IMF: Austerity Now or More Austerity Later, Including U.S., U.K., France, Italy

Preparatory to next week’s annual International Monetary Fund/World Bank fall meeting in Washington, D.C., the IMF issued its latest Fiscal Monitor report yesterday, calling for “Putting a Lid on Public Debt”,” as it is titled. This crew of soulless monetarists surveil the performance of every country and then presume to dictate conditions governments must impose. This report waxes hysterical over how government debt worldwide will rise to over $100 trillion by the end of 2024, because of “spending pressures” to provide assistance for “population aging, security concerns, and long-standing development challenges are mounting.” (No mention is made of the massive spending pressure from the “green transition” fraud.) Such spending must be cut ("substantially greater fiscal tightening” is necessary), for “postponing adjustment” (i.e., failing to increase cuts and raise taxes) will only lead to “adverse market reactions and then larger “corrections,” IMF Deputy Fiscal Affairs Director Era Dabla-Norris said when releasing the report.