Bush under criticism by IMF for rising deficits, ballooning budget

[Judi Lynn]

Bush under criticism by IMF for rising deficits, ballooning budget


By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
The Associated Press
4/20/04 2:23 AM


WASHINGTON (AP) -- If President Bush didn't have enough criticism from Democrats over his handling of the economy, now he is facing a rising tide of foreign complaints over America's soaring budget and trade deficits.

The 184-nation International Monetary Fund and the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have come out with new reports warning that uncontrolled budget deficits pose a serious threat to global prosperity by pushing interest rates higher, dampening the borrowing that businesses need to do to expand and modernize.

The IMF also is worried about America's soaring current account trade deficit, the broadest measure of foreign trade, which hit a record $541.8 billion last year. That represents the amount of money the United States had to borrow from the rest of the world last year to finance Americans' appetite for foreign cars, televisions and oil.

The worry is that if foreigners lose interest in lending the United States money, the dollar's value could plummet. That could trigger an exit by foreign investors, sending stocks plunging and interest rates soaring.
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[izzie]

1. Well Bush could not run his own company and left Texas a mess.

The GOP knew this as we all did. I did not think he would do better, did you?No father's friends to bail him out here just the US tax payers. We are pretty easy.