當(dāng)富人覺得錢多得花不完時(shí)，就會(huì)隨心地買一些可有可無的東西，這一買不打緊，卻引發(fā)了expenditure cascade ——“支出瀑布”，讓那些因艷羨而效仿的窮人本來就很可憐的一點(diǎn)錢不知不覺都敗光了。

An expenditure cascade occurs when the rapid income growth of top earners fuels additional spending by the lower earner wannabes. The cascade begins among top earners, which encourages the middle class to spend more which, in turn, encourages the lower class to spend more.

最高收入群體收入隨著自己收入的迅速增長(zhǎng)，就會(huì)產(chǎn)生一些額外開支，而那些想躋身富人行列的低一層收入群體會(huì)效仿這些開支，從而導(dǎo)致“支出瀑布”的出現(xiàn)。這種“瀑布”從最高收入群體開始，鼓勵(lì)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)花更多錢，而中產(chǎn)階級(jí)消費(fèi)增加又鼓勵(lì)更貧窮的人群增加開支。

Ultimately, these expenditure cascades reduce the amount that each family saves, as there is less money available to save due to extra spending on frivolous discretionary items.

最終，這些“支出瀑布”會(huì)降低每個(gè)家庭的存款數(shù)額，因?yàn)樵诳捎锌蔁o的東西上額外花費(fèi)了太多錢。

（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 陳丹妮）