美国众议院上周中断了夏季休会期，带着一丝做戏的味道，通过了一项无足轻重的支出议案。此项议案已获参议院批准，具体内容是要向各州拨款，用作教师和公职人员的薪资。这确实不错，但由于相关经费来自增加企业税收以及从其它地方节省下来的资金，所以刺激效果微乎其微。而最令人失望的是，这样一项小措施竟然让国会分裂和瘫痪了好几周。
就业议案引发的僵局并不罕见——只是这次的议案最终获得了通过。在国内政策方面，国会表现得无所作为，这一点选民很清楚。民众对国会以及两党的支持率都接近历史最低水平。近来，在经济依然委靡不振，各种政策问题亟待解决的形势下，国会无所作为，只是摆出了一副令人愤愤不已的无能姿态。议员们返回各自的选区，着手准备11月中期选举的竞选活动。他们将接收到一个明确的信息：你们在干一件可怜的工作。
不过，在未来几个月，当选代表们将下定决心忽视他们。展望11月的选举，两党都认为指责对方才能获得更大的优势。既然能够对对方拥有战术优势，国会的政策和地位又有什么要紧呢？候选人断定，最重要的是鼓动核心支持者。只要他们共和党人（或他们民主党人）比我们更不受待见，即使我们民主党人（或我们共和党人）被广大人民看不起，又有什么要紧呢？
双方的立场都非常坚定，谁都不敢冒险收回自己的主张，对许多选民具有吸引力的折衷意见（不仅是在经济方面，还包括移民和其它重要事务）遭到搁置。两党相互之间表现出的敌意不是假象，而是真实存在的。
在美国，党派之间的互相憎恶比在其它国家更加事关紧要，因为宪法规定，一切政策都要求折衷。在美国宪法中，制衡占据显要位置；如果没有互让，整个体制就会冻结。过去，互让是很常见的。不作为也往往不是什么糟糕的政策。但是，当形势要求采取行动，而政治家拒绝妥协时，政府就失灵了。目前，美国政府失灵了。
在今年的休会期，美国政界人士应注意听取广大选民们的意见。双方都应采取行动。人民选举巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)，是希望他终止这种僵局，促成折衷。他不应再把困扰这个国家的所有问题都怪罪在乔治•布什(George W. Bush)头上。共和党人不应再对民主党人的一切提案都条件反射似地加以阻挠，而应开始煞有其事地讨论政策。出现这种情景的希望很渺茫。短视的政治逻辑是坚持己见，美国将为此付出代价。
译者/杨远
The US House of Representatives interrupted its summer recess last week to pass, with a bogus sense of drama, an inconsequential spending bill. The measure, already passed by the Senate, gave money to the states to maintain teacher and public-service payrolls, which was good, but covered the cost with savings elsewhere and corporate tax increases, making its stimulus value minimal. That such a timid initiative should have divided and paralysed Congress for weeks is the most disappointing thing of all.
The gridlock over the jobs bill was not unusual – except that in this case a bill did pass in the end. In domestic policy Congress has rendered itself incapable, and voters know it. Approval ratings for Congress as an institution, and for each party taken separately, are close to historic lows. Lately, with the economy still weak, and other policy questions pressing for solution, Capitol Hill has had nothing to offer but a furious, thrashing impotence. Elected officials, returning to their constituencies and embarking on their campaigns for November’s mid-term elections, will receive a clear message: you are doing a pitiful job.
Yet, for the next few months, their elected representatives will be intent on ignoring them. Looking to November, each party sees greater advantage in blaming the other. What do policy and the standing of the institution matter, if tactical advantage can be gained over the other party? Candidates judge that exciting core supporters counts most. It does not matter if we Democrats (we Republicans) are widely held in contempt, so long as those Republicans (those Democrats) are disliked even more.
Positions are so entrenched that neither side risks backing down, and compromises that would appeal to much of the electorate – not just on the economy but on immigration and other vital matters – are set aside. The enmity expressed by each party for the other is not synthetic. It is real.
Mutual loathing of the parties matters more in the US than it would in other countries, because the constitution requires compromise if anything is to be done. Checks and balances figure so prominently in the constitutional design that without some give and take, the system freezes. In the past, such give and take has been common. Often, as well, inaction is not bad policy. But when conditions demand action, and politicians reject compromise, you have a formula for a failing government. At the moment, the US government is failing.
During this recess, US politicians should open their ears to what voters at large are telling them. Both sides should move. President Barack Obama was elected to end this gridlock and broker compromise; he should stop blaming George W. Bush for everything that ails the country. Republicans should stop reflexively blocking everything the Democrats propose, and start discussing policy as though it mattered. Most likely, it will not happen. The short-term political logic is remorseless, and the US will pay the price.
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