Doing good by stealth

13 May 2013 By Martin Hutchinson

While Spain, the UK and other nations sold belt-tightening to voters, the U.S. Congress prevaricated. As a result, automatic spending cuts and tax hikes overcame ideological proclivities and made a $600 bln dent in the deficit, more than in Europe, and with more GDP growth.

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The U.S. Monthly Treasury Statement for April, released on May 10, showed receipts of $407 billion for that month, up 28 percent on the previous year, and a monthly surplus of $113 billion, up from $59 billion in April 2012. For the first four months of 2013, the Federal deficit has been $194 billion, compared with $398 billion in 2012, an improvement of $204 billion or an annualized $612 billion.
Based on IMF data and projections, the U.S. fiscal deficit has declined from 13.3 percent of GDP in 2009 to 6.5 percent of GDP in 2013. Since December 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. government at all levels has laid off a net 423,000 workers, 1.9 percent of the total.
Based on IMF data and projections the UK budget deficit has declined from 11.4 percent of GDP in 2009 to 7.0 percent of GDP in 2013. According to the Office for National Statistics British public sector employment peaked in the third quarter of 2009; from then to the fourth quarter of 2012, excluding definitional changes, the public sector laid off a net 363,000 workers, 6.5 percent of the total.
Based on IMF data and projections Spain’s general government deficit has narrowed from 11.2 percent of GDP in 2009 to 6.6 percent of GDP in 2013.
Based on IMF data and projections, the average GDP growth in 2010-13 was 1.7 percent in the United States, 0.8 percent in the UK and minus 2.6 percent in Spain.

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