风物长宜放眼量

TECHCOLUMBUS is one of those ventures, scattered throughout the rustbelt, that provide hope to dreary surroundings. Housed in an old mattress factory in Ohio’s capital, it gives guidance, grants and offices to high-tech start-ups. Such efforts may help to transform Ohio’s economy in the long term. At the moment, however, there is a more urgent concern. On TechColumbus’s façade is a huge sign: “Yes for Issue 1 for Jobs”. Inside the lobby is a stack of Issue 1 posters, to be distributed throughout the city. Advertisements for Issue 1 are already blasting from Ohio’s televisions and radios. The final judgment will be delivered on May 4th.

散落于横跨美国中西部诸州的铁锈地带，几家创业投资机构为周围阴郁的环境带来少许亮色。哥伦布技术园区（TechColumbus）便是其中之一。它坐落于俄亥俄州首府的一家旧床垫工厂，负责为高科技创业公司提供指导、补贴和办公场所。这些努力对于俄州的长期经济转型或有帮助。然而此刻，园区另有更紧迫的问题需要面对。园区办公大楼的立面外挂着一个巨大的标牌：“为了就业，支持一号议题”。走进大厅，到处是成摞的一号议题宣传海报－预备稍候在全城分发。同时，围绕一号议题的广告已开始在俄州电视台和电台滚动播放。最后的审判将于5月4日作出。

Issue 1, a ballot proposal, would allow Ohio to issue $700m of bonds to finance research and development, the so-called “Third Frontier” programme. To date Third Frontier has supported the likes of TechColumbus, Ohio State University and the Cleveland Clinic. But its funding is due to run out next summer, so politicians, business and civic leaders are waging a frenzied campaign to ensure that Third Frontier survives. Ohio, they argue, must invest in a new economy. Voters, however, have reason to be wary of spending and empty promises. It is unclear that they will support a vision that is, for most, still hazy.更多信息请访问：http://www.24en.com/

一号议题是一项公投提案，如果获得通过，它将允许俄州发行7亿美元的债券来资助该州的研发机构，即所谓的“第三前线”计划。截至目前，这项计划已为哥伦布技术园区、俄州州立大学和克里夫兰医学中心等研究机构提供资助。然而，它的资金将于明年夏天告罄，所以现在当地政界、商界和民间的领袖人物正发起一场声势浩大的造势运动，以确保第三前线计划能够继续下去。他们强调，俄州必须投资打造新经济。但是，选民们对于庞大开支和虚假承诺的担心也不无道理。对于一个在大多数人眼中仍显模糊的长期愿景，选民的态度目前尚不确定。

Faced with a troubled manufacturing sector, Ohio has tried to diversify its economy to include high-tech, smaller ventures. Its main effort, the $1.6 billion Third Frontier programme, was launched in 2002. It includes support for research and entrepreneurship programmes and provides seed money for start-ups. By the end of 2009 Third Frontier had created 9,519 jobs directly and 45,464 indirectly, according to the state’s development department. Venture-capital investment in Ohio grew by 13.2% each year from 2004 to 2008, more than double the national average.

面对身陷困境的制造业，俄州一直在试图开拓新的经济增长点，比如科技含量更高，规模较小的风险投资业。作为这种努力的主要结果，耗资16亿美元的第三前线计划于2002年启动，主要为研究和创业计划提供支持，为创业公司提供种子资金。据俄州发展部门统计，截至2009年底，第三前线计划已直接和间接创造9,519和45,464个工作岗位。2004 至 2008年间，俄州的风险资本投资每年增长13.2%，是全国平均水平的两倍还多。

Ted Strickland, the Democratic governor, is keen to ensure that the funding continues. Virtually all of Ohio’s legislators agree, as do the state’s unions, Farm Bureau and business groups. Despite a handful of dissenting conservatives, there is no organised opposition to Issue 1.

俄州的民主党州长Ted Strickland迫切希望这项计划能够继续。俄州近乎所有立法机构，以及该州的工会、农业会和商业团体都表示赞同。除了少数持不同意见的保守主义者之外，全州并无针对一号议题有组织的反对力量。

Even so, some supporters worry that it may fail. For tea partiers, Third Frontier might seem egregiously expensive. The programme spends nearly $58,000 for each new directly created job, though the state points out that increased tax revenue outweighs these costs. A bigger challenge, however, is that few Ohioans feel that Third Frontier has affected them. In February fewer than 20% of voters could express any opinion about it. Support for university research may not mean much to a sacked car worker.

即便如此，一些支持者仍担心议题可能无法通过。对于茶党而言，第三前线计划可能看似太昂贵了。对于每一个直接创造的工作岗位，该计划耗资将近58,000美元－尽管州政府指出增加的税收要高于这些成本。然而，更大的挑战却在于没有多少俄州人感觉到这项计划对他们有任何影响。在2月份，对于该计划有任何看法的选民占总数不到20％。在被炒鱿鱼的汽车工人眼中，对大学研究机构的资助于他们而言可能意义不大。

United for Jobs and Ohio’s Future, a campaign led by a Democrat and a Republican, is spending more than $3m to explain Issue 1’s benefits. “The Third Frontier programme is not an effort to find a quick fix to current levels of unemployment,” concedes Mr Strickland. It will take years for Ohio to reinvent itself. Without Third Frontier, the governor argues, progress will be even slower.

一项由分别来自民主党和共和党的两位倡议人共同发起的运动－United for Jobs and Ohio’s Future（联合起来－为了工作和俄州的未来）正花费超过300万美元用以解释一号议题的好处。Strickland先生承认：“第三前线计划并非旨在快速解决失业问题”。俄州的重焕生机需要数年的时间。然而，这位州长强调，没有第三前线计划，俄州的复兴步伐将会更加缓慢。