扎根拉斯维加斯

　　我们都知道，在拉斯维加斯，博彩已艰苦发展多年，而对于这个城市来说，也是经历了艰难的好些年。

　　游戏行业已经表现出了令人钦佩的应变能力，其战略不仅表现在应对经济低迷方面，而且展现在产品本身的质量竞争上。人们还是喜欢来拉斯维加斯，而且有越来越多的人聚集在这里。但是，还是面临着一个更艰巨的挑战，至少是对于城市来说，那就是如何将博彩旅游业以外的公司吸引到拉斯维加斯。

　　“在某些时候难免会遇到另一个经济的低迷阶段，每当美国经济出现衰退，它就会严重影响到旅游业，人们就会打算削减对奢侈品像旅游之类的开支，接着他们就削减对房屋，食品和衣物的花费。”罗思韦尔，在布鲁金斯研究所的高级研究分析师乔纳森说：“展望未来，如果不希望再次受到这些因素的影响，拉斯维加斯将要实现多样化。”

　　布鲁金斯发布一份报告，名为《教育》，分析上个月受过教育的工人的供应和需求的比率，显示美国的失业率，并分析失业与都市地区经济衰退的关系。拉斯维加斯排名第84，满分100分，这主要在于过分依赖旅游业，而且，是以建筑行业来恢复经济，并将此作为其竞争定位，以减缓其他行业的薄弱性，一般教育的水平和实现的标准却相对滞后。解决这一问题是一个巨大的挑战，这是对国家的传统、政府持怀疑态度，可能这样的做法对其未来不是最适合的。

　　罗思韦尔说：“目前尚不清楚政府可以发挥怎样的作用，但是，它至少可以实施基础设施和教育的战略投资，能够扶持大学和社区学院，具有一定影响力，能够协调企业竞争和劳动力需求。提高教育水平和吸引更多高学历认识本身就有利于行业的多样化。”

　　“这不是一个容易解决的问题，因为预算很紧，”罗思韦尔继续说：“从某种程度上说，国家需要重新减少税收，但在教育和基础设施等公共产品的公共开支很难提高。现在这段时间可能不加税，但在经济复苏时，他们可能会认真思考运用各种方式获得更多的收入，这样他们就可以做长期投资。”

　　多样化产业的发展，从宏观的角度来看非常可取的，从税务战线上看也为博彩业减缓压力。布鲁金斯是在拉斯维加斯与内华达州政府工作，预计在本月内公布更详细的报告。将在拉斯维加斯谋划如何利用现有的制造和娱乐场博彩技术进军其他业务机会，包括出口这个方面。

　　译文

　　We all know it has been a tough few years for gaming in Las Vegas, and for the town as well.

　　The gaming industry has shown admirable resilience,  not just in terms of its strategic response to the downturn but also in the quality of the product itself. People still want to come to Las Vegas, and they are again arriving in growing numbers. A tougher challenge, for the city at least, is how to make companies from outside gaming and tourism want to come to Las Vegas.

　　“There will inevitably be another downturn at some point, and whenever the U.S. economy takes a dive during a recession, it’s going to affect the tourism industry; people are going to cut back on luxury items like travel and tourism before they cut back on housing, food and clothing,” said Jonathan Rothwell, senior research analyst at the Brookings Institution. “Going forward, Las Vegas will have to diversify if it doesn’t want to experience these kinds of gyrations.”

　　Brookings released a report called Education, Demand and Unemployment in Metropolitan America last month that looked at the supply and demand for educated workers, its relationship to unemployment and how well metro areas have fared in the recession. Las Vegas ranked 84th out of 100, which is another way of saying it remains overly dependent on a rebound of tourism, and, more problematically, construction and housing, to regain economic health as its competitive positioning to attract other industries is weak. General education levels and attainment of standards are lagging. One challenge in addressing the problem is the state’s traditional skepticism toward government may not be the best fit for its future.

　　“It’s not clear what role the government should or can play,” said Rothwell. “But insofar as it makes strategic investments in infrastructure and education, supporting universities and community colleges, it does have an influence on which businesses are going to compete there and whether their workforce needs are being met. Boosting education attainment and attracting more folks with bachelor’s degrees or higher could lend itself to more diversification, including manufacturing.

　　“It’s not an easy problem to solve on a tight budget,” Rothwell continued. “To some extent, the state needs to revisit its fierce orientation toward less taxation and small government, not that it needs to become Massachusetts or California, but it’s hard to boost public goods like education and infrastructure without public spending. Now might not be the time to raise taxes, but when the economy recovers, they might want to seriously think of ways to get more revenue so they can start making investments for the long term.”

　　Diversification, besides being highly desirable from the macro standpoint, would also have the happy effect of taking some pressure off the gaming industry on the taxation front. There might also be something in it for existing gaming companies. Brookings is working on a more detailed report on Las Vegas with the Nevada government that is scheduled to be released this month. One area of focus will be how Las Vegas can leverage existing manufacturing and casino gaming technology to tap into other business opportunities, including exports.