Ten Years of THIS!?!?

(left) The IMF Choice of the Day: Which would you prefer?

If I'm wondering if its going to rain tomorrow or how hot it will be today, I usually go to weather underground. It's a bit of a guess, mixed in with a bit of science and is generally right.

If you're wondering what the larger trends in government expenditures will be in the next 10 years, if you're tuition is likely to go through the roof or your low-income housing subsidy is likely to get dumped, well you should see what the IMF is predicting.

The International Monetary Fund was founded in 1944 to attempt to regulate exchange rates between capitalist nations and has consistently fought for monetary stability world-wide. It has an unbroken record of promoting privatization and curbing public spending. The IMF's $500 billion cash bank, dominated by US funding, is currently being used to help nations do the right thing as a part of the corporate vision.

The IMF's headline prediction in today's edition of the Financial Times was bleak and frank: "Ten years of cuts and tax rises lie ahead, IMF says." Well, there we have it. The bailouts are all but spent. The tab is there. It will be paid by you and I, the working people, and we will pay it over 10 years through deep cuts and increased taxes. The IMF spokesperson concludes, "the adjustment needed in many countries will be difficult."

In the industrialized world this will mean increased poverty, increased hunger, and massive cuts to education and other services. In the less-industrialized world this will mean an escalation of those dying of hunger, disease and a lack of money.

TEN YEARS. Let's get ready for the fight.