Life is still more costly in the United States than it was about two years ago. But new research shows Americans are starting to feel better about the economy.
美国的生活成本仍然比两年前更高。但新的研究表明，美国人对经济的感觉开始好转。

An opinion study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Americans are increasingly hopeful that the inflation rate will continue to go down. The survey also found that the number of Americans who expect their financial situation to improve within the next year is at its highest since June 2021.
纽约联邦储备银行的一项民意研究发现，美国人越来越希望通货膨胀率会继续下降。调查还发现，预计明年财务状况会改善的美国人人数达到2021年6月以来的最高水平。

In addition, the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers recently reported the largest two-month jump in consumer sentiment since 1991. Consumer sentiment is a measure of how optimistic consumers feel about the economy.
此外，密歇根大学的消费者调查最近报告了自1991年以来消费者信心两个月来的最大增幅。消费者信心是衡量消费者对经济乐观程度的指标。

That optimism is balanced, however, by the fact that most Americans remember paying much less for daily purchases such as fuel and food only two or three years ago.
然而，这种乐观情绪是保持平衡的，因为大多数美国人记得，仅仅两三年前，他们为燃料和食品等日常购买支付的费用要少得多。

Many food items such as bread, milk and chicken are more costly than they were in February 2021. But economists say price increases have slowed significantly in the last year. At the same time, Americans are seeing pay increases higher than the rate of inflation.
面包、牛奶和鸡肉等许多食品的价格比2021年2月更高。但经济学家表示，去年物价上涨明显放缓。与此同时，美国人的工资增长率高于通货膨胀率。

The inflation rate was about 9 percent in June 2022. Today, the rate is 3.4 percent. The U.S. Federal Reserve would like to see the rate at only 2 percent.
2022年6月的通货膨胀率约为9%。如今，这一比例为3.4%。美国联邦储备委员会希望其仅为2%。

Grace Zwemmer is an analyst at Oxford Economics. She said it took some time for Americans to feel the effects of falling inflation. But, she said, "it appears the good news is finally getting through."
格蕾丝·泽韦梅尔是牛津经济研究院的分析师。她说，美国人需要一段时间才能感受到通胀下降的影响。但是，她说，“看来好消息终于传来了。”

Political observers wonder if the change in feelings about the economy will help U.S. President Joe Biden's re-election campaign. Will people feel the drop in inflation or will they still remember that prices are much higher than they were two or three years ago?
政治观察家们想知道，对经济感受的改变是否有助于美国总统乔·拜登的连任竞选。人们会感觉到通货膨胀的下降吗？还是他们还记得物价比两三年前高得多？

Ryan Cummings is an economist who studies how politics affect consumer confidence. He said many Americans today base their feelings about the economy on what they hear from the politicians they support.
瑞安·卡明斯是一位研究政治如何影响消费者信心的经济学家。他说，今天许多美国人对经济的感受是基于他们所支持的政客讲述的。

Cummings said Republicans are likely to speak negatively about the economic performance during Biden's presidency, even as Democrats speak of the economic gains.
卡明斯表示，共和党人可能会对拜登总统任期内的经济表现持负面看法，即使民主党人提到经济收益。

The University of Michigan research shows consumer sentiment among Democrats jumped almost 12 percent in January. That is the second-highest increase ever.
密歇根大学的研究显示，1月份民主党人的消费者信心上升了近12%。这是有史以来第二高的增幅。

Many Americans say they want to see the government take steps to bring the prices of food, oil and meat back to where they were in 2020 or 2021. But economic experts say that is not a good idea. The moves that would be required to make that happen would hurt the economy overall. Taxes could increase and jobs would be lost.
许多美国人表示，他们希望看到政府采取措施，将食品、石油和肉类价格恢复到2020年或2021年的水平。但经济专家表示，这不是一个好主意。实现这一目标所需的举措将损害整体经济。税收可能会增加，工作岗位可能会流失。

David Andolfatto is an economist at the University of Miami. He used to work for the Federal Reserve. He said the better idea for Americans is to "just move ahead." He explained that while the cost of living is higher than it was two or three years ago, many Americans are making more money than they were then.
大卫·安迪亚法度是迈阿密大学的经济学家。他曾经在美联储工作。他说，对美国人来说，更好的想法是“向前看”。他解释说，虽然生活成本比两三年前更高，但许多美国人赚的钱也比当时更多。

"There's no need for (the government) to bring the price level back down. It would be too painful," Andolfatto said.
安迪亚法度说：“（政府）没有必要让物价水平回落。这会太痛苦了。”

Claudia Sahm is another former Federal Reserve economist. She added that "people are angry" because they cannot afford the cost increases.
克劳迪娅·萨姆是另一位前美联储经济学家。她补充说，“人们很生气”，因为他们负担不起成本增加。

"Can you afford it?" she asked. "Not everybody can say yes to that question. But over time, more and more people will be able to say yes."
她问道：“你负担得起吗？不是每个人都能对这个问题说是。但随着时间的推移，越来越多的人会有底气说是。”