Exercise 6. Translate

1. В отчете правительства сообщалось, что в прошлом году удалось снизить инфляцию на 10% и добиться стабильности цен и доходов.

2. Одним из пунктов предвыборной программы депутата была поддержка и развитие сельского хозяйства.

3. Наш сервисный центр предоставляет широкий спектр услуг по ремонту бытовой техники. (household appliances)

4. Новый закон призван обеспечивать разумную конкуренцию во всех сферах экономики.

5. Охрана окружающей среды стала основной темой конференции.

6. Мне кажется, что поставленные цели значительно превышают наши возможности.

7. Эта международная организация установила политику невмешательства во внутренние дела государств.

8. Рыночная система основана на принципе свободного предпринимательства.

9. Низкий уровень прибыли может привести к тому, что наша компания будет вытеснена с рынка.

10. Большинство программ социального обеспечения финансируются федеральным правительством.

5 GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN THE U. S. ECONOMY

The economy has expanded and changed,

guided by some unchanging principles.

By the time that General George Washington took office as the first U.S. president in 1789, the young nation’s economy was already a composite of many diverse occupations and defined regional differences. Agriculture was dominant. Nine of 10 Americans worked on farms, most of them growing the food their families relied on. Only one person in 20 lived in an “urban” location. But the handful of larger cities had a merchant class of tradesmen, shopkeepers, importers, shippers, manufacturers, and bankers whose interests could conflict with those of the farmers.

The U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1788, sought to ground the new nation’s experiment in democracy in hard-won compromises of conflicting economic and regional interests. The Constitution outlined the government’s role in the new republic’s economy.

While consumers and producers obviously make most decisions that mold the economy, government activities have at least four powerful effects on the U.S. economy.

DIRECT SERVICES

Each level of government provides direct services. The postal system, for example, is a federal system serving the entire nation, as is the large military establishment. By contrast, the construction and maintenance of most highways is the responsibility of individual state govern­ments. The public education systems are primarily paid for by state, county or city governments. In general, police and fire protection are the responsibilities of local government.

REGULATION AND CONTROL

The government regulates and con­trols private enterprise in many ways in order to ensure that business serves the best interests of the people as a whole. Regulation is usually considered necessary in areas where private enterprise has been granted a monopoly, such as in electric or local telephone service, or in other areas where there is limited competition, as with the railroads. Public policy permits such companies to make reasonable profits, but limits their ability to raise prices "unfairly" because the public depends on their services. Often control is exercised to protect the public, for example, when the Food and Drug Administration bans harmful drugs, or requires standards of quality in food. In other industries, government sets guidelines to ensure fair competition with­out using direct control.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Americans became increasingly divided on the issue of government regulation of the economy. Proponents argued that government regulation was needed to protect consumers, workers and the environment; critics insisted that regulations interfered with free enterprise, in­creased the costs of doing business and thus contributed to inflation. These factors, coupled with rapid technological change, prompted President Jimmy Carter to reduce regula­tion of the transportation and communication industries in the 1970s. Also, at this time, federal agencies were encour­aged to be more flexible in applying regulations. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan's legislative agenda, based largely on his belief that an unfettered private sector would assure economic prosperity and growth, pushed deregulation efforts still further. Regulations or the imple­mentation of regulations designed to protect workers, con­sumers and the environment were cut back. In addition, during the Reagan administration, a voluntary approach was taken to some regulations.

In the early 1990s, the drive to push still further deregu­lation in a broad, across-the-board manner appeared to have slowed considerably. Although proponents of deregulation continued to stress its benefits, criticism of how deregulation had actually worked in practice mounted. Airline deregula­tion, for example, initially fostered increased competition that lowered the cost of flying. But, within a few years a wave of airline mergers and consolidations shrank the number of airlines, and critics argued that the benefits of deregulation had either disappeared or become minor. On the other hand, deregulation of telecommunications unquestionably brought increased competition to certain parts of the telephone services industry.

STABILIZATION AND GROWTH

Branches of government, including Congress and such entities as the Federal Reserve System, attempt to control the extremes of boom and bust, and of inflation and depression, by adjusting tax rates, the money supply and the use of credit. They can also affect the econo­my by changing the amount of public spending by the govern­ment itself. Normally, the aim is a balanced federal budget.

DIRECT ASSISTANCE

The government provides many kinds of help to businesses and individuals. For example, tariffs per­mit certain products to remain relatively free from foreign competition; imports are sometimes taxed or limited by vol­ume so that American products can better compete with foreign goods. Government also provides aid to farmers by subsidizing prices they receive for their crops.

In quite a different area, government supports individ­uals who cannot adequately care for themselves by making grants to low-income parents with dependent children, by providing medical care for the aged and indigent, and through social insurance programs that assist the unemployed and retirees. Government also supplies relief for the poor and help for the disabled.

VOCABULARY

1. to have a powerful effect on – оказывать мощное влияние на что-либо

2. military establishment – военное ведомство

3. the construction and maintenance of highways – строительство и тех.обслуживание шоссе

4. fire protection – пожарная охрана

5. to serve the interests of the people as a whole – служить интересам нации в целом

6. to permit – разрешать

7. to raise prices – повышать цены

8. to depend on – зависеть от

9. to exercise a control over smth – осуществлять контроль за чем-либо

10. to ban harmful drugs – запрещать вредные вещества

11. to require – требовать

12. branches of government – ветви власти

13. to control the extremes of boom and bust – контролировать крайности экономического роста и спада

14. to adjust tax rates – устанавливать налоговые ставки

15. depression – экономический спад

16. money supply – денежная масса

17. public spending – государственные расходы

18. assistance – помощь

19. tariff – тариф

20. limited by volume – в ограниченном объеме

21. grants to low-income families – пособия малообеспеченным семьям

22. to provide medical care for the aged and indigent – предусматривать медицинскую помощь для престарелых и нуждающихся

23. social insurance program – программа социального страхования

24. the unemployed and retirees – безработные и пенсионеры

25. to supply relief for the poor and disabled – предоставлять пособия бедным и недееспособным

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Form adjectives from these nouns:

money	addition	base
benefit	commerce	capital
responsibility	nature	locality
majority	minority	relation

Exercise 2. Note the difference between the words: vary, variable, varied, various, variety, variation and then use them to complete the sentences.

1. Conditions on that market are stable and do not _______ very much from year to year.

2. That businessman handles a very _______ selection of products, including bananas, toys and cars.

3. It is often difficult to classify the _______ types of economic system in the world, because they tend to possess elements of capitalism and communism in different degrees.

4. The managers of that company hope to increase the _______ of products, which they offer for sale to the public.

5. There has been little _______ in price levels over the last five years.

6. Because prices on the market fluctuate considerably from week to week, we say that they are _______.

Exercise 3. Many words are formed by adding –able. There is however an active use of – able and a passive use. Try these exercises.

A. The active use of – able.

EXAMPLE Fruit can perish ð Fruit is perishable

NOTE that can is not always necessary in the first sentence.

1. The plan can work.

2. Market conditions can change

3. Economic conditions can vary.

4. These policies suit (us).

5. Those products have a value.

6. Some investments make a profit.