Title:
Major Economies Caught in Debate Between Debt,
Growth
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
Concerns about a double-dip recession were back in
the news at the end of June. Some economists warned
of the possibility of another downturn if
governments withdraw growth measures too quickly.
But others warned of the dangers of letting deficits
and debts continue to grow. Leaders of the world's
biggest economies agreed to cut their deficits by
half or more by twenty thirteen. They also promised
to try to reduce the size of their government debt
in relation to their economy by twenty sixteen.
Western countries have not faced such high debt
levels in sixty years. Leaders like President Obama,
however, argue that the recession would have been
much worse without the spending. At the close of the
Group of 20 Summit in Toronto, Canada, the president
noted moves in Europe to cut government spending. He
said: "A number of our European partners are making
difficult decisions. But we must recognize that our
fiscal health tomorrow will rest in no small measure
on our ability to create jobs and growth today." In
the United States, stocks have been falling since
April on concerns about the recovery. At the end of
June, a business research group reported a drop in
consumer confidence after three months of gains. The
Conference Board said more Americans believed
business conditions were bad and that jobs were hard
to get. New jobless claims rose in the latest
government report. Still, employment expert John
Challenger says his findings suggest that the
nation's employers are not expecting a double-dip
recession. He points to a big drop in the number of
planned job cuts announced by employers over the
past six months. Even so, other reports showed big
drops in housing sales in May. That followed the end
of a homebuyer's tax credit. Congress voted to
extend the credit to the end of September -- but
only for people who signed a deal by April
thirtieth. The House of Representatives passed a
major bill to rewrite financial rules and add
consumer protections. The bill provides a way for
the government to close failing banks. President
Obama had hoped to sign a final bill by July fourth.
But the Senate delayed action on its version of the
financial reform bill until Congress returned July
twelfth. And that's the VOA Special English
Economics Report. You can comment on our reports on
our website, voaspecialenglish.com.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
