社评 0414 纽约鼠患 令人头痛

纽约鼠患 令人头痛

美国最大城市纽约日前任命了一位灭鼠官来对付日愈严重的鼠患， 市长亚当斯已经任用了科拉廸女士主持这项灭鼠大行动。据说纽约市的老鼠比人口还多， 至少在数百万隻以上。

尽管纽约的老鼠眾多， 但它只排名全美第二名，芝加哥仍是全美榜首。

老实说， 鼠患是代表地方之脏乱， 对纽约这个城市而言， 真是令人有无奈之感。 这座号称世界政治经济中心， 除了某些华丽的文化及金融塲所之外其地下铁及许多贫困地区 ，都是老鼠猖獗之地。

我们过去二十多年来， 在国外发动了无数次之战争， 国家财政大量失血， 而严重影响到了国内民生及基础建设， 尤其是许多大城市之预算都用於救济贫困人口， 失业救济， 而在收缩一般市政建设之经费因此机场、 公路、 街道失修、 垃圾遍地， 这已成為鼠疫之温床。

我们必须面对这项挑战， 基本之问题还是在经济问题， 大城市之负担不断加重， 如果大环境无法得到改善， 再能干的杀鼠大将，也无法解决问题。

New York City Has A Rat-Infestation Problem 

The largest city in America, New York City, has appointed a Rat Control Director with an annual salary of $150,000 to address the city's growing rodent infestation problem. 

Mayor Adams announced that the position has been filled by Ms. Catherine Corradi who has accepted her new job that carries the mandate  to eradicate the rat infestation that is plaguing the city.  

People have often joked that New York City has a larger rat population than it has human residents. The new director said she will combat the rodent problem with a scientific and systematic approach with passion. 

Although New York City has always been notorious for rats, according to a survey, Chicago still topped the list for the eighth consecutive year for its huge rodent population, while New York came in second.

To be honest, rat infestation represents the dirty chaos of the place. It’s really a helpless situation for the City of New York. This so called 'world political and financial center,' may be misnamed. Except for some gorgeous museums and a massive financial center, New York's subway system and poor areas are places where rats always run rampant. 

Over the past twenty years or so,       we have launched and supported countless wars and conflicts abroad. We have lost many trillions of dollars  in wars in other countries and still we wind up financially at a point where we cannot even afford to build up our own domestic infrastructure, especially in the country's airports, streets and highways. 

We must face the reality of how to cope with our national problems, including how to improve our national  infrastructure. Otherwise, no matter how capable the new Rat Control Director of New York City will be, in    the long run, local efforts will never be successful long-term until we solve the real and larger infrastructure problems facing the country.