Buying on the Installment Plan
分期付款購(gòu)物
In Western countries people have been using the installment plan since the first half of the twentieth century. Today, a large proportion of all the families in Great 8ritain buy furniture, household goods and cars by installment. In the U.S.A., the proportion is much higher than in Great Britain, and people there spend over 10 percent of their income on the installment plan.
在西方國(guó)家,人們從二十世紀(jì)上半葉以來(lái)就一直用分期付款的方式購(gòu)物。今天,絕大部分的英國(guó)家庭用分期付款的方式購(gòu)買家具、家用電器和汽車。在美國(guó),通過(guò)分期付款購(gòu)物的比例高于英國(guó)。美國(guó)人將其百分之十以上的收入用于分期付款購(gòu)物。
The goods bought on the installment plan are, in almost every case, goods that will last-radios, television sets, washing machines, refrigerators, motorcars, motorcycles, and furniture.
采用分期付款方式購(gòu)買的商品,幾乎都是耐用品,比如收音機(jī)、電視機(jī)、洗衣機(jī)、冰箱、汽車、摩托車和家具。
The price of an article bought in this way is always higher than the price that would be paid by cash. There is a charge for interest. The buyer pays a proportion, perhaps one -quarter or one -third, of the price as a down payment when the goods are delivered to him. He then makes regular payments, weekly or monthly, until the full price is paid up. The legal ownership of the goods remains with the seller until the final payment has been made.
用這種辦法購(gòu)買的物品,其價(jià)格要比用現(xiàn)金購(gòu)買的價(jià)格要高,因?yàn)橐邮绽①M(fèi)。購(gòu)買者在拿到貨物之前需支付寸定比例的貨款——四分之一或二分之一作為定金,以后按期付款,如按周或按月付款,直到付清全部貨款。在付清全部貨款前,貨物的所有權(quán)歸銷售商。
Installment buying has advantages and disadvantages. In the past, it was easy to find couples who had been saving for years in order to furnish their homes. Now, they don't have to do that Installment buying can help couples with small incomes to furnish their homes and start housekeeping. It increases the demand for goods, and in this way helps business and employment.
分期付款購(gòu)物有利有弊。過(guò)去,人們經(jīng)常看到一對(duì)夫婦為了購(gòu)美家真布置房間,需要儲(chǔ)蓄好多年?,F(xiàn)在,他們不用這樣了。分期付款購(gòu)物可以幫助收入較低的家庭購(gòu)買家具布置房間,維持家計(jì)。這么做的結(jié)果就是增加了商品需求,并且有助于企業(yè)在展和提高就業(yè)水平。
There is, however, the danger that when business is bad, installment buying may end suddenly, making business much worse. This may result in a great increase in unemployment. If the people on the installment plan lost their jobs, they would probably not be able to make their payments. If great numbers of people are not able to pay their installment debts, there is a possibility that businessmen cannot collect their debts and will therefore lose money. If businessmen lose money or fail to make a satisfactory profit, the possibilities of having a depression are increased. This is why, in some countries , the government controls the installment plan by fixing the proportion of the down payment and the succeeding installments to discourage people from buying more than they can pay for on the installment plan.
然而,當(dāng)企業(yè)不景氣時(shí),也會(huì)伴隨有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)出現(xiàn):分期付款購(gòu)物會(huì)突然中斷,使企業(yè)難以為繼。這可能導(dǎo)致失業(yè)率大幅上升。如果購(gòu)物者失業(yè),也就失去了支付貨款的能力與世操有許多購(gòu)物者無(wú)力償付貨款就可能出現(xiàn)商家收不回債務(wù),導(dǎo)致虧損的情況發(fā)生。如果商家虧損或賺不到可觀的利潤(rùn)時(shí),市面就會(huì)更加蕭條。這也就是為什么在一些國(guó)家,政府會(huì)通過(guò)規(guī)定首付款與以后各期付款的比例來(lái)控制分期付款,并勸導(dǎo)人們?cè)诜制诟犊钯?gòu)物時(shí)不要超出自己的支付能力。