1.財政學
段落大意：財政學主要關注政府如何集資、資金如何花銷及這些活動對經濟和社會的影響。
Public finance is the field of economics concerned with how governments raise money, how that money is spent, and the effects of these activities on the economy and on society. Public finance studies how governments at all levels, national, state, and local, provide the public with desired services and how they secure the financial resources to pay for these services.
2.公共財政使政府能夠修正市場經濟的副作用
段落大意：公共財政使政府能夠修正市場經濟帶來的副作用，如環境汙染。
Public finance enables governments to correct or offset （抵消） undesirable side effects of a market economy. These side effects are called spillovers （意外效果） or externalities. For example, households and industries may generate pollution and release it into the environment without considering the adverse effect pollution has on others. If it costs less to pollute than not to, people and businesses have a financial incentive to continue polluting. Pollution is a spillover because it affects people who are not responsible for it. To correct a spillover, governments can encourage or restrict certain activities. For example, governments can sponsor recycling programs to encourage less pollution, pass laws that restrict pollution, or impose charges or taxes on activities that cause pollution.
3.公共財政縮小貧富差距
段落大意：公共財政使政府可以通過社會保險、社會福利等社會項目來縮小貧富差距。
Public finance supports government programs that moderate （緩和） the gap between the wealthy and the poor. These programs include social security, welfare, and other social programs. For example, some elderly people or people with disabilities require financial assistance because they cannot work. Governments redistribute income by collecting taxes from the wealthier citizens and providing resources for the needy ones.
4.國家、州、地方政府對預算的製定
段落大意：每年，國家、州、地方政府會製定預算，決定下一年的開銷。各級政府主管組織提出預算，立法機構可以提出修改，但政府主管有權否決所做修改。
Each year national, state, and local governments create a budget to determine how much money they will spend during the upcoming year. The budget determines which public goods to produce, which spillovers to correct, and how much assistance to provide for financially disadvantaged people. The chief administrator of the government, such as the President, prime minister, governor, or mayor, proposes the budget. However, the legislature （立法機構）, such as the congress, parliament （議會）, state legislature, or city council, ultimately pass the budget. The legislature often changes the size and composition of the budget, but the chief administrator can reject and veto （否決） the changes.
5.美國公共土地的相關立法
段落大意：隨著《聯邦土地政策和管理法案》的製定，美國國會首次建立了一個全麵的法案，既將公共土地所有權歸為聯邦政府所有，又將這些土地用於民眾。
With the enactment of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress established for the first time a comprehensive legislative mandate （命令） for retaining public lands in federal ownership and managing those lands for the public. The Act is responsible for the balanced management of the public lands and their resources so that they will best serve the needs of the American people. Management is based on the principles of multiple use and sustained yield （持續產量）, a combination of uses that takes into account the long-term needs of future generations for renewable and nonrenewable resources. These resources include recreation, range （山脈）, timber （木材）, minerals, watershed（分水嶺）, fish and wildlife, wilderness, natural scenic and scientific values.
6.美國早期對公共土地的爭議
段落大意：美國早期一些國家領導人認為公共土地是政府收入的來源，因此政策指向土地銷售；而很多市民則認為公共土地屬於占有並管理這些土地的人，從而引發了許多衝突。
In the early years of the American republic, many national leaders saw public lands as a source of government revenue, and public policy was directed toward the sale of land. At the same time, many citizens believed that vacant land belonged to the person who occupied and cleared it. So-called squatting （擅自占地）, or unlawful occupation of land, was a common practice of the day, and conflicts often arose between those who held legal claim to land and those who occupied it. The policy of selling public land was never highly successful and failed to raise the revenue expected.
7.美國對公共土地的合理使用
段落大意：美國政府將一些公共土地用於為民眾謀利的事業上。
Grants of public lands were awarded by Congress to encourage the construction of canals, wagon（四輪馬車） roads, and railroads, and to reclaim swamplands（沼澤地）. The Land Ordinance（法令） of 1785.provided for the reservation of one section in each town for future use or for public elementary schools. Other grants were made to colleges to promote the teaching of agriculture and the mechanical arts. Beginning with the creation of Yellowstone National Park（黃石國家公園） in 1872, many of the national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges （庇護所） were cut from the public domain.
8.美國國會撥款兩大步驟
段落大意：美國國會撥款有兩大步驟：批準立法委員會推薦的項目，以及通過撥款委員會報告的措施對項目進行財政援助。
The US Congress relies on a two-step appropriation （撥款） process. The first step is authorization of programs recommended by legislative committees, and the next is financing those programs through measures reported by the funding （appropriations） committees. For example, in each house （議院） the Armed Services Committees authorize defense programs, and the Appropriations Committees have jurisdiction （管轄權） over the amounts of money to be allotted（撥出）. Congress has adopted rules to keep the authorization and appropriation steps distinct and sequential, but numerous exceptions exist.
9.政府撥款
段落大意：政府撥款指批準將公共資金用於某些特定目的，是一種立法行為；通過分配資金，立法機構可以影響政府行為。
Appropriation, which is also called government funding, refers to legislative action authorizing the expenditure of public funds for some designated purpose. Through the power to allocate funds, a legislature can influence the course of government. By relying on this “power of the purse,”for example, the British Parliament was gradually able to wrest （奪取） control of the government from the monarch. The US Constitution provides that “no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.”State constitutions contain similar provisions（條款）. Although legislatures retain control over appropriations, executive officials are generally granted substantial discretion （自主權） over expenditure of funds. However, it has resulted in sharp clashes between the legislative and executive branches, producing additional restrictions and limitations by the legislative body.
10.政府花費的兩大形式
段落大意：政府花費有消耗性花費和轉移性花費兩種形式。
Government spending takes two forms: exhaustive （消耗性的） spending and transfer spending. Exhaustive spending refers to purchases made by a government for the production of public goods. For example, to construct a new harbor （港灣） the government buys and uses resources from the economy, such as labor and raw materials. In transfer spending the government transfers income to people to help them support themselves. Transfers can be one of two kinds: cash or in-kind （實物）. Cash transfers are cash payments, such as social security checks and welfare payments. In-kind transfers involve no cash payments but instead transfer goods or services to recipients. Examples of in-kind transfers include food stamp coupons （食品優惠券） and Medicare. Recipients of food stamp coupons exchange the coupons for groceries.
11.政府花費和稅收直接影響著經濟的整體表現
段落大意：政府花費和稅收直接影響經濟的整體表現，而政府的財政政策則體現著政府花費和稅收對經濟的影響。
Government spending and taxation directly affect the overall performance of the economy. For example, if the government increases spending to build a new highway, construction of the highway will create jobs. Increasing jobs result in more money spent on purchases, and the economy tends to grow. The opposite happens when the government increases taxes. Households and businesses have less income to spend, so they purchase fewer goods, and the economy tends to shrink. A government’s fiscal （財政的） policy is the way the government spends and taxes to influence the performance of the economy.
12.政府稅收來源 I：個人所得稅
段落大意：在大多數發達國家，政府稅收的一個重要來源是收入所得稅，即個人所得稅。
An important source of tax revenue in most industrialized countries is the income or payroll （薪水總額） tax, also known as the personal income tax. Income taxes are imposed on labor or activities that generate income, such as wages or salaries. In the United States, income taxes account for about half of the total revenue of local, state, and federal governments. The federal government, many state governments, and some local governments levy （征收） personal income taxes.