上个月，平克·弗洛伊德乐队前乐手大卫·吉尔摩在一场拍卖会上以2150万美元的价格卖出了他的吉他珍藏，以便为有需要的组织筹集资金。这些藏品包括他那把著名的“Black Strat” 芬达初投者吉他。这把吉他以近400万美元的价格卖给了美国国家橄榄球联盟某球队的老板。
The sale set a musical instrument record. It came just a few weeks after the company Sotheby's sold "Meules," a painting by Claude Monet, for $110 million: a record price for an Impressionist painting.
这笔交易创下了乐器的成交价记录。几个星期之前，苏富比公司将克劳德·莫奈创作的作品“梅勒斯”以1.1亿美元的价格拍出，这是印象派画作的创纪录价格。
And it is not just instruments and paintings that are being bought by rich people around the world.
世界各地的富豪们购买的不止是乐器和画作。
US in longest economic expansion
美国处于历时最长的经济扩张
The longest U.S. economic expansion in history has brought news of big spending. It also has raised concerns about the distance between the rich and everyone else. For some people, the high price of some goods is a sign of too much wealth.
美国历史上最长的经济扩张带来了这些豪购的新闻。这也引发了人们对贫富差距的担忧。对某些人来说，某些商品的高价格是财富过剩的标志。
The bank UBS says the number of billionaires in the United States has increased from 267 in 2008 to 607 in 2018.
瑞士联合银行表示，美国亿万富翁的人数已经从2008年的267人上升到了2018年的607人。
"The rich have gotten richer and they've gotten richer faster," said John Mathews. He is the head of Private Wealth Management and Ultra High Net Worth at UBS Global Wealth Management.
约翰·马修斯表示：“富人越来越富裕，他们的财富积累也越来越快。”马修斯是瑞银全球财富管理部私人财富管理和超高净值部门的负责人。
But there are signs of problems at lower-income levels. Information from the U.S. central bank suggests that, by 2016, the richest 20 percent of Americans held 88 percent of the country's wealth.
但是有迹象表明低收入水平出现了问题。来自美国中央银行的消息表明，截止2016年，20%最富有的美国人掌控了美国88%的财富。
The federal government says that more than 39 million people need to use food assistance programs. That is not as many as the high of over 47 million in 2013. But still, it is up 40 percent from 2008. At the same time, the country's population has only grown about eight percent.
联邦政府表示，超过3900万人需要使用食品补助项目。这低于2013年超4700万的峰值，但是仍然比2008年高出了40%。与此同时，该国人口仅增长了约8%。
The U.S. economy has expanded a record-setting 121 months. That means the economy has been growing continuously for over ten years.
美国经济已经扩张了创纪录的121个月，这意味着经济增长已经持续了10年以上。
And it has been more than 10 years since the financial crisis of 2007-2008. At that time, some people worried about the future of the financial system and even of capitalism. As a result, the U.S. government moved quickly to calm markets and lower interest rates after the U.S. housing market collapsed.
2007-2008年金融危机已经过去了10多年。那时，有人担心金融体系甚至是资本主义的未来。结果，在美国房地产市场奔溃后，美国政府迅速采取措施平息市场并降低利率。
But many people are concerned that efforts at that time did little to deal with income and wealth inequality.
但是很多人担心当时的措施几乎没去管收入和财富不平等。
The Wealth Effect
财富效应
Now some worry that high costs and overspending could lead to another kind of financial crisis. The term, the wealth effect, is sometimes used to describe how people spend more freely when they have a lot of money.
现在很多人担心高成本和超支出可能会导致另一种经济危机。财富效应这个术语有时被用于描述人们在拥有大量财富时如何更自由地消费。
The examples of higher prices or values are big and small.
价格升高的例子有大有小。
The cost of a dinner at the French Laundry, a popular California restaurant, is up 35% to $325 per person.
加州颇受欢迎的法国洗衣房餐厅一顿晚餐的费用上涨了35%，达到了325美元每人。
The U.S. stock market has gone up more than 200 percent in the last 10 years.
美国股市过去十年里上涨了200%以上。
Investor Ken Griffin set a record in January when he bought a home for $238 million near New York's Central Park.
投资人肯·格里芬一月份在纽约中央公园附近以创纪录的2.38亿美元买下了一处住宅。
The website StreetEasy.com says rents in New York have risen two times faster than pay from 2010-2017. This can make it hard for lower-income people to find a place to live. U.S. home prices are higher than they were during the financial crisis. The group, Coalition for the Homeless, says the number of people sleeping in shelters is 70% higher than it was 10 years ago.
StreetEasy.com网站表示，纽约的租金上涨速度是2010-2017年工资的2倍多。这可能会让低收入人群难以找到安居之地。美国房价高过了金融危机期间的房价。“无家可归者联盟”表示，庇护所的过夜人数比10年前增加了70%。
"The housing opportunity for them is not getting any better," said Carolyn Valli. She is CEO at Central Berkshire Habitat For Humanity, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The organization builds houses for the poor. She said high healthcare costs and a lack of large employers mean fewer jobs in some areas. Food and housing costs remain high.
卡罗林·瓦利表示：“他们的住房条件没有任何改善。”瓦利是马萨诸塞州皮茨菲尔德伯克郡中部仁爱之家的首席执行官。该机构为穷人建造房屋。她说，医疗成本高和缺乏大型雇主意味着某些地区就业机会减少。食品和住房成本居高不下。
Some economic policymakers worry that the gains made by low-income people in the last 10 years will be lost.
一些经济政策制定者担心，过去10年中低收入人群取得的盈余可能会消失殆尽。
Employment, however, remains strong. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the most recent unemployment rate at 3.6 percent for May. That is one of the lowest rates of unemployment in U.S. history.
然而，就业仍然强劲。美国劳工统计局报告称，5月份的最新失业率是3.6%，这是美国历史上失业率最低水平之一。
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said recently: "Many people who in the past struggled to stay in the workforce are now getting an opportunity." He added it was important to keep the economic expansion going.
美联储主席鲍威尔最近表示：“过去很多难以就业的人群现在都有机会。”他补充说，保持经济扩张非常重要。
I'm Susan Shand.
我是苏珊·珊德。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)