Governments around the world have been on a borrowing spree, and prosperity has suffered.
by J.D. Tuccille
Reason.com
Misery loves company, as they say. But does financial irresponsibility also enjoy spending a little quality time with friends? If so, it’s quite a party. While the U.S. government is famously running up debt to stratospheric levels, governments around the world have been spending beyond their means and borrowing to make ends meet. The likely result: financial markets put at risk by over-extended governments and slow economic growth for pretty much everybody.
Soaring Government Debt Everywhere
“Public debt as a fraction of gross domestic product has increased significantly in recent decades, across advanced as well as emerging and middle-income economies,” write Tobias Adrian, Vitor Gaspar, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “It is expected to reach 120 percent and 80 percent of output respectively by 2028.”