美國失業率降至最近40年以來的最低水平，但是這個數字并沒讓多少美國人感到安心。根據一項最新民調，將近四分之三的美國人認為美國經濟被操縱。

今年5月，市場研究和愛迪生研究機構（Marketplace and Edison）進行了一次全國調研，詢問了1022名受訪者有關他們財務狀況的方方面面，如求職、醫療費以及最近一次跟家人度假是什么時候。調查結果反映出一種跨越階層、種族和政治界限的對經濟形勢的憂慮。

此調查顯示，32%的美國人因為他們的經濟狀況而失眠，48%的人認為下一代美國人面臨的經濟狀況會比現在更加糟糕。更令人震驚的是，71%的美國人認為“美國的經濟體系被操縱，以使其有利于某些群體”。在受訪者中，61%的西班牙裔、71%的歐洲及其他族裔、以及超過80%的非洲裔美國人持有這一觀點。

受訪者對當前政治氣候也不抱什么期望。75%的人對現任聯邦官員表示不滿或者憤怒，還有47%對今年的總統候選人選舉表示完全不滿。的確，幾乎半數受訪者都認為，無論是選擇共和黨還是民主黨入主白宮，對于他們個人經濟狀況來說沒有區別。

“操縱”是當前美國官方發言中的熱詞，它最初出現在民主黨候選人伯尼?桑德斯于2015年11月發布的廣告《被操縱的經濟》（Rigged Economy）中，用以指責政府和華爾街消除中產階級的行為。去年8月，桑德斯在洛杉磯的一次集會上說道，“這是一種被操縱的經濟，旨在為上層人士謀利。我們需要的是能夠為所有人服務的經濟體系。”唐納德?特朗普也用了同樣的詞形容美國經濟和共和黨提名制度。今年4月，特朗普在紐約的一次集會上聲明，“只要你思考一下，就會明白美國的經濟是被操縱的，美國的銀行系統是被操縱的。在當今這個世界，還有很多事情是被操縱的，這就是為什么你們當中很多人的工資在這20年中都沒有什么實質性增長，我的同胞們。”

由于受訪者中保守主義者和自由主義者大致各占一半，他們對于“被操縱的經濟”的看法很能說明問題。隨著經濟上——更不用說政治上——的兩極分化日益嚴重，看來美國人民已經找到了至少一個（幾乎）所有人都能達成共識的話題。 （財富中文網）

譯者：劉偉義

Unemployment in America may have hit a forty-year low, but few Americans are taking comfort in numbers. According to a new poll, nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the U.S. economy is rigged.

A national study, conducted last May by Marketplace and Edison, asked 1,022 participants about numerous aspects of their financial lives, ranging from job hunts and medical bills to the date of their most recent family vacation. The survey results produced a grim portrait of economic anxiety that is crossing class, race, and political boundaries.

According to the survey, 32% of Americans say they lose sleep over their financial situation, and 48% of Americans believe the economy for the next generation of Americans will be worse than that of the present. Even more jarring is the finding that 71% of Americans believe “the economic system in the U.S. is rigged in favor of certain groups.” 61% of Hispanic and 71% of White/Other respondents shared this belief, while over 80% of African Americans agreed with the statement.

The respondents’ outlook on the current political climate is just as bleak. 75% said they were “dissatisfied” or “angry” with elected officials in Washington, while 47% were “not satisfied at all” with this year’s selection of candidates for president. Indeed, almost half of respondents believed that the choice of a Republican or Democrat for the White House would make “no difference” to their personal financial situation.

“Rigged” is enjoying its moment in American parlance. Democratic nominee Bernie Sanders’ November 2015“Rigged Economy” ad first used the term to blame the government and Wall Street for eradicating the middle class. “This is an economy that is rigged and meant to benefit those on top,” Sanders stated at a rally in Los Angeles last August. “We need an economy that works for all people.” Fellow outsider Donald Trump followed suit, branding the American economy as well as the GOP nomination system under the same adjective. At a rally in New York this past April, Trump declared, “If you think about it, the economy is rigged. The banking system is rigged. There’s a lot of things that are rigged in this world of ours, and that’s why a lot of you haven’t had an effective wage increase in 20 years, folks.”

Since survey respondents represented a roughly equal mix of conservative and liberal values, their collective opinions concerning the “rigged” economy is all the more telling. With economic—not to mention political—polarization threatening to grow ever higher, it appears that Americans have found at least one topic on which (almost) everybody agrees.