IMF Working Paper Says US Must Raise All Taxes, Cut All Entitlements By 35% To Contain Future Budget

[stockholmer]

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/imf-says-us-must-raise-all-taxes-cut-all-entitlements-35-contain-future-budget

"In what is either a delayed April Fool's report, or its latest exercise in rhetoric the IMF asks the humorous question: "An Analysis of U.S. Fiscal and Generational Imbalances: Who Will Pay and How?" The obvious answer is naturally the Fed. The unobvious answer, according to the IMF, is the impossible: a slashing all of USSA's entitlement benefits by a whopping 35% combined with a hike in all tax rates.

From the IMF: "This paper updates existing measures of the U.S. fiscal gap to include federal laws up to and including the mid-December 2010 federal fiscal stimulus. It then applies the methodology of generational accounting to establish how the burden of adjustment required to attain fiscal sustainability is shared across generations. We find that the U.S. fiscal and generational imbalances are large under plausible parametric assumptions, and, while not much affected by the financial crisis, they have not improved much by the passing of the Final Healthcare Legislation. We find that, under our baseline scenario, a full elimination of the fiscal and generational imbalances would require all taxes to go up and all transfers to be cut immediately and permanently by 35 percent. A delay in the adjustment makes it more costly." Such drama: have these people really not heard of the Fed.

What is rather shocking is that Larry Kotlikoff, who has made it all too clear the US is bankrupt, was used as a consultant: "We are extremely grateful to Lawrence Kotlikoff who acted as a consultant providing unique inspiration, guidance and supervision." Are massively dissenting voices now credible sources of information? What next: Fed white paper citing Zero Hedge?........................"

IMF Working Papr link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/52245782/IMF-Working-Paper-US

[rfranklin]

1. Gee, how about cutting the war budget by 50%?

That would just about do the trick.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

2. and start making the rich pay their share?

[movonne]

3. Yes...we should not cut one dime in any social programs until they

tax the rich...and I mean really tax them big...

[TacticalPeek]

4. Increase the beatings

until morale improves.

[unblock]

5. hike taxes on the super-rich, keep them low for working people, and slash defense spending.

there are so many other cures for our woes; amazing how they can only talk about solutions that create more problems.

sure, we need more poverty and crime in this country.

sure, we need disincentives to hire people in this country.

sure, we need to to cut social security after reagan DOUBLED our payroll taxes to ensure this would never happen.

[enough]

6. Shock Doctrine. (nt)

[fascisthunter]

7. um no... the greedy rich need to pay back their fair share

and end the fucking wars for the same greedy pricks using our military to produce wealth. I think one mansion is far too good for these scumbags.

[leveymg]

8. Not an April Fools joke, unfortunately. Here's the paper posted at the IMF site:

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=24770.0

It's "structural adjustment", alright, just like has been imposed on Chile, Russia, Argentina, Thailand, Greece, etc., etc.

What goes around . . .

[bullwinkle428]

9. Pretty much the same crap spouted by the "Gang of Six" bi-partisan

group of Senators, using the cover the Deficit Commission. The same tired mantra of "shared sacrifice", which roughly translates to "Working class - bend over and grab your ankles!"

[marmar]

10. I think it's time for the IMF to go the way of the Tyrannosaurus.

[defendandprotect]

11. Throw IMF in Boston Harbor -- and let's begin AUSTERITY for the Wealthy -- !!

[MisterP]

12. maybe we'll get a Kirchner or two instead of alternating between

military tyrants and pseudo-populist rightists with personality cults
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2001_riots_in_Argentina

[Autumn]

13. End these fucking wars . Make the rich pay

THEIR fucking share of the taxes, make the corporations pay THEIR fucking share of the taxes. The fucking problem is solved. Fucking idiots.

[jtown1123]

14. Who gives 2 shits what the IMF says