可能是政府和科技产业的关系。对于公司收集大量的电子数据，一些顾客感到很不安，希望政府监管公司利用和保管这些数据的方式。政府安全部门则希望在有需要时能够随时获得这些信息。最近关于政府大规模监听用户邮件和通话的报道把这一问题送上了头版头条，使科技公司进退维谷：是保护用户利益但面临危害国家安全的指控呢，还是屈服于政府，承担失去顾客的风险呢？14 Another set of complications arises from social benefits for citizens provided jointly by companies and governments. In health care, for instance, many small businesses think that Americas Affordable Care Act imposes an excessive administrative burden on them. Parental leave also divides the spirits. Many governments want to extend maternity leave for women and offer parental leave to fathers. That may be manageable for big businesses but is harder to implement for small companies. Given that voters are resistant to higher taxes, politicians are drawn to programmes that offer improved benefits at the expense of companies rather than the state.还有一系列的问题源于企业和政府共同提供的社会福利。以医疗保障为例，很多小企业认为美国的平价医疗法案（Affordable Care Act）使它们不堪重负。企业对亲子假也是反应不一。政府希望为母亲提供产假，为父亲提供亲子假。大企业或许可以做到这一点，但对小企业来说那就有些困难了。由于选民抵制增税，政治家们便热衷于以企业（而非政府）利益为代价来为民众提供更多福利的项目。15 Big businesses accept that they need a relationship with government. That has fuelled the rise of the lobbying industry and, in some countries, the growth of campaign contributions by firms. Many people now suspect that the key to success in business is not necessarily to be the most competitive but the best-connected. Lobbying creates a kind of arms race in which tax laws and regulations become ever more complex as companies seek to influence the rules to suit their own interests.大企业认同它们需要和政府形成良好关系，这促成了一些国家中游说行业的兴盛和企业赞助的竞选基金的增多。一些人认为企业成功的关键并不一定是竞争力，而是关系。企业试图通过游说修改关于税收的法规以使之更符合自身利益，这些作为企业武器的法规也就变得越来越复杂了。 16 Favoured firms can be “n