最近，“斬殺線(xiàn)”這個(gè)源于游戲世界的詞在網(wǎng)上迅速破圈。

所謂“斬殺線(xiàn)”，其實(shí)描繪了一種現(xiàn)象：很多美國(guó)人即便收入還算體面，扣除房租房貸、保險(xiǎn)等必要支出后，賬戶(hù)里也所剩無(wú)幾；一旦遭遇意外、疾病或是失業(yè)，他們很快就難以在美國(guó)社會(huì)生存，只能被迫流浪。

A gaming term, "斬殺線(xiàn)", has recently spread across Chinese social media to describe a growing reality in the United States: although many Americans appear to earn decent incomes, once they pay for housing, healthcare, insurance and other essentials, they have almost no savings left. Any sudden illness, accident or job loss can quickly push them to the brink of homelessness.

圖源： Getty Images

這個(gè)詞如何翻譯呢？

“英文悅讀”公眾號(hào)作者魏劍峰指出，在美國(guó)公共政策與社會(huì)學(xué)研究中，已有一個(gè)與“斬殺線(xiàn)”較為接近的概念——“the ALICE threshold”。其中“ALICE”是“Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed”（資產(chǎn)有限、收入受限、但有工作）的縮寫(xiě)，用來(lái)描述那些有工作，但是存不下錢(qián)，遇到意外情況很容易破產(chǎn)的群體。

A closer established concept in US sociology is "the ALICE threshold" — short for "Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed". It refers to people who have jobs but cannot save, living just one unexpected crisis away from financial collapse.

外媒文章也出現(xiàn)過(guò)這一表達(dá)，比如美國(guó)媒體The Maui News之前有一篇報(bào)道，標(biāo)題是：52% of Maui County homes live below ALICE threshold。

這里的Maui County是美國(guó)夏威夷州的茂宜縣。文章的副標(biāo)題對(duì)the ALICE threshold做了進(jìn)一步的解釋說(shuō)明：More Hawaii families falling below basic cost of living, federal poverty lines（夏威夷有越來(lái)越多的家庭收入跌破基本生活成本線(xiàn)與聯(lián)邦貧困線(xiàn)）。

那么，美國(guó)社會(huì)為什么會(huì)存在“斬殺線(xiàn)”？“大白話(huà)講新聞”是這樣解釋的：

這和美國(guó)社會(huì)運(yùn)行的規(guī)律有關(guān)。以前大家總說(shuō)美國(guó)是一個(gè)橄欖型社會(huì)，中產(chǎn)階級(jí)占了絕大多數(shù)，但現(xiàn)在美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)已經(jīng)變成了K型：頭腳重、中間輕，富的越富、窮的越窮，而原本中間這部分正在被“斬殺”。

Behind this "斬殺線(xiàn)" phenomenon lies a broader shift in American society. Once described as an "olive-shaped" society dominated by the middle class, the United States has increasingly become a "K-shaped" economy — where the wealthy continue to grow richer, the poor struggle, and the traditional middle class is being "killed" in between.

在美國(guó)的一線(xiàn)城市，中產(chǎn)家庭即便收入十幾萬(wàn)到二十萬(wàn)美元，也難抵醫(yī)療急診、房租房貸等剛性支出。一筆幾千美元的醫(yī)療賬單，就可能令本已捉襟見(jiàn)肘的家庭陷入財(cái)務(wù)危機(jī)。通脹下日常成本上升，生病請(qǐng)假可能導(dǎo)致收入中斷；缺乏現(xiàn)金儲(chǔ)備，很快可能信用受損、失去車(chē)輛，甚至失去住址。失去住址又會(huì)影響銀行往來(lái)、就業(yè)與租房資格，形成惡性循環(huán)。

一旦陷入這種狀態(tài)，很多人最終只能選擇流浪，尊嚴(yán)與心理防線(xiàn)遭到摧毀，只有依靠毒品與酒精自我麻痹。毒品怎么獲�。孔詈�(jiǎn)單的辦法就是買(mǎi)阿片類(lèi)止疼藥，也就是特朗普常說(shuō)的美國(guó)的芬太尼問(wèn)題。

In major US cities, even families earning $100,000 to $200,000 a year can face heavy financial strain from soaring housing, childcare and healthcare costs. A medical bill of just a few thousand dollars may trigger crisis, while inflation and income disruptions leave many with little or no savings. Damaged credit, loss of housing and restricted access to employment and financial services can quickly trap families in a vicious cycle.

Many eventually fall into homelessness, experiencing severe psychological stress and a profound loss of dignity. Some turn to alcohol or drugs to cope, often linked to the broader opioid and fentanyl crisis.

既然都被“斬殺”了，為什么不能求父母幫忙？或者社會(huì)上沒(méi)有救濟(jì)嗎？

美國(guó)文化強(qiáng)調(diào)個(gè)人獨(dú)立，許多年輕人背負(fù)學(xué)貸和信用債務(wù)；父母與朋友在現(xiàn)實(shí)成本與法律限制下難以長(zhǎng)期接濟(jì)。

社會(huì)救濟(jì)體系則更偏向“事后兜底”而非“事前緩沖”，門(mén)檻高、流程慢。再加上部分政策削減社會(huì)保障（如“大而美法案”），進(jìn)一步擴(kuò)大了這一群體的生存壓力。

Why can't people simply rely on family support or government assistance? A culture of individual independence, coupled with heavy student loans and high personal debt, means many families cannot provide sustained help.

Meanwhile, the US welfare system largely functions after a crisis rather than preventing one, with strict eligibility requirements and slow procedures. Cuts to certain social programs have further increased pressure on vulnerable groups.

諾貝爾經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)獎(jiǎng)得主安格斯·迪頓與美國(guó)國(guó)家科學(xué)院院士安妮·凱斯的著作《美國(guó)怎么了：絕望的死亡與資本主義的未來(lái)》描述的正是真實(shí)存在、由數(shù)據(jù)支撐的“斬殺線(xiàn)”。

以醫(yī)療體系為例，美國(guó)醫(yī)療支出占GDP約18%，遠(yuǎn)超國(guó)防與教育開(kāi)支，卻被認(rèn)為是富裕國(guó)家中效率最差的體系之一。

制新藥、新儀器和新的治療手段不斷涌現(xiàn)，很多并沒(méi)有什么效果，但它們依然被推給病人并收取費(fèi)用。同時(shí)，醫(yī)院提高價(jià)格并不是因?yàn)槌杀旧仙�，而是因�(yàn)樗鼈冋谶M(jìn)行整合，從而減少或消除了競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，并利用強(qiáng)大的市場(chǎng)勢(shì)力提高價(jià)格。

醫(yī)院集團(tuán)、保險(xiǎn)公司、藥廠(chǎng)、醫(yī)療設(shè)備商形成了強(qiáng)大的利益聯(lián)盟，通過(guò)游說(shuō)政治力量，維持有利于自身的政策，比如阻止價(jià)格談判。

這些都導(dǎo)致了醫(yī)療資源更多用于滋養(yǎng)行業(yè)利潤(rùn)而非改善公眾健康，不僅拖累經(jīng)濟(jì)與工資增長(zhǎng)，也進(jìn)一步加劇社會(huì)不平等。

圖源：Homeless No More

最后，來(lái)看看一些與“斬殺線(xiàn)”概念相關(guān)的短語(yǔ)吧。

▌on a financial knife-edge財(cái)務(wù)狀況岌岌可危

Many low-income families are living on a financial knife-edge.

許多低收入家庭的財(cái)務(wù)狀況如履薄冰，隨時(shí)都有可能出問(wèn)題。

▌live paycheck to paycheck月光族生活

Millions of households are living paycheck to paycheck, with no savings to absorb a shock.

數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的家庭過(guò)著月光族的生活，幾乎沒(méi)有任何積蓄來(lái)應(yīng)對(duì)突發(fā)狀況。

▌financial cliff 財(cái)務(wù)懸崖

As housing and healthcare costs rise, an increasing number of middle-income earners are at risk of falling off a financial cliff.
隨著住房和醫(yī)療費(fèi)用不斷上漲，越來(lái)越多中產(chǎn)正被推向財(cái)務(wù)崩潰的邊緣。

編輯：裴禧盈

來(lái)源：英文悅讀 大白話(huà)講新聞

跟著China Daily

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