The first issue of The American Bystander, a new print-only humor magazine, began with a letter from the publisher predicting failure. "This is willfully relaunching the Titanic," Michael Gerber wrote last fall, "knowing full well it will sink."

Founding a magazine that you can't read online does seem like the kind of thing Max Bialystock would do if he went into publishing instead of musical theater. But the old-fashioned form happens to be a perfect match for the refined pleasures of this delightful publication, an essential read for comedy nerds.

僅發行紙本的新幽默雜誌《美國旁觀者》的第一期，是以發行人預告雜誌註定失敗收場的一封信作開場白。麥可．葛柏去年秋天寫道：「這是蓄意讓鐵達尼號再次出航，明知它非沉不可。」

辦一份無法在網路上閱讀的雜誌，的確像是音樂劇《金牌製作》的主人翁麥克斯．比亞里斯托克會做的事，如果他投身的行業是出版而不是音樂劇的話。不過，老派的形式湊巧與這本經鬆刊物的精致樂趣形成絕配，成為喜劇迷不可或缺的讀物。

The American Bystander, whose second issue came out last week and which can be ordered online, does not just belong to the tradition of defunct magazines like The National Lampoon and Spy. Its nostalgic, lightly witty style evokes influences that have been dead even longer, like the raconteur Jean Shepherd and the sophisticated stylist Robert Benchley.

In an era when so much comedy is boisterous and engaged with the world, The American Bystander's humor is understated and escapist, steering clear of topicality and political jokes. The only time the new issue mentions Donald Trump is to illustrate how 30 years of satire have failed to diminish him. Internet headlines may boast about political satirists destroying and eviscerating their subjects, but this magazine has different ambitions, and while they may seem more modest, don't be fooled. Call it comedy for comedy's sake.

上周出版第二期，且可網路訂購的《美國旁觀者》，不僅僅屬於已倒閉雜誌如《國家諷刺文社》和《間諜》的那種傳統。它的懷舊、輕鬆詼諧的風格，還勾起人們對去世得更早的一些具影響力人物的回憶，如故事大王傑．薛柏和文風洗鍊的羅伯特．本奇利。

當今之世嬉鬧聒噪、與世間俗務接合的喜劇比比皆是，《美國旁觀者》的幽默顯得輕描淡寫且遁世，儘可能避開時事性話題和政治笑話。新一期雜誌僅提及美國共和黨總統候選人唐納．川普一次，意在說明30年的冷嘲熱諷仍是奈何不了川普。網路的新聞標題可能誇耀政治諷刺作家如何把諷刺對象摧毀並大卸八塊。但這本雜誌另有野心，雖然它看來較溫和，但別上它的當。你可說它是為喜劇而喜劇。

What begins as a clever spoof of righteous logic spins into a parody of a paranoid activist, as his cause leads him to challenge the government, face down insurrection and become embroiled in a lonely battle for a lost cause. It's a twisty story that earns its laughs by continually finding creative ways to extend the joke.

一開始是名正言順的聰明惡搞，最後可能演變成一名偏執活動家從事的蠢事，他的崇高目標引領他挑戰政府，力抗反對，最後成了孤軍奮鬥，行動也註定失敗。它是一則曲折的故事，靠著持續找創意去延伸它的笑話而博君一粲。

Maria Poblet, who leads an organization that assists Latino families facing eviction in San Francisco, says she appreciates the philanthropy that the city's technology companies do in far-flung places to address global poverty and the environment. But what she really wants to see them do is pay more taxes to help with homelessness and lower-cost housing in San Francisco.

"You have a CEO who cares about kids in Ghana one week or dolphins the next week. Those are important," she said. "But the people impacted by displacement in San Francisco are a worthy cause, too."

瑪麗亞．波布雷特在舊金山市領導一個組織，專門幫助即將被逐出住處的拉美裔家庭。對於該市科技公司在偏遠地區為解決全球貧窮與環境問體所做的慈善事業，她表示讚賞，而她真正想看到他們做的卻是，付出更多稅金來幫助舊金山無家可歸者並提供低價住房。

她說：「我們有個這星期關心迦納的孩童，下星期又關心一下海豚的執行長，這些都是很重要的事情，但關心在舊金山流離失所的人們，也是個崇高的事業。」

Poblet is part of a group of activists behind an initiative by three city legislators to impose a payroll tax that would apply only to technology companies, which have been the engine of a booming economy that now appears to be slowing.

Eric Mar, a member of the city's Board of Supervisors, announced the proposal last month for a 1.5 percent payroll tax that would serve as a form of indemnification for what he described as the downside of the technology boom.

舊金山有三位市議員推動針對科技公司課徵薪資稅的法案，而波布雷特正是支持此案的某個社會行動組織的成員。這些科技公司一直是帶動經濟蓬勃發展的引擎，但經濟如今似乎正在走緩。

舊金山市議會議員艾瑞克馬爾上個月宣布了該項課徵1.5%薪資稅的提案，所得將作為對於他所謂科技業榮景負面影響的一種補償。

Tech companies have been "a tremendous benefit to the city in many ways," Mar said. "But I don't think they've been paying their fair share."

The proposal for what has become known as the tech tax comes as officials struggle to fill growing gaps in the city budget. Money from the tech tax would go toward paying for programs for the homeless and the housing "affordability crisis," Mar said.

馬爾說，科技公司一直「在許多方面為這座城市帶來巨大利益，但我不認為他們付出了該付的那份錢。」

這種稅已被稱為科技稅，此案提出之際，官員們正努力填補該市不斷擴大的預算缺口。馬爾說，科技稅的稅金將用來支應照顧無家可歸者和解決住房「負擔能力危機」的計畫。

Behind the proposal is more than just an effort to raise revenue. The tech tax, the passage of which is considered a long shot, is the latest manifestation of resentment here against the proliferation of high-paid tech workers and the pressures that rising prices have put on residents. Tensions have flared over the notion that tech workers live in a parallel society, in which they are whisked in private buses to work, socialize in their own circles and do not participate in San Francisco's traditions of social collaboration.

提案動機不僅只是提高稅收。當地人對高薪科技業員工的擴增，以及物價不斷上漲對居民帶來的壓力早有怨忿，課徵科技稅只是這種情緒最新的表達，不過科技稅案通過機率不高。當地民眾認為科技業員工活在另一個世界，搭乘私人巴士去工作、只在自己圈子內交際，而且不參與舊金山市內的社會合作傳統，緊張氣氛因而爆發。

"Billions of dollars of venture capital have poured into the city and pushed our people out," said Poblet, executive director of Causa Justa/Just Cause, a nonprofit organization that, among other activities, helps San Francisco residents threatened with eviction.

She and other supporters of the tax say the proposal sends a message to tech companies that they should be paying more to mitigate the repercussions of the boom in their sector.

公平正義會執行長波布雷特說：「數十億美元創投資金湧入了這座城市，並將我們的居民往外推。」該會是個非營利組織，活動內容包括幫助面臨被逐出住處威脅的舊金山市居民。

她與另一些支持徵收該稅的人都表示，這項提案向科技公司發出訊息，告訴他們應付出更多的錢來減輕他們的產業榮景所帶來的負面影響。

說文解字看新聞

（文／陳韋廷）

舊金山一帶科技業的蓬勃發展活絡了當地的經濟，但除了財富和商機外，科技新貴的進駐也帶來許多負面影響，例如昂貴的生活成本與不斷攀升的房價，令當地民眾成為間接受害者。為緩解科技業榮景對一般市民生活造成的衝擊，舊金山市議會日前因此提案課徵科技稅來補貼當地民眾。

boom指的是「繁榮興旺、迅速發展、熱潮」的意思，文中則譯作「榮景」，形容某個急速蓬勃發展的狀態，例如dotcom boom指的是2003年發生的網路業榮景，property boom則指房市榮景，而我們常聽到的嬰兒潮，英文則是baby boom。

俚語a long shot字面上意義為「很長的射擊」，而我們都知道，當射擊目標愈遠，打中機率就愈小，因此衍生出「不太可能成功」之意。例句：Even though he got talents in singing, but to be a professional singer seemed to be really a long shot.（即便他有唱歌方面的才華，但要當職業歌手似乎真的不太可能。）

雖然提案最終通過的機率不大，但此案的提出凸顯了科技業榮景帶出的隱憂，亦即與科技業無關的居民可能未蒙其利，反受其害。