澳洲財長說他受到「老闆」啟發 Australia treasurer says he’s inspired by The Boss

Australia’s treasurer Wayne Swan says Australians can learn a lot _ and avoid economic pitfalls _ by listening to The Boss. Swan revealed that American rock star Bruce Springsteen has long been his political inspiration. He said the New Jersey-born working class hero’s music railing against inequality echoed Swan’s own public battle against Australian billionaire mining tycoons who oppose his tax reforms.

澳洲財政部長史旺說，澳洲人如果聽聽「老闆」的歌可以學到很多，甚至避免陷入經濟困境。史旺表示，（外號「老闆」的）美國搖滾巨星史賓斯汀一直都是他的政治靈感來源。他說這位出身新澤西州的工人英雄用音樂批判不公義，正呼應著史旺本人與反對稅務改革的澳洲礦業億萬富豪之間所進行的公開交戰。

"The Boss was and remains my musical hero," said Swan, who as treasurer is his center-left Labor Party government’s chief economics minister.

「老闆從過去到現在一直都是我的音樂英雄，」史旺說，身為財長的史旺為中間偏左派勞工黨政府的主要經濟首長。

Swan, 58, said Springsteen often observed big changes occurring in U.S. working class life long before economic statisticians recognized them.

現年58歲的史旺說，史賓斯汀常在經濟統計學者尚未察覺前，就已在美國勞工階級的生活中觀察到重大改變。

He said Springsteen’s 1975 breakthrough album "Born to Run," as well as subsequent albums "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "The River," "Born in the U.S.A" and "Nebraska," talked about the shifting foundations of the U.S. economy before the subject became topical.

他說史賓斯汀1975年的突破性專輯「天生贏家」，以及之後的幾張專輯「陰暗的城市邊緣」、「生在美國」與「內布拉斯加」等，都提到了美國經濟基礎出現劇變，遠早於這些問題成為時事性議題之前。

"If I could distill the relevance of Bruce Springsteen’s music to Australia, it would be this：Don’t let what has happened to the American economy happen here," Swan said. "Don’t let Australia become a Down Under version of New Jersey, where the people and communities whose skills are no longer in demand get thrown on the scrap heap of life," he added. （AP）

「假如我能把史賓斯汀音樂的適切性濃縮成一句話送給澳洲人民，那就是：別讓美國經濟發生的問題在這裡重演，」史旺說。「別讓澳洲成為南半球版的新澤西，讓技術不再受需要的居民和社群被視為沒人要的廢物，」他補充說。（美聯社）

新聞辭典

rail：動詞，指激動地指責或抱怨，後常接at或against，如He railed against/at the injustices of the system.（他痛批制度的不公。）

topical：形容詞，指反映時事、現實問題的，如The discussion focused on topical issues in economics.（討論的焦點集中在經濟的時事議題上。）

throw somebody/something on the scrap heap：片語，非正式用法，指擺脫已經無用的某人或某事物，通常使用被動語態，如Many people over forty who can’t find a job feel they’ve been thrown on the scrap heap.（許多年過40卻找不到工作的人，常會覺得他們被當成了廢物。）