特朗普总统说得没错，美国经济是全球羡慕的对象。可悲的是，美国选民刚刚投票决定摧毁它。这绝非夸大其词。将如此压倒性的胜利授予民主党——该党现已受进步派把持，他们主张加税、弃用化石燃料并叫停人工智能的推广——将抑制投资，并扼杀推动美国经济增长的产业。是的，选民对生活成本上涨感到愤怒，将油价上涨归咎于伊朗战争。
President Trump is right that the U.S. economy is the envy of the world. What a shame that Americans just voted to destroy it. That is not an exaggeration. Granting such a sweeping victory to the Democratic Party, now in thrall to progressives who want to hike taxes, abandon fossil fuels and shut down the rollout of artificial intelligence, will slow investment and neuter the industries powering U.S. economic growth. Yes, voters are angry about the rising cost of living, blaming the war in Iran for higher oil prices.
但限制国内石油和天然气生产，正如乔·拜登在任内所为，且环保游说团体意欲在未来继续推行，非但无法降低柴油价格，反而会产生相反效果。美国是世界最大石油生产国；在任何全球市场上限制供应，必然推高价格。同理，禁止建设数据中心不会让电力变得更便宜；只会导致更少的电工和焊工有活干。更好的答案在于地方性法规，保护居民免受数据中心运营导致的额外电力和水费成本之害。
But restricting domestic oil and gas production, as Joe Biden did during his term and the environmental lobby is keen to do going forward, will not bring diesel prices down — just the opposite. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil producer; limiting supplies in any global market inevitably drives prices up. Similarly, banning the construction of data centers won’t make electricity cheaper; it will simply mean that fewer electricians and welders have work. The better answer lies in local regulations that protect residents from extra power and water costs resulting from data center operations.
周二选民面前有约 45 项限制或监管数据中心的投票议题；几乎全部通过。作为该领域的重要参与者，俄亥俄州在征求选民意见方面走在全国前列。一位当地公民学教授对《财富》杂志表示，该州 100 多项公投的反响应“向全国各州议会发出信号，费率支付者保护、透明度和电网防护应主导政策议程”。这无法满足美国众议员亚萨明·安萨里（民主党-亚利桑那州）的胃口，她近日发帖称：“民主党首日议程的重中之重，必须是暂停先进人工智能开发、监管这个失控的行业，并禁止人工超级智能。” 难怪科技股昨天遭重创。
There were some 45 ballot measures available to voters on Tuesday that restricted or regulated data centers; nearly all passed. Ohio, a major player in the space, led the country in seeking voter input. A local civics professor told Fortune that the response to the more than 100 referenda in the state should “signal to statehouses nationwide that ratepayer protections, transparency, and grid safeguards should dominate policy agendas.”That would not satisfy U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), who recently posted, “Top of the Democratic agenda on day 1 needs to be a pause on advanced AI development, regulation of this out of control industry, and a ban on artificial superintelligence.”
在整个 2026 年竞选周期中，民主党候选人的核心承诺是要实现“可负担性”。但媒体——以及选民——都未要求他们给出具体方案。究竟如何让生活更可负担？并没有计划。民主党不会让任何东西变得更便宜，只会增税并增加监管。这两者的成本都将以更高价格的形式转嫁给消费者。我们何以知晓？因为这正是民主党执政的城市和州正在发生的事情，这些地方是全美生活成本最高的地区。
No wonder tech stocks got hammered yesterday. Throughout the 2026 campaign, Democratic candidates’ central promise was that they would deliver “affordability.”But the media — and voters — failed to demand specifics. Exactly how will they make life more affordable? There is no plan. Democrats will not make anything cheaper, they will simply raise taxes and increase regulations. The costs of both will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. How do we know?
这些州不仅容易出现高税收和监管僵局，还推出扩大且往往难以负担的福利项目以讨好选民。没人关注增加供给——这才能降低价格——只关注补贴更高的需求。社会主义者想比这种传统的民主党剧本走得更远，要把政府插手进私人市场活动。例如在纽约市，民主党市长马姆达尼（Zohran Mamdani）竞选时部分承诺降低食品价格。
Because that is what is already happening in Democrat-run cities and states, the most expensive places in the nation to live. Not only are these states prone to high taxes and regulatory gridlock, but they also host expanded and often unaffordable welfare programs meant to woo voters. There is no attention paid to increasing supply, which brings down prices — only to subsidizing higher demand. Socialists want to go further than that traditional Democratic playbook, by inserting the government into private market activity.
他打算建设少量市政府直营的杂货店，向消费者提供打折商品。因为政府介入，首家店预计耗资 3000 万美元——每平方英尺超过 3000 美元，约为常规水平的四倍。该店预计将永远亏损运营。这个项目毫无道理可言；这是一个左翼幻想，终将以泪收场。民主党拿出的只是模糊且行不通的承诺，而非真正的解决方案。新当选的北卡罗来纳州参议员罗伊·库珀（Roy Cooper，民主党）在竞选网站上承诺要“让东西变便宜”。
In New York City, for instance, Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani campaigned partly on a promise to lower food prices. He intends to build a handful of city-run grocery stores that will offer consumers discounted goods. Because the government is involved, the first store is estimated to cost $30 million — more than $3,000 per square foot and roughly four times the norm. The store is expected to run at a loss, forever. There is nothing about this project that makes sense; it is a left-wing fantasy that will end in tears. Democrats are offering up vague and unworkable promises, not real solutions.
当选得克萨斯州参议员的詹姆斯·塔拉里科（James Talarico，民主党）想给信用卡利率设上限，无视价格管制长期失败的历史。一些民主党人誓言取消关税。这确实是一个可能带来价格缓解的步骤，但也可能减缓来自海外的投资。
Roy Cooper (D), the new senator-elect from North Carolina, promises on his campaign website to “make stuff cost less.”James Talarico (D), elected to the Senate from Texas, wants to cap credit card rates, ignoring the long-failed history of price controls. Some Democrats have vowed to eliminate tariffs.
美联储经济学家已认定，其影响将微乎其微。民主党人总体上似乎渴望重塑美国，使其类似欧洲——欧洲无法增长，且给年轻人提供的机会寥寥无几。但欧盟已失去活力，更热衷于瓜分创业与创新的成果，而非鼓励这些美国进步的标志。政府开支现占欧盟经济近半，而美国约为35%。那里的政府采取了“社会主义轻量版”政策，保证了生产率增长放缓，并逐渐陷入平庸的灰色暮色之中。
That is one step that could offer price relief, but it might also slow investment coming in from overseas. And Fed economists have determined that the impact will be slight. Democrats seem eager, generally, to reshape the U.S. to resemble Europe, which cannot grow and offers its young people few opportunities. But the European Union has lost its mojo, more eager to divide the spoils of entrepreneurship and innovation than to encourage those hallmarks of American progress. Government spending now accounts for nearly half of the EU economy, compared to about 35 percent in the U.S. Governments there have adopted “socialist-light” policies that guarantee slower productivity growth and a creep toward the gray twilight of mediocrity.
欧洲国家以牺牲其工业和国防为代价扩张福利国家，几乎是引狼入室，招致俄罗斯入侵乌克兰并威胁其北约成员国。德国引以为傲的汽车公司陷入混乱，被来自中国的廉价进口商品淹没，因繁重的劳动法和绿色游说团体带来的极高能源成本而无法竞争。与此同时，法国遭遇骚乱者骚扰，他们表面上要求增加教育经费，实则寻求从摇篮到坟墓的更多施舍，而政府如今已破产，无法再顺从民众要求。
European countries have expanded their welfare states at the expense of their industries and their national defense, all but inviting Russia to invade Ukraine and threaten its NATO members. The proud automobile companies of Germany are in disarray, swamped by cheap imports from China and unable to compete because of onerous labor laws and outrageously high energy costs delivered by the green lobby. Meanwhile, France has been beset by rioters supposedly wanting more money for education but really seeking even more cradle-to-grave handouts from a government that is now broke and can no longer bend to the people’s demands.
大多数发达国家陷入困境，但美国因创新阶层创造的财富而变得更强、更富。实际可支配收入在特朗普入主白宫期间上涨，更高的收入、政府发放的救济金和更低的税收足以抵消通胀。就业强劲，制造业扩张，生产率飙升。但愿过度兴奋的民主党人不要破坏行之有效的局面。毕竟，降低物价最快的办法是引发衰退。那肯定不是他们难以捉摸的计划吧？利兹·皮克曾是华尔街大型券商韦特海姆公司的合伙人。
Most of the developed world is in trouble, but the U.S. has grown stronger and richer, thanks to the wealth created by the innovator class. Real disposable incomes have risen with Trump in the White House, with higher earnings, government handouts and lower taxes more than offsetting inflation. Employment is strong, manufacturing is expanding and productivity is soaring. Let us hope overexcited Democrats do not destroy what is working. After all, the quickest way to lower prices is to bring on a recession. Surely that cannot be their elusive plan? Liz Peek is a former partner of major bracket Wall Street firm Wertheim and Company.