Wonder who’s paying for all these bailouts around the globe? Mark Steyn‘s asking that question in his latest “Happy Warrior” column in National Review.
Steyn starts his column by noting that the International Monetary Fund could be tapped for hundreds of billions of euros to rescue the Italian economy.
But where exactly does the IMF get its money from? Ah, well. America provides 17.7 percent of IMF’s funding, which is more than the next three biggest contributors (Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom) combined. So, in a 600 billion-euro bailout for Italy, 106.2 billion euros — or about $143 billion — will come from the United States. Which is to say, you.
But don’t panic. You’re pretty much tapped out. The United States recently bust through the $15 trillion debt ceiling to set a new all-time world record as the Brokest Nation in History. So another $142 billion barely rates a line item.
Oh, by the way, the IMF itself has spent most of the last few years operating with a $400 million budget deficit. So a broke G7 economy is being bailed out by a broke transnational organization funded by a broke hyperpower. That seems likely to work.
The jig is pretty much up for the post-World War II global order. It’s becoming increasingly hard to avoid the thought that, when it comes to the Western world, there’s no there there. There may be a there out there somewhere else, but chances are you’re paying for that, too.
