我們還能花著快消的錢，過著奢侈品的生活嗎？

Farewell, Millennial Lifestyle Subsidy

第一段

A few years ago, while on a work trip in Los Angeles, I hailed an Uber for a crosstown ride during rush hour. I knew it would be a long trip, and I steeled myself to?fork over?$60 or $70. Instead, the app spit out a price that?made my jaw drop: $16.

幾年前，在洛杉磯出差時(shí)，我在交通高峰時(shí)間叫了一輛優(yōu)步(Uber)橫穿市區(qū)。我知道這這段路會(huì)很長，于是做好了交出60或70美元的準(zhǔn)備。結(jié)果，這款應(yīng)用給出了一個(gè)讓我瞠目結(jié)舌的價(jià)格：16美元。

Experiences like these were common during the golden era of the Millennial Lifestyle Subsidy, which is what I like to call the period from roughly 2012 through early 2020, when many of the daily activities of big-city?20- and 30-somethings?were being quietly?underwritten?by Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

在“千禧一代生活方式補(bǔ)貼”(Millennial Lifestyle Subsidy)的黃金時(shí)代，這樣的經(jīng)歷很常見。我喜歡這么稱呼這個(gè)大約從2012年到2020年初的時(shí)期，當(dāng)時(shí)，大城市二三十歲年輕人的許多日常活動(dòng)都都被硅谷的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本家暗中包攬。

For years, these subsidies allowed us to live Balenciaga lifestyles on Banana Republic budgets. Collectively, we took millions of cheap Uber and Lyft rides,?shuttling ourselves around?like?bourgeois royalty?while splitting the bill with those companies’ investors. We?plunged?MoviePass?into?bankruptcy by taking advantage of its $9.95-a-month, all-you-can-watch movie ticket?deal, and took so many subsidized spin classes that ClassPass was forced to cancel its $99-a-month unlimited plan. We filled graveyards with the?carcasses?of food delivery?start-ups?— Maple, Sprig, SpoonRocket, Munchery — just by accepting their offers of?underpriced gourmet meals.

多年來，這些補(bǔ)貼讓我們可以花著香蕉共和國(Banana Republic)的預(yù)算，過著巴黎世家(Balenciaga)的生活。我們集體乘坐了成百上千萬次廉價(jià)的優(yōu)步和Lyft，像小資貴族一樣穿梭于各個(gè)地方，同時(shí)與這些公司的投資者們分?jǐn)傎~單。我們利用MoviePass的9.95美元包月的電影票優(yōu)惠，讓該公司陷入破產(chǎn)。我們參加了太多有補(bǔ)貼的動(dòng)感單車課程，ClassPass被迫取消了99美元的無限包月計(jì)劃。我們的墓地里滿是送餐初創(chuàng)公司的尸體——Maple、Sprig、SpoonRocket、Munchery——只因?yàn)槲覀兘邮芰怂麄兲峁┑?strong>低價(jià)美食。MoviePass允許訂閱者以每月10美元的價(jià)格每天一次在影院觀看電影，導(dǎo)致公司不堪重負(fù)。

hail from? 來自哪里= be from=come from

steel oneself to /for/against sth.? 為（不好的事情）做好準(zhǔn)備; 應(yīng)對(duì)不好的事情=brace for

fork over? 付出、支付、交付

make my jaw drop? 驚掉了下巴

common? 常見的，司空見慣的= be the norm? i.e. sth. has become the norm

millennial?? 千禧的

subsidy?? 補(bǔ)貼

20-and 30-something? 2、30歲的 =in 20s/in 30s

underwritten? 承擔(dān)費(fèi)用=cover your cost/be founded by/be financed by?? underwriter? 承銷商、承銷機(jī)構(gòu)

shuttle? 穿梭? shuttle around? 到處穿行，出行=get around

e. Subway is the most convenient way to get around in BJ.

?在北京出行最好的方式就是地鐵。

get around sth.? 繞過去（下有對(duì)策） i.e.? get around the regulation? 繞過規(guī)則

plunge into? 陷入、卷入

spin class? 動(dòng)感單車課

cancel? 取消?? cancel culture? 抵制文化

be filled with sth.? 充滿

e. sth. fill sb.with sth.? That failure fills me with disappointment.?

?那次失敗讓我感到非常失望。

carcasses? 尸體

underpriced? 定價(jià)過低的?? overpriced? 定價(jià)過高的

e. undercut each other? 打價(jià)格戰(zhàn)

8、gourmet meals? 美味佳肴

第二段

These companies’ investors didn’t set out to?bankroll our decadence. They were just trying to get traction for their start-ups, all of which needed to attract customers quickly to establish a dominant market position,?elbow out competitors?and justify their soaring valuations. So they?flooded?these companies?with cash, which often got passed on to users in the form of artificially low prices and generous?incentives.

這些公司的投資者并不是打算為我們的頹廢提供資金。他們只是想令自己的初創(chuàng)企業(yè)獲得一些影響力，所有這些公司都需要迅速吸引客戶，以確立市場優(yōu)勢地位，排擠競爭對(duì)手，并證明自己不斷飆升的估值是合理的。因此，他們向這些公司注入大量現(xiàn)金，而這些現(xiàn)金往往以人為壓低價(jià)格和慷慨的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)形式傳遞給用戶。

Now, users are noticing that for the first time — whether because of disappearing subsidies or merely an end-of-pandemic demand surge — their luxury habits actually carry luxury price tags.

如今，用戶們終于注意到他們的奢侈習(xí)慣其實(shí)也帶著奢侈品的價(jià)簽——這可能是因?yàn)檠a(bǔ)貼在消失，也可能只是大流行尾聲的一次需求大漲。

I’ll confess that I gleefully took part in this subsidized economy for years. (My colleague Kara Swisher memorably called it “assisted living for millennials.”) I got my laundry delivered by Washio, my house cleaned by Homejoy and my car valet-parked by Luxe — all start-ups that promised cheap,?revolutionary on-demand services?but shut down after failing to?turn a profit.?I even bought a used car through a venture-backed start-up called Beepi, which offered white-glove service and mysteriously low prices, and which delivered the car to me wrapped in a giant bow, like you see in TV commercials. (Unsurprisingly, Beepi shut down in 2017, after burning through $150 million in venture capital.)

我得承認(rèn)，這些年來我興高采烈地參與了這種補(bǔ)貼經(jīng)濟(jì)。（我的同事卡拉·斯威舍對(duì)此有個(gè)難忘的表述，叫作“千禧一代輔助生活”。）Washio會(huì)把我的衣服洗干凈送上門，Homejoy打掃我的房間，Luxe會(huì)幫我把車停好——這些初創(chuàng)公司都承諾提供廉價(jià)的、革命性的按需服務(wù)，然后在無法盈利后關(guān)張。我甚至通過一個(gè)拿到風(fēng)投的初創(chuàng)公司Beepi買了一輛二手車，提供全程白手套服務(wù)和低得莫名其妙的價(jià)格，他們會(huì)把車送到你家門口，車上貼著一朵大禮花，跟電視廣告里一樣。（不出意外地，Beepi于2017年倒閉，燒了1.5億美元風(fēng)投。）

These subsidies don’t always end badly for investors. Some venture-backed companies, like Uber and DoorDash, have been able to grit it out until their I.P.O.s, making good on their promise that investors would eventually see a return on their money. Other companies have been acquired or been able to successfully raise their prices without scaring customers away.

這些補(bǔ)貼對(duì)投資者來說并不總是以失敗告終。一些風(fēng)投支持的公司，如優(yōu)步和DoorDash，已經(jīng)能夠堅(jiān)持到首次公開募股，兌現(xiàn)他們的承諾，即投資者最終會(huì)看到他們的資金回報(bào)。其他公司則被收購或能夠成功提高價(jià)格而沒有嚇跑用戶。

bankroll our decadence? 為墮落的生活買單

traction?? 牽引，拉力? gain traction 獲得影響力，獲得勢頭，造勢= gain momentum=gain influence=gain popularity（獲得流行）= gain currency

dominant market position? 市場主導(dǎo)地位

be well-positioned to do sth.? 有能力/有條件/有資格做某事

i.e. I’am well-positioned to secure that job. 我有能力得到那份工作。

elbow out? 排擠

valuation? 公司估值??? market capitalization? 公司市值= market cap.

flood somewhere with sth.? 某地充斥著....

i.e. The Chinese market flooded with imports. ?中國市場充斥著進(jìn)口商品。

artificially low price? 人為壓低價(jià)格

incentive? 激勵(lì)措施? incentivize sb. to do sth.? 激勵(lì)某人做某事

Now, users are noticing that for the first time — whether because of disappearing subsidies or merely an end-of-pandemic demand surge — their luxury habits actually carry luxury price tags.

1、their luxury habits actually carry luxury price tags.

? 為奢侈的習(xí)慣付出奢侈的代價(jià)

gleefully? 興高采烈地

subsidized economy?? 補(bǔ)貼經(jīng)濟(jì)

valet? 男仆、傭人、旅館幫你服務(wù)的人

on-demand service??? 按需服務(wù)

turn a profit? 盈利?? profit making enterprise? 盈利企業(yè)? loss making enterprise? 虧損企業(yè)

venture-backed? 有風(fēng)投支持的公司

white-glove service? 白手套服務(wù)，高端服務(wù)

burn through?? 燒錢? burn through +錢+in....

grit it out?? 咬牙堅(jiān)持到最后，度過難關(guān)= tough it out

making good on their promise? 兌現(xiàn)承諾= deliver on one’s promise

第三段

As an urban?millennial?who enjoys a good bargain, I could — and frequently do —?lament?the disappearance of these subsidies. And I enjoy hearing about people who discovered even better deals than I did. (Ranjan Roy’s essay?“DoorDash and Pizza Arbitrage,”?about the time he realized that DoorDash was selling pizzas from his friend’s restaurant for $16 while paying the restaurant $24 per pizza, and proceeded to order dozens of pizzas from the restaurant while pocketing the $8 difference, stands as a classic of the genre.)

作為一個(gè)喜歡便宜貨的城市千禧一代，我可以——而且經(jīng)常會(huì)——為這些補(bǔ)貼的消失感到可惜。我樂于聽說有人發(fā)現(xiàn)比我找到的還要好的優(yōu)惠。（蘭詹·羅伊[Ranjan Roy]的文章《DoorDash與披薩店套利》[DoorDash and Pizza Arbitrage]寫道，DoorDash以16美元的價(jià)格出售他朋友的餐廳的披薩，同時(shí)付給該餐廳24美元，當(dāng)他意識(shí)到這件事的時(shí)候，他開始在該餐廳下單數(shù)十個(gè)披薩，同時(shí)將8美元的差價(jià)收入囊中，是這類事情中的一個(gè)經(jīng)典。）

But it’s hard to fault these investors for wanting their companies to turn a profit. And, at a broader level, it’s probably good to find more efficient uses for capital than giving discounts to?affluent urbanites.

但這些投資者也沒什錯(cuò)，他們只是希望他們的公司盈利。而且，在更廣泛的層面上，與向富裕的城市居民提供折扣相比，找到更有效的利用資本的方法可能更好。

Profits are good for investors, of course. And while it’s painful to pay subsidy-free prices for our?extravagances,?there’s also a certain justice to it. Hiring a private driver to shuttle you across Los Angeles during rush hour should cost more than $16, if everyone in that transaction is being fairly compensated. Getting someone to clean your house, do your laundry or deliver your dinner should be a luxury, if there’s no exploitation involved. The fact that some high-end services are no longer easily affordable by the merely semi-affluent may seem like a worrying development, but maybe it’s a sign of progress.

利潤對(duì)投資者來說當(dāng)然是好事。雖然為我們的奢侈行為支付無補(bǔ)貼的價(jià)格很痛苦，但也有一定的合理性。在高峰時(shí)間請(qǐng)專車司機(jī)接送你穿越洛杉磯，如果該交易中的每個(gè)人都得到了公平的補(bǔ)償，那么費(fèi)用就應(yīng)該不止于16美元。請(qǐng)人打掃房子、洗衣服或送晚餐應(yīng)是一種奢侈，假如這其中沒有剝削。不算富有的人不再能夠輕松享受一些高端服務(wù)，這樣的變化似乎令人擔(dān)憂，但這也許是進(jìn)步的標(biāo)志。

1，pocket the $8 difference差價(jià) cover the difference 承擔(dān)差價(jià)

2，Stand as, stand to gain, stand to lose， 巧妙的詞（is,be）

3，Subsidy-free無補(bǔ)貼的? pollution-free,? user-friendly 構(gòu)詞

4，There’s more to it. 話里有話（還有其他的）

5，Justice=justify

6，A worrying developing 令人擔(dān)憂的發(fā)展形勢?? 反：welcome/welcoming developing 令人鼓舞的=encouraging