IMF issues broad call for U.S. financial prudence

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washingtonpost.com

"In a broad call for U.S. financial prudence, the agency also said the Obama administration was overestimating U.S. economic growth and needed to trim government deficits by hundreds of billions of additional dollars if its announced budget targets are to be met."

 

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For a very long time, the US government's spending has been less than that of other Western democracies and we've also been wealthier. There were those who felt that we needed to catch up to Europe but I always thought that Europe needed to catch up to us. I never thought we'd become like them, but spending has increased so much in such a short time span that now the IMF is criticizing us for spending too much. We're copying Greece. If we end up like Greece, the whole word is ****ed.

 

[jujuman13]

For a very long time, the US government's spending has been less than that of other Western democracies and we've also been wealthier. There were those who felt that we needed to catch up to Europe but I always thought that Europe needed to catch up to us. I never thought we'd become like them, but spending has increased so much in such a short time span that now the IMF is criticizing us for spending too much. We're copying Greece. If we end up like Greece, the whole word is ****ed.

I seem to remember another Socialist promising that under his office the word PRUDENCE would be paramount with regards to the Nations Finances.
That man was Gordon Prudence Brown of UK who finally was booted out of office by a discerning UK electorate leaving UK owing 150 Billion Pounds Sterling in debt.
Notwithstanding the IMFs instruction, one presumes directed at the Obama Administration.
Sorry lads your advice is way way too late. US inc is already broke.

 

[PeteEU]

For a very long time, the US government's spending has been less than that of other Western democracies and we've also been wealthier.

WOW, nice revisionist attempt there. US government spending has always been higher than other Western democracies. In % of GDP it might be lower than most, but in real terms it has always been higher. Your wealth has been built on debt at every level of society. The whole economic "boom" of the last decade was based on debt for example.. the ability of American's to re-mortgage their homes as the value had increased and that money was used in consumption.

There were those who felt that we needed to catch up to Europe but I always thought that Europe needed to catch up to us.

In what way? Military spending and waste in government? Hardly a thing to spread around the world. Letting people die of curable ailments? Having massive poverty?

I never thought we'd become like them, but spending has increased so much in such a short time span that now the IMF is criticizing us for spending too much. We're copying Greece. If we end up like Greece, the whole word is ****ed.

You are not copying Greece... Greece copied you. The US has been deficit spending for decades.