昨日のオバマ大統領の「金融制度改革」についての演説を訳してみましょう。
（機械翻訳や文献に頼らない、全てよっちゃんなりの翻訳です。）
As we continue to recover from an historic economic crisis, it is clear to everyone that one of its major causes was a breakdown in oversight that led to widespread abuses in the financial system. An epidemic of irresponsibility took hold from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street. And the consequences have been disastrous. Millions of Americans have seen their life savings erode; families have been devastated by job losses; businesses large and small have closed their doors.
歴史的経済危機から立ち直ろうとする中、その大きな原因の一つは金融制度に広範に存在している欠陥を見逃してきたことであるのは誰の目にも明らかである。無責任に放置する体制が金融街から政府にまで蔓延し、それが危機的状況を招いたのだ。何百万人もの国民が生涯をかけてきた蓄えを失い、失業のために家族が離散し、中小企業から大企業まで倒産が広がった。
In response, this week, my administration proposed a set of major reforms to the rules that govern our financial system; to attack the causes of this crisis and to prevent future crises from taking place; to ensure that our markets can work fairly and freely for businesses and consumers alike.
これに対応するため今週政府は金融制度を管轄する大規模な改革を提案した。それは金融危機の原因に焦点をあて将来同じことが生じるのを防ぐものであり、金融市場がビジネスにも消費者にも公平に機能することを確証していくものである。
We are going to promote markets that work for those who play by the rules. We’re going to stand up for a system in which fair dealing and honest competition are the only way to win. We’re going to level the playing field for consumers. And we’re going to have the kinds of rules that encourage innovations that make our economy stronger 窶骭 not those that allow insiders to exploit its weaknesses for their own gain.
我々は規則に則った市場を推進する。公平で正当な競争が唯一の勝利となる制度の為に立ち上げる。我々の作る規則はインサイダーが制度の脆弱性を利用して利得を獲得する為ではなく、我々の経済を強固にするイノベーションを推進する、そういう規則を創り上げていく。
And one of the most important proposals is a new oversight agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. It’s charged with just one job: looking out for the interests of ordinary Americans in the financial system. This is essential, for this crisis may have started on Wall Street. But its impacts have been felt by ordinary Americans who rely on credit cards, home loans, and other financial instruments.
最も重要な提案の一つは消費者金融保護省という新たな監視機関の創設である。その職務はたった一つ、つまり金融制度における一般国民の利益を注視するということだ。金融危機がウオール街から発生したものであるから、この監視機関の存在は必須のものである。金融制度が及ぼす影響は、クレジットカードや住宅ローン、その他の金融制度に関わる多くの国民に及ぼされてきた。
It is true that this crisis was caused in part by Americans who took on too much debt and took out loans they simply could not afford. But there are also millions of Americans who signed contracts they did not always understand offered by lenders who did not always tell the truth. Today, folks signing up for a mortgage, student loan, or credit card face a bewildering array of incomprehensible options. Companies compete not by offering better products, but more complicated ones 窶骭 with more fine print and hidden terms. It’s no coincidence that the lack of strong consumer protections led to abuses against consumers; the lack of rules to stop deceptive lending practices led to abuses against borrowers.
確かに危機の一因というのは過度の借金とか単純に払いきれないローンを背負い込んだ国民にあるのも確かである。しかしまた何百万人もの国民は、真実を全ては語らない貸し手が差し出した、全てを理解することは困難な契約書にサインをしたという事実も忘れてはならない。今日、抵当・学生ローン・クレジットカード等の契約をする人々は理解不能な契約書に直面している。業界各社は、より良い商品ではなく、より複雑な商品、つまり出来るだけ細かい文字で隠れた契約条件を入れたもの、で競争をしている。しっかりした消費者保護制度の欠如が消費者迫害に結びついたり、欺瞞的な金銭貸与契約を停止する規則の欠如が借り手の迫害に結びついたことは、決して偶発的ではなく必然的に生じたことなのだ。
This new agency will have the responsibility to change that. It will have the power to set tough new rules so that companies compete by offering innovative products that consumers actually want 窶骭 and actually understand. Those ridiculous contracts 窶骭 pages of fine print that no one can figure out 窶骭 will be a thing of the past. You’ll be able to compare products 窶骭 with descriptions in plain language 窶骭 to see what is best for you. The most unfair practices will be banned. The rules will be enforced.
Some argue that these changes 窶骭 and the many others we’ve called for 窶骭 go too far. And I welcome a debate about how we can make sure our regulations work for businesses and consumers. But what I will not accept 窶骭 what I will vigorously oppose 窶骭 are those who do not argue in good faith. Those who would defend the status quo at any cost. Those who put their narrow interests ahead of the interests of ordinary Americans. We’ve already begun to see special interests mobilizing against change.
That’s not surprising. That’s Washington.
For these are interests that have benefited from a system which allowed ordinary Americans to be exploited. These interests argue against reform even as millions of people are facing the consequences of this crisis in their own lives. These interests defend business-as-usual even though we know that it was business-as-usual that allowed this crisis to take place.
Well, the American people did not send me to Washington to give in to the special interests; the American people sent me to Washington to stand up for their interests. And while I’m not spoiling for a fight, I’m ready for one. The most important thing we can do to put this era of irresponsibility in the past is to take responsibility now. That is why my administration will accept no less than real and lasting change to the way business is done 窶骭 on Wall Street and in Washington. We will do what is necessary to end this crisis 窶骭 and we will do what it takes to prevent this kind of crisis from ever happening again.
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