有且只有两种状态：要么忙着求生，要么忙着求死。

What about Epson and some of the Japanese computer makers?

关于爱普生和一些日本电脑制造商呢？

I’ve said it before: The Japanese have hit the shores like dead fish. They’re just like dead fish washing up on the shores. The Epson has been a failure in this market place.

我之前说过：日本人就像死鱼一样冲上岸。他们就像冲上岸的死鱼。爱普生在这个市场上是个失败。

Like computers, the automobile industry was an American industry that we almost lost to the Japanese. There is a lot of talk about American semiconductor companies’ losing ground to Japanese. How will you keep the edge?

Japan’s very interesting. Some people think it copies things. I don’t think that anymore. I think what they do is reinvent things. They will get something that’s already been invented and study it until they thoroughly understand it. In some cases, they understand it better than the original inventor. Out of that understanding, they will reinvent it in a more refined second-generation version. That strategy works only when what they’re working with isn’t changing very much—the stereo industry and the automobile industry are two examples. When the target is moving quickly, they find it very difficult, because that reinvention cycle takes a few years. As long as the definition of what a personal computer is keeps changing at the rate that it is, they will have a very hard time. Once the rate of change slows down, the Japanese will bring all of their strengths to bear on this market, because they absolutely want to dominate the computer business; there’s no question about that. They see that as a national priority. We think that in four to five years, the Japanese will finally figure out how to build a decent computer. And if we’re going to keep this industry one in which America leads, we have four years to become world-class manufacturers. Our manufacturing technology has to equal or surpass that of the Japanese.

日本非常有趣。有些人认为它抄袭东西。我不再这样认为。我认为他们所做的是重新发明东西。他们会拿到已经被发明的东西，研究它直到彻底理解。在某些情况下，他们对它的理解甚至超过了原始发明者。在这种理解的基础上，他们会以更精炼的第二代版本重新发明它。这个策略只有在他们所处理的事物变化不大时才有效——立体声行业和汽车行业就是两个例子。当目标快速移动时，他们会发现非常困难，因为重新发明的周期需要几年时间。只要个人计算机的定义以目前的速度不断变化，他们就会面临很大的困难。一旦变化的速度减缓，日本人将会把他们所有的优势投入到这个市场，因为他们绝对想要主导计算机业务；这一点毫无疑问。他们将其视为国家优先事项。我们认为在四到五年内，日本人最终会弄明白如何制造出一台体面的计算机。 如果我们要保持这个行业让美国领先，我们有四年的时间成为世界级制造商。我们的制造技术必须等于或超过日本的水平。

A seemingly routine ruling by India’s top tax officials went off like metal in a microwave.

印度最高税务官员的一项看似常规的裁决像微波炉中的金属一样引发了轰动。

The government laid out a three-tiered system for taxing popcorn depending on if it is packaged or sold loose, carries a brand name or is generic, and is salted or sweet. Caramel popcorn, the government said in December, would be taxed at 18%—nearly akin to a luxury product.

The people weren’t pleased. An explanation from India’s finance minister, chair of the tax council, didn’t help.

人们并不满意。来自印度财政部长兼税务委员会主席的解释并没有起到作用。

“I want to explain the whole background of the popcorn taxes to you: Salted popcorn, caramelized popcorn, plain popcorn,” said Nirmala Sitharaman at a news conference in late December. “When it comes to popcorn’s tax treatment, as long as it is salty, whether it is with salt, spiced, tangy, chilli powder, that’s all 5%. But when it has added caramelized sugar, it is no longer salty.”

But the 5% will apply only if the popcorn is sold loose. Put it in a sealed plastic packet and slap a label on it and the rate jumps to 12%. An accompanying press note explained further that caramel popcorn had transformed into a confectionery, and merited a correspondingly higher tax rate. The finance minister’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

但 5%的税率仅适用于散装销售的爆米花。如果将其放入密封的塑料袋并贴上标签，税率将升至 12%。一份随附的新闻稿进一步解释说，焦糖爆米花已转变为糖果，因此应征收相应更高的税率。财政部长办公室没有回应置评请求。

The popcorn tax structure unleashed a flood of mocking memes, heated television debates and frustrated comments from prominent economists, including former advisers to the government. One called the ruling a “national tragedy.” A cartoon showed Mahatma Gandhi, famous for his march against the British colonial monopoly on the sale of salt, which was heavily taxed, marching against popcorn taxes instead.

爆米花税收结构引发了一波嘲讽的表情包、激烈的电视辩论以及来自知名经济学家（包括前政府顾问）的愤怒评论。一位评论称这一裁决是“国家悲剧”。一幅漫画展示了 Mahatma Gandhi，他因反对英国殖民对盐销售的垄断而闻名，盐当时被重税，而漫画中他则是反对爆米花税。

For critics, the multiplicity of rates on the humble snack was emblematic of why India, despite ongoing efforts to cut red tape, remains a difficult place to do business.

对于批评者来说，这种对普通零食征收多种税率的做法象征着为什么尽管印度正在努力削减繁文缛节，但仍然是一个难以开展业务的地方。