International Monetary Fund Lowers Growth Estimates for United States and Global Economy

As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings start, the IMF cuts growth projections for the United States due to austerity budget cuts and lowers previous Euro-zone and global economic growth projections. The IMF cites implementation of US and European austerity policies as cause of contraction of previous IMF growth projections of 0.2 percentage points in the US and around the globe.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, a religious antipoverty organization, releases the following statement:

"There's a kind of schizophrenia at the IMF. Their latest economic projections show reduced economic growth in the US and around the globe due to the austerity policies the IMF previously promoted. Since their fall meetings in Japan, they changed their tune for stimulus for wealthy countries, but are still holding most of the world hostage with IMF austerity policies. Greece, Cyprus and Jamaica are among the nations getting hit hard by the IMF's continued austerity promotion. It's ironic that the IMF still promotes austerity policies with certain countries and then says the same kind of policies harm economic growth.

"The debt crisis spread from the south to the north and there is a great need for an orderly, fair and transparent international bankruptcy process for all countries.

"Sovereign debt crises are continuing to occur in every corner of the globe. At the spring meetings, the leadership of the IMF is needed to curb illicit financial flows, a systemic cause of poverty. Stopping these flows and tax havens generates needed revenue to end the financial crisis and address the underlying drive of austerity policies."