Howard Schneider
Washington Post
April 24, 2010
In the lingo of the International Monetary Fund, the future of the world hinges on “rebalancing and consolidation,” antiseptic words that would not seem to raise a fuss.
Who doesn’t want more balance in their life?
But the translation is a bit ruder, something on the order of: “Suck it up. The party’s over.”
To keep the global economy on track, people in the United States and the rest of the developed world need to work longer before retiring, pay higher taxes and expect less from government. And the cheap imports lining the shelves of mega-chains such as Wal-Mart and Target? They need to be more expensive.
That’s the practical meaning of a series of policy papers and statements issued in recent days by IMF officials, who have a long history of stabilizing economies and solving global financial problems, as they plot a course to keep the world economy growing and reduce the risk of another “great recession.”
That message has been delivered subtly, woven into documents with titles such as “Resolving the Crisis Legacy and Meeting New Challenges to Financial Stability,” and justified by concepts such as “raising retirement age in line with life expectancy,” as IMF economic counselor Olivier Blanchard put it this week.
