With last week’s release of the president’s budget, Washington has once again descended into partisan squabbling. In the US today, there is pervasive concern about the basic functioning of democracy. Congress is viewed less favourably than ever before in the history of opinion polling. There is widespread revulsion at political figures seemingly unable to reach agreement on measures to reduce future budget deficits. Pundits and politicians alike condemn “gridlock”. Angry movements, such as Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party, are present and still active on the extremes of both sides of the political spectrum.
上周公布了总统预算方案后，华盛顿再次陷入党派争端。在今天的美国，人们对民主政体的基本运转普遍感到担忧。在民调历史中，国会在美国人眼里的形象空前糟糕。人们普遍反感的是，政治人物似乎无法商定降低未来预算赤字所需采取的措施。评论人士和政界人士都在谴责“僵局”。诸如“占领华尔街”(Occupy Wall Street)和“茶党”(Tea Party)等愤怒的运动仍然存在，并活跃于政坛的两个极端。