Fiscal policy in the rich world is mind-bogglingly reckless

The dire state of rich-world governments’ budgets would make even the luxury-loving Madame Bovary wince. America has avoided a debt-ceiling disaster, but in the year to May the federal government’s revenue fell short of its spending by $2.1trn, or 8.1% of GDP. In the European Union politicians are finding that rising interest rates mean the debts financing much of the bloc’s €800bn ($865bn) in post-pandemic recovery spending threaten to drain the common budget. Japan’s government recently omitted from its economic-policy framework a timetable for balancing its primary budget, which excludes interest payments but is still in the red by more than 6% of GDP. And on June 13th Britain’s cost of borrowing for two years rose above the levels reached after its calamitous “mini-budget” in September.