U.S. to Have Largest Deficit of Major Economies, IMF Says

[dkf]

The U.S. is set to have the largest budget deficit among major developed economies and should narrow it now rather than face tough adjustments in the next two years, the International Monetary Fund said.

The U.S. shortfall will reach 10.8 percent of gross domestic product this year, ahead of Japan and the U.K., the Washington-based agency said in a report released today. It estimates that President Barack Obama will need to cut the deficit by 5 percentage points of GDP in the next two fiscal years, the largest adjustment in “at least half a century,” to meet his pledge of halving it by the end of his four-year term.

“Market concerns about sustainability remain subdued in the U.S., but a further delay of action could be fiscally costly, with deficit increases exacerbated by rising yields,” the IMF wrote in its Fiscal Monitor report, published several times a year to analyze public finances.

The IMF recommended “a down payment” in the form of deficit reduction this year that would make the government goal “compatible with a less abrupt withdrawal of stimulus later.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-12/u-s-to-have-largest-deficit-of-major-economies-imf-says-1-.html

[fujiyama]

1. And for all that debt

what we get in return is really not that impressive - a bloated military industrial complex with no accountability whatsoever, a private for profit health care industry which doesn't provide a basic safety net for millions - and is in place for the benefit of the very wealthy CEOs and shareholders of those companies, a secondary education system that puts the average graduate in debt for almost a lifetime, no public transportation to speak of, and a "green" initiative which pales in comparison with CHINA...! Shit, don't forget the banking system, which gets to make decisions that fuck over millions, and get a bailout in return!

It's funny, but those evil socialist countries (the well managed ones anyways like Germany and those in northern Europe) have low unemployment rates, heavy investments in renewable energy, mass transit, little investment in wasteful wars, and a health care system that gives access to even the least well off. And guess what? They're happier, have higher life expectancies, and do a pretty good job educating their children. People in this country eat up talking points that being concerned about rising inequality is "class warfare" and that using taxes for services that benefit everyone is wrong. What a selfish immature country.

Rant Off.

[ixion]

2. nice ranting...

:toast:

[dkf]

3. Taxes for services that everyone uses?

If that was what our tax dollars went for then maybe so.

But I wonder how evenly spread the benefits that come from paying taxes are, when the amounts one pays are so varied.

The irony to me is that a single person without kids pays the most in taxes but has the least access to the social safety net which often requires kids to be eligible.

[madrchsod]

4. i guess obama better listen to our master`s voice.

interesting timing isn`t it....i guess our social security funds are just to tempting for the world`s bankers

[newfie11]

5. Our military budget is more than the rest of the world

Why am I not surprised!

[indepat]

6. It's not a revenue problem: it's a spending problem quoth Darth Baner

who divines that none of this spending problem rests within the MIC and conduct of three wars: it's those damned entitlements that must be gutted (and then the $2.6 trillion already pilfered from Al's lock box won't ever have to be put back in). :patriot: