IMF: U.S. debt approaching 100% of GDP

The U.S. national debt will soon reach 100% of GDP, the IMF predicts in a new report.

The following graph shows the sharp rise in U.S. debt starting in around 2006. By 2015, the IMF suggests, debt could reach well over 100% of GDP.

The IMF predicts that the U.S. would need to reduce its structural deficit by the equivalent of 12% of GDP, a much larger portion than any other country analyzed except Japan. Greece, in the midst of a financial crisis, needs to reduce its structural deficit by just 9% of GDP, according to the IMF’s analysis.

The report, released yesterday, also wades into the debate over healthcare reform, questioning the CBO’s analysis that healthcare reform would reduce the U.S. deficit.

“There are some risks to the CBO estimates, however, including that the substantial decrease in Medicare payment rates to health care providers may prove difficult to implement,” the report reads.