高昂的生活成本让美国人愤怒至极。卫报记者就美国经济问题回答了读者提问，以便为11月的中期选举报道提供更多内容。欢迎就特朗普的移民议程向我们提问，以备中期选举报道之用。LucccA 问道：为什么美国的工会组织程度仍不如世界其他地区？我知道过去曾有针对工会的打压——这种影响至今仍在吗？另外，为什么美国有这么多右翼工会？
The high cost of living has Americans angrier than ever. Guardian reporters answered your questions about the US economy ahead of November for more midterms coverage Send us your questions on Trump’s immigration agenda ahead of the midterms LucccA asks: Why are labor unions in the US still not as well-organized compared to the rest of the world? I know there was a push against them in the past—does that still have an effect today? Also, why are there so many right-leaning unions in the US?
迈克尔：原因很多。与其他富裕国家相比，美国的工会组织率较低，目前为10.0%，过去几十年来一直在急剧下降，原因包括反工会和打击工会运动、过时的劳动法（雇主常因工会组织活动而报复，或将集体谈判拖延数年，如星巴克案例所示，自2021年12月首家门店赢得工会选举以来，近五年过去了仍无工会合同）。美国的“反工会法”也削弱工会，使其资源匮乏。
Michael: A lot of reasons. The US has low union density compared to other wealthy nations, currently at 10.0%, and that has been on a precipitous decline for the past few decades for a variety of reasons that include anti-union and union busting campaigns, outdated labor laws where employers often retaliate for union organizing or delay bargaining for years, as we are seeing with Starbucks, where there is no union contract after nearly five years since the first store won its union election in December 2021. Right to work laws in the US also undermine labor unions and starve them of resources.
至于美国存在右翼工会的情况，它们通常是执法工会，始终支持并背书共和党候选人，尽管美国共和党反对集体谈判。一些工会，如卡车司机工会，一直在努力争取共和党支持立法，并以此换取工会背书，这种情况在本轮选举周期中有所体现，卡车司机工会背书了众议员马克斯·米勒和堪萨斯州参议员罗杰·马歇尔等共和党人，两人都面临极具竞争力的连任之战。
To the extent that there are right leaning labor unions in the US, they typically are law enforcement unions that consistently endorse and back Republican candidates despite the Republican Party in the US opposing collective bargaining. Some unions like the Teamsters have been making efforts to get Republicans to support legislation and in turn receive endorsements from the union, and this has shown up this election cycle with the Teamsters endorsing Republicans like Congressman Max Miller or Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, who are both facing very competitive re-election battles.
希瑟：目前有不少关于如何削减食品、医疗及能源开支的提议。如果民主党重新掌控国会，他们承诺的首要举措便是重新掌握贸易决策权并废除特朗普时期实施的关税政策，这样就能降低企业的进口成本。其次便是推动相关议案以终止与伊朗的战争，此举有望稳定油价。倘若民主党重新赢得参议院控制权，预计伊丽莎白·沃伦将出任权力极大的银行委员会主席，并着手对私募股权投资实施更多限制措施。
Heather: There’s a bunch of ideas floating around on cutting costs for groceries, healthcare and energy bills. A key thing Democrats are promising if they regain power in Congress is to wrestle back authority on trade and repeal Trump’s tariffs, which would lower what it costs compaines to import. A second is to advance a vote to stop the war in Iran, which could calm fuel prices. If Democrats retake the Senate, expect Elizabeth Warren to become chair of the powerful banking committe, and push forward some curbs on private equity investments.
此外，民主党内部正逐渐形成共识，主张增加政府对儿童保育事业的投入，这在近年来可算是一次明显的左倾举措。如果民主党赢得众议院选举，哈基姆·杰弗里斯将出任众议院议长，他承诺恢复《平价医疗法案》中的减税政策并撤销对医疗补助项目的削减措施；不过该党在“全民医保”问题上存在分歧：民主社会主义联盟的候选人会在竞选期间作出相关承诺，而较为温和的民主党人则大多保持沉默。
And Democrats have been coalescing around more government funding for childcare, a notable move to the left in recent years. Hakeem Jeffries, who will be House Speaker if Democrats win there, is promising to reinstate ACA tax cuts and roll back Medicaid cuts, but the party is divided on Medicare For All, with DSA candidates making promises on the campaign trail and more centrist Dems being pretty quiet.
参与国会竞选的共和党人则频频提及降低汽油价格的方法，尤其是暂停征收燃油税；他们还计划通过提高科技企业及其他大型用电单位的缴费标准来降低公用事业费用。密歇根州的迈克·罗杰斯等共和党人承诺会削减特朗普时期的关税政策；另一些人则因遭到公众反对而提议暂停数据中心的建设。
Republicans running for Congress have been talking a lot about ways to lower gas prices, especially suspending the fuel tax, and shaving utility bills by making tech companies and other big users pay more. Some have promised to curb Trump’s tariffs, including Michigan’s Mike Rogers, and others are proposing suspending data center building after public backlash.