消费券“来袭”，春节消费“热”起来******
新华社北京1月11日电题：消费券“来袭”，春节消费“热”起来
新华社记者梁姊、汪海月、王自宸
天津市第二期“津乐购”消费券发放活动11日正式启动，总计发放1.15亿元。活动设立汽车、家电、百货零售、餐饮文旅等四大消费券类型，持续至今年2月底。
春节即将到来，为活跃消费市场，提振消费需求，多地密集发放各类消费券，涉及餐饮、家电、文旅、百货、汽车等诸多领域：1月6日起，郑州市1500万元家电消费券正式发放；1月10日至2月28日期间，沈阳市发放1亿元新春消费券；湖北省也将发放2023年“惠购湖北”消费券……
在安徽省马鞍山市的马鞍山金福联红旗汽车体验中心，不少顾客正在选购汽车。“凭借消费券，顾客购车最多可优惠1万元。”马鞍山金福联红旗汽车体验中心总经理陆小见说。
为激发小微市场主体活力，突出惠民主题，多地还通过支付宝、抖音、美团等线上平台发放小额通用消费券、外卖券。天津市政府副秘书长于鹏洲介绍，消费者抢到通用消费券后可在商超、便利店、菜市场等任意应用场景享受优惠。
因临近春节，本轮发放的消费券使用途径和场景节日特色鲜明。多地在发放消费券的同时，叠加传统春节大促系列活动，以“券上券，折上折”的方式，深度激活消费潜力。结合春节年货购买热潮，天津市开展年货市集活动，集中销售天津当地老字号、土特产以及春节用品等，充分挖掘本地产品、品牌销售潜力。
为推动春节文旅消费复苏，酒店、景区等文旅专属消费券也应运而生。厦门市发放700万元新春文旅消费券，可在全市限额以上酒店、宾馆住宿时抵扣；西昌市将通过国内知名旅游平台向游客发放1000万元旅游消费券……一些地方还通过消费券结合特色旅游节等活动形式，拉动春节文旅消费。例如，当前正值冰雪旅游季，天津市以“畅游冰雪世界共享美好生活”为主题，结合冬季特色，举办花灯、集市、展览等夜间活动，打造夜间冰雪消费券使用场景。
值得一提的是，数字人民币正成为越来越多试点地区的消费券发放、核销渠道。天津在京东等线上消费平台设立数字人民币消费券专区，消费者抢券后可用数字人民币核销。温州市也将于1月15日起发放数字人民币消费红包。
1月11日，在湖北省大冶市刘仁八镇年货节现场，群众正在采购年货。新华社记者王自宸 摄
各地商户和消费者积极参与消费券活动。“春节前后聚餐的人多，成为消费券核销商户更能吸引食客前来消费。”11日，湖北黄石“新春购物季·爱心消费月”活动正式开通商户报名小程序。一大早，在当地大冶市经营餐厅的熊先生就在小程序上传了信息，申请成为消费券核销用户。
11日，记者在天津第二期“津乐购”消费券活动的百货零售消费券发放页面看到，多种面值消费券上线即“秒空”。安徽省亳州市总价值261万元的消费券也不到1分钟全部被抢完。
多地商务部门既往数据显示，消费券发放活动拉动消费效果明显。去年6月至12月，湖北省先后投入12.59亿元财政资金发放消费券，拉动消费金额50.46亿元。据天津市商务局测算，天津市本轮投放的1.15亿元消费券，叠加企业、平台打折让利和补贴，预计拉动消费33亿元以上。
安徽大学经济学院教授郑兰祥认为，临近春节这一消费旺季，发放消费券是短期内刺激消费提升的有效方法，有助于扩大内需，增强市场活力，让老百姓有更多的获得感。
中新网评：美国众议长选举“连续剧”暴露美式民主痼疾******
中新网北京1月9日电(蒋鲤)在15轮投票表决后，美国众议院议长选举这场“连续剧”终于落下帷幕，众议院共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡最终成功当选第55任美国众议院议长。这是美国国会过去164年来耗时最久的一次议长选举记录，将美国“对抗式民主”的弊端暴露无遗。
资料图：美国众议院共和党领袖麦卡锡。中新社记者 沙晗汀摄
由于两党对立加剧、党派内斗、利益分配不均等因素，众议长选举陷入一场拉锯战。在此次众议长竞选中，美国民主党议员继续抱团，多轮投票中，一票不投麦卡锡，共和党右翼“强硬派”领头的约20人小团体也拒绝投票麦卡锡。
麦卡锡的当选之路一波三折，除了本人的“政治投机派”角色在国会不受欢迎外，与共和党内部政治分歧关系密切。
一方面，共和党党内反对者认为，麦卡锡对民主党态度过于软弱，无力对抗民主党控制的参议院和拜登政府，另一方面，因为共和党的多数优势微弱，党内一些影响力较小的派系的政治力量则被放大，有利于他们巩固自己的选票。
此外，党内反对者也认为，自己的选票没有换取更多利益，希望以此作为筹码换取麦卡锡更大的让步，比如让他们获得众议院重要委员会中的职务。
作为仅次于美国总统、副总统的政坛三号人物，众议院议长通常由众议院多数党领袖担任，选举几乎没有悬念。然而，麦卡锡此次为当选，不得不做出多个关键让步，其中可能包括恢复一项罢黜议长动议机制，使得众议长的权力被削弱，难以掌控众议院。
美国有线电视新闻网CNN称，麦卡锡在这场不合时宜的政治勒索中作出让步，这种绥靖政策只会让极端主义势力更加强大。
这场引发全世界围观的尴尬选举暴露出美国政治存在严重的对立和分化。在权力博弈思维的裹挟下，党派利益凌驾于国家和人民利益之上，美国两党相互拆台，陷入“为反对而反对”的无脑对垒。而即便是一党内，也会因为利益分配问题产生不同的小派系，相互对抗，选票变成了谋利益的工具。
从国会山骚乱到打破记历史记录的15轮众议长选举，“对抗式民主”让美国政治陷入瓶颈，长期对抗势必会让政客们丧失客观公正的判断能力，其政治阶层是否有能力治理国家也会引发质疑。
两党之争和党派内斗进一步放大了美国政治体制弊病，美国所谓的“民主”形象，让全世界大跌眼镜。鼓吹以选民利益为先的美式选举，变成了政客们利益置换的游戏，进一步彰显出美国“民主政治”日渐失能，不断极化的党争已使美国政治制度陷入死循环。
House speaker election reveals deep-rooted problems in U.S. democracy
(ECNS) -- The Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was elected as the 55th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after 15 ballots. As the most grueling House speaker election in the past 164 years, the election has highlighted the defects of the country’s "confrontational democracy".
The election once reached a stalemate due to intense partisan strife, inner-party struggle among the Republicans, uneven distribution of interests, and more. Democratic Party members forged a close alliance, refusing to vote for McCarthy, while about 20 Republicans also declined to cast ballots for the GOP leader.
Except for his unpopular role as a "political speculator" in Congress, McCarthy’s hard-won election can be attributed to turmoil within the Republican Party.
On the one hand, opponents in the Republican Party believe that the GOP leader's attitude toward the Democrats is too weak to confront the Senate controlled by Democrats and the Biden administration.
On the other hand, the political power of some less influential factions in the Republican Party has been amplified due to the Party’s weak majority advantage in the House of Representatives, which is conducive to consolidating their ticket warehouses.
Meanwhile, these opponents believe that their votes failed to win them more benefits, hoping to use this as a bargaining chip for McCarthy's further concessions, such as getting them positions in important House Committees.
As the third political figure after the President and Vice President of the U.S., the speaker, by tradition, is the head of the majority party in the House of Representatives.
But McCarthy has made many concessions in order to bring the ultra conservatives along, involving what’s known as the “motion to vacate,” a mechanism by which members can force a vote to depose the speaker. The reported concessions will empower individual members at the expense of McCarthy’s sway as speaker.
CNN thought the concessions he made during this unseemly political shakedown would only make the extremist faction more powerful.
This embarrassing election, which has drawn global attention, exposed the serious opposition and polarization in American politics. Both Democrats and Republicans put their interests before that of the country and its people, attacking and opposing each other irrationally.
Besides, different factions arise within a single party and confront each other because of the distribution of interests. Votes have become a tool to win more benefits.
From Capitol riots to the House Speaker election with record-breaking ballots, "confrontational democracy" has become a bottleneck of American politics. Long-term confrontation will surely impede politicians to think objectively and fairly while their capacity of governing the country will also raise doubts among the public.
Both parties’ struggle and infighting among the Republicans have further amplified the defects of the American political system, with its "democratic" image shocking the world.
The U.S.-style election, which advocates putting voters' interests first, has become a game of interest exchange among politicians. In addition, it further demonstrates the malfunction of American "democratic politics" and the constantly polarized party struggle that has trapped the American political system into an infinite cycle.
