IMF: U.S. debt nearing 100 percent of GDP

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

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

The IMF predicts that the United States would need to reduce its structural deficit by the equivalent of 12 percent 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 percent of GDP, according to the IMF’s analysis.

Read the full report here.

The report, released May 15, also wades into the debate over healthcare reform, questioning the Congressional Budget Office’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.

President Barack Obama has established a fiscal commission to make recommendations on addressing the nation’s fiscal woes.

Earlier this week, former President Clinton suggested letting more immigrants into the country and establishing a value-added tax to reduce the deficit.