A way of monetizing poor people
榨取穷人钱财的方式
Mass-mailing checks to strangers might seem like risky business, but Mariner Finance occupies a fertile niche in the U.S. economy. The company enables some of the nation’s wealthiest investors and investment funds to make money offering high-interest loans to cash-strapped Americans.
给陌生人群发邮件寄送支票看似是一门冒险的生意，但是 Mariner 金融公司凭此在美国经济中占据着丰饶的小众市场。这家公司让美国最富有的投资人和投资基金赚得盆满钵满，提供高利贷给资金短缺的美国人。
Mariner Finance is owned and managed by a $11.2 billion private equity fund controlled by Warburg Pincus, a storied New York firm. The president of Warburg Pincus is Timothy Geithner, who, as treasury secretary in the Obama administration, condemned predatory lenders. The firm’s co-chief executives, Charles Kaye and Joseph Landy, are established figures in New York’s financial world.
Mariner 金融公司隶属于华平公司。华平是纽约一家赫赫有名的公司，运营着一笔价值 112 亿美元的私募股权基金。它的总裁是蒂莫西·盖纳特，在担任奥巴马政府的财政部长时，他对唯利是图的贷款人表示谴责。该公司的联席首席执行官是查尔斯·纪杰和约瑟夫·兰迪，他们都是纽约金融界的泰斗人物。
Mariner Finance officials declined to grant interview requests or provide financial statements, but they offered written responses to questions.
Mariner 金融公司官员拒绝接受采访或公布财务报表，但是他们同意给问题提供书面回应。
“Mariner Finance delivers a valuable service to hundreds of thousands of Americans who have limited access to consumer credit,” it says. “Mariner’s products are transparent with clear disclosure and Mariner proactively educates its customers in every step of the process.”
“Mariner 金融公司为千千万万很难接触到消费信贷的美国人提供有价值的服务，”书面材料中说道。“Mariner 的产品开诚布公、十分透明，同时在流程的每一个环节，Mariner 都积极为客户普及知识。”
This legal, yet morally ambiguous market has seen an expansion over the past decade, effectively turning cash-strapped citizens into cash cows. Indeed, Wall Street has finally found a way to monetize the poor.
这门合法却在道德上模糊的市场在过去十年明显扩展，高效地把资金紧缺的市民变成摇钱树。的确，华尔街终于找到了“榨取穷人钱财”的方法。
————— 文章来源 / 华盛顿邮报
重点词汇
monetize/ˈmɑːnɪtaɪz/
v. 货币化
fertile/ˈfɜːrtl/
adj. 肥沃的，富饶的
niche/nɪtʃ/
n. 商机，小众市场，缝隙市场
cash-strapped/ˈkæʃ stræpt/
adj. 资金短缺的，财政困难的
storied/ˈstɔːrid/
adj. 广为流传的，人尽皆知的
treasury/ˈtreʒəri/
n. 金库，财政
condemn/kənˈdem/
v. 指责，谴责
e.g.
The film was condemned for sexism.
predatory/ˈpredətɔːri/
adj. 损人利己的；食肉的
e.g.
He is a predatory insurance salesman.
disclosure/dɪsˈkloʊʒər/
n. 公开，披露，透露
proactively/ˌproʊˈæktɪvli/
adv. 积极主动地，先发制人地 （proactive adj.）
equity fund
股权基金，股票基金
consumer credit
消费（者）信贷
morally ambiguous
道德模糊的
cash cow
摇钱树，财源
