Failing companies Steel v spaghetti 衰落的公司 钢铁v意大利面
Two big firms go bust. Why are there calls to bail out one but not the other?
两家大公司破产了。为什么有人呼吁救助其中一个，而不是另一个？
Britain’s once-massive steel industry has ousted away.
英国曾经庞大的钢铁公司已被淘汰了。
In 1970 the country was the world’s fourth-largest producer, behind only America, Japan and West Germany.
在1970年，英国是仅次于美国、日本、西德的世界第四大钢铁制造国。
Since then it has tumbled down the global rankings.
从那以后，英国就从世界排名中跌出去了。
Production has fallen by two-thirds.
产量下降了三分之二。
And it is about to get even lower.
并且这还要进一步走低 。
On May 22nd British Steel, the country’s second-largest producer, collapsed, after rescue talks between the government and the company’s owner broke down.
5月22日，在政府与公司所有者间的救援谈判破裂后，英国第二大钢铁生产商英国钢铁公司破产了。
Some 5,000 jobs in Scunthorpe and Teesside are at risk.
在斯肯索普和蒂赛德的5000多份工作岗位面临危险。
Many thought the government should have done more to save the firm.
许多人认为政府应当做更多努力来挽救这家公司。
The Labor Party argued that British Steel should be taken into public ownership.
工党认为英国钢铁公司 应当收归国有。
Even the right-wing Daily Mail appeared sympathetic to the idea of a bail-out.
即使是右翼的每日邮报似乎也赞同紧急援助的想法。
It was odd, then, that there were no calls to save another employer that had gone bust only the day before.
奇怪的是，竟然没有人呼吁去救助另一家仅仅是前天刚破产的公司。
The collapse of a chain of 25 mainly Italian restaurants run by Jamie Oliver, a celebrity chef, has imperiled 1,000 jobs around the country.
名厨杰米·奥利弗经营的25家连锁意大利餐厅的破产使国内1000多份工作岗位面临危险。
No one has called for the government to step in to save the chain.
可没有人呼吁政府出手去援助这家连锁店。
If helping steelmakers is a good idea, why not restaurateurs too? The British government used to throw money at big firms whenever they wobbled.
如果帮助钢铁公司是一个好主意，那为什么不帮助餐馆老板呢？过去，每当大公司摇摇欲坠时，英国政府都会向他们砸钱。
In 1971 it nationalized Rolls-Royce, an engine manufacturer.
1971年的发动机厂商劳斯莱斯的国有化。
Three years later it bailed out British Leyland, a carmaker.
3年前，汽车制造商英国利兰汽车的获得援助。
From Margaret Thatcher on, governments took a lighter-touch approach, with the big exception of the crisis of 2008-09, when Gordon Brown spent ￡140bn ($182bn) bailing out the banks in an attempt to stop the financial system from collapsing.
从玛格丽特•撒切尔开始，除了2008-2009年的金融危机，各国政府采取了较为宽松的政策，戈登·布朗（工党，1997-2007年任英国财政大臣，2007-2010年任英国首相）花费了1400亿英镑（1820亿美元）援助银行，企图使财政系统免于崩塌。
More recently the Tories have shown no mercy to big firms such as SSI, whose Redcar steelworks shut down in 2015, and Carillion, an outsourcer that went under last year.
最近，保守党对大公司毫不留情。SSI的雷德卡钢铁厂于2015年关闭，卡里利恩（英国第二大建筑公司），是一家外包商，于去年倒闭。
British Steel’s woes have led some to argue that Britain should rediscover interventionism.
英国钢铁公司的困难导致一些人认为，英国公司应该重新启用经济干预主义。
One argument for a bail-out is that a thriving steel industry is the basis for a healthy manufacturing sector.
支持救援的一个理由是，繁荣的钢铁行业是健康制造业的基础。
Yet it is not clear why Britain needs to produce its own steel, since there is a perfectly good global market in the commodity.
然而还不清楚为什么英国需要生产自己的钢铁，因为这种大宗商品有着完美的全球市场。
Another is that the company’s collapse will affect its suppliers and customers, and drive up the welfare bill.
另一个原因是，该破产将会影响其供应商与客户，并提高福利支出。
IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research), a thinktank, suggests that in addition to the jobs lost directly, a further 7,000 workers in the supply chain are in jeopardy.
英国智库，公共政策研究所表示，除了直接裁员，供应链中还有7000名工人处于危险之中。
Yet it is hard to see why this should not apply to Mr. Oliver’s restaurants, too.
然而这还很难看出为什么这不适用于奥利弗的餐厅。
Laid-off waiters will claim welfare payments.
被解雇的服务员将领取福利金。
Food suppliers will lose a big client.
食品供应商将失去一个大客户。
If these were sensible grounds for a bail-out, any failing company would be entitled to one.
如果这些就是援助的理由，那么任何一家倒闭的公司都有权获得援助。
There may be no serious case for bailing out British Steel.
而拯救英国钢铁公司可能没有什么重大的理由。
There is a good case, however, for helping the workers affected by its closure.
Mr. Oliver’s unfortunate staff will probably find new jobs quickly.
奥利弗的不幸的员工可能很快就会找到新工作。
The chain’s outlets are mainly in bustling cities with plenty of other opportunities.
该连锁店的门店主要分布在繁华的城市，有大量其他的就业机会。
Across the country, vacancies in hospitality are higher than in any other sector.
在全国范围内，酒店业的职位空缺比任何其他行业都要高。
The prospects for British Steel’s workers look much worse.
但英国钢铁公司工人的前景比其他人都要糟。
They are concentrated in a small area (Scunthorpe’s population is around 80,000).
他们集中于一个小区域（斯肯索普的人口大约为8万）
The steelworks’ closure will whack the local economy, making it harder still to find new work.
炼钢厂的关闭将会给当地经济造成沉重打击，工人们很难找到新工作。
After the closure of its own steelworks, Redcar suffered a local depression.
在钢铁厂的倒闭后，雷德卡当地遭受了经济大萧条。
Employment slumped, particularly among men.
尤其是在男性的就业率下跌。
Even today median wages remain lower than in 2015.
即使是今天的平均工资也比2015年要低。
That calls for the state to supply extra education and training in areas affected by the closure of British Steel.
这就要求政府在受英国钢铁公司倒闭影响的地区提供额外的教育和培训。
The government’s preferred program to do this, its “rapid response service”, has a tiny budget.
政府的首选项目是“快速反应服务”，其拥有很少的预算。
It was deployed in Redcar, to no great effect.
它在雷德卡实施，但没有多大效果。
Nationalizing British Steel is no more sensible an idea than taking over Mr. Oliver’s restaurants.
将英国钢铁公司国有化和接管奥利弗的餐厅一样，都不是明智的想法。
But a large portion of help is needed for the steelworkers, subito.
但钢铁工人需要大量紧急救助。
