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- IMF official highlights mounting global fiscal challenges
- IMF official highlights mounting global fiscal challenges
- IMF official highlights mounting global fiscal challenges
Rodrigo Valdes, Director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department, says governments in almost all economies face pressing fiscal challenges from high debt, higher interest rates and rising spending demands. The IMF's Fiscal Monitor projects global public debt to exceed 100% of global GDP before 2030, with real interest rates on government debt still above pre-pandemic levels. Valdes cites defense spending in Europe and the US, population aging that raises healthcare and pension costs, and climate investment needs as added pressures. Governments have so far provided subsidies or tax cuts averaging around 0.5% of GDP to contain oil prices, and he urges measures that are targeted, temporary and transparent. He also says China is less vulnerable than countries with comparable debt levels, citing its liquid assets, low interest rates and high savings rate.
- France Pension Crisis : How Rising Costs Are Squeezing Public Services
France's public spending reached 57.2% of GDP in 2025, well above the euro-area average according to the OECD, with pension spending at around 14.1% of GDP as retirees grow in number relative to workers. A government report published in October found pensions take 32% of the education ministry's budget (€28.5 billion) and about 30% of the interior ministry's, averaging 13% across ministries, which leaves less room for schools and public services. According to Insee, the 2025 public deficit was 5.1% of GDP and public debt 115.6% of GDP, and the proposed 2027 budget seeks to rein in the deficit through spending restraint and changes affecting pensions and public-sector pay. Past reform attempts have provoked backlash, notably the 2023 move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, which triggered mass protests and has since been suspended.
- There no excuse for $2 trillion budget deficits – Daily Breeze
The Congressional Budget Office reported a federal deficit of nearly $2 trillion for fiscal year 2026, worse than any year except the 2020 and 2021 pandemic years. Revenue rose 3% to more than $5.4 trillion, but spending rose 6% to $7.4 trillion. Spending on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid grew 7%, and interest on the debt rose 11% to exceed $1.1 trillion. The author argues the problem is spending rather than a lack of revenue, and proposes reforms such as indexing the retirement age to life expectancy, converting Medicare to premium support, and capping Medicaid spending per enrollee. The piece also warns that rising debt pushes up interest rates for households and small businesses.
- There no excuse for $2 trillion budget deficits – Orange County Register
The U.S. federal government closed fiscal year 2026 with a deficit of nearly $2 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, second only to the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Federal revenue rose 3% to more than $5.4 trillion, but spending climbed 6% to $7.4 trillion, with interest on the debt up 11% to over $1.1 trillion. The author argues that even if the roughly $130 billion in tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court had been kept, they would cover less than a tenth of the gap. He calls for reforms to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and warns that U.S. debt could reach 120% of GDP within a few years, as France’s already has.
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