IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 191 member countries. It does so by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation, which are essential to increase productivity, job creation, and economic well-being. The IMF is governed by and accountable to its member countries.
City lobbyists have been out in full force, warning the government that higher taxes could force banks to throttle lending, hitting the economy and even forcing some lenders to move jobs and operations abroad.
- Target pensions or welfare, not banks, IMF tells John Healey, Guardian
By Gregg Wall (10-17-2026)
For those knowledgeable about the IMF, this story may sound familiar; for those unfamiliar with the IMF, you’re not alone, but now is a really good time to get to know this institution.
The IMF monitors nation-state finances and often gets involved before and after a financial crisis hits. It is dominated by the United States. Some have called the IMF an enforcer for multinational Western banks & capital and a tool in the service of debt, exploitation, and subjugation. While others - banker types & the establishment – argue, via proactive monitoring and guidance, the IMF ensures growth, financial harmony, and free trade between nation states. The IMF is called the “lender of last resort.” In that regard, think of the IMF as a Federal Reserve or central bank for nation-states and the global economy. A life preserver, if you will, for a top-down economic model.
The reason everyone should get to know the International Monetary Fund (IMF) better is because nation-states, particularly Western nations, are up to their eyeballs in national debt. A growing fiscal crisis has set off austerity, economic malaise, riots, subpar economies in many nations, as social services are cut and taxes are raised on the public, but not on corporations and the extremely wealthy. We can see some of the fallout in France presently, with students in the streets, and growing public demonstrations everywhere against the rollback of state services and a seven years long affordability crisis. Historically, we often hear of the IMF’s ministrations within Global South countries, but I fear we are going to be hearing about IMF involvement and budgetary takeovers within Western democracies and increasingly so. Usually, the IMF steps in over matters concerning balance of payments, capital flight, devalued currency, explosive growth in government spending, unsustainable debt & deficits, tax avoidance … all with debilitating impact upon an economy. The IMF will often offer a bailout or debt relief, conditionally upon neoliberal reforms, cracking down on labour and social services, austerity, cutbacks to state service.
Notice, all IMF reforms are a direct attack on families, citizens on the margins of society, labour. Notice, the IMF never suggests taxing the wealthy, the powerful, the rich, who have often looted republics (via crony government and crony economy, in the run up to the crisis, banana republic - style). Notice, the IMF insists upon control, fiscal domination, and necro-neolib reforms in exchange for financial assistance to the state in crisis; but, notice again, when politicians are giving money away to bankers, multinationals, war contractors… in the name of illusory growth, "national interest," & purported preservation of jobs… in the run up to the crisis, there are no similar terms, conditions, and claw back features for bailouts and welfare. Notice, there is no continuous analysis and accounting as to whether not the actual promised economic growth and jobs growth materialize, when politicians and the rich collude to steal taxpayer money. The IMF has no similar restraint and reservations, about holding the looted, troubled state accountable, in exchange for IMF assistance, that is the government is subject to continuous economic metrics and scrutiny. (An IMF hostile takeover is as if JP Morgan or Barclays… evil bankers… have descended upon the U.S. Congress and Parliament in the UK and grabbed the power of the purse.) Observe, there is no holding the politicians and oligarchs responsible for the crisis accountable, only the citizenry pays the price and we quickly see why the IMF is called the enforcer for capital and greed. Please observe further, IMF reforms and currency devaluation often bring about an even greater crisis & hardship upon the citizenry, greater poverty & suffering, and subject the country to further looting of public assets & privatization scams by international bankers, oligarchs, and private equity, so loans can be paid off. That’s because the IMF is looking out for banksters, bondholders, capital, and greed. We can also point out, there’s no IMF equivalent looking out for labour, the public, ensuring living wages, crushing outrageous Wall St greed and outrageous wealth transfer and inequality, nor fighting against concentrated wealth, power, and monopolies. Why is that?
At issue in the UK: After 46 years of Reagan and Thatcher, supply-side neoliberalism, and trickle-down tax cuts for the rich… entirely predictable, many Western nation-states find themselves tapped out, deep in debt. Credit markets have noticed and bond yields, the cost to borrow, are soaring. Today, we’ll focus on the UK and PM Burnham, who has acknowledged that neoliberalism has failed the UK and has called for greater social spending to address decades of harm, more in line with Keynesian economics. Wealth and wage inequality, where private and public resources are syphoned off to a growing and worrisome oligarchy and behemoth banks and multinationals, are highly damaging to economies and a key source of civil unrest.
In the UK, the Chancelor of the Exchequer (in the US we call this the Treasury Secretary) had dialogue with our friends at the IMF. Mr. Healey let it be known that the British government is interested in raising taxes on the large banks to end austerity and begin rebuilding the social state, in line with PM Burnham’s proposals.
The IMF response was altogether predictable: taking the side of antagonistic & inharmonious capital and greed, it recommended class warfare. That is don’t tax the rich, instead slash and burn public services, austerity for the public first, higher taxes upon “the poors.” The IMF, predictably, repeated the same Thatcher lies. To wit, higher taxes on the top could be harmful to growth, lending, and the economy. Banks, themselves, opined (even Jamie - Bailout Queen - Dimon) and as billionaires frequently do, threatened to move jobs and operations… the typical behavior we’ve come to expect from greed, CEOs, oligarchs, and capital. As noted in the Guardian, when it’s time to bailout these institutions & oligarchs with public money, the government bends to banker/oligarch will, the entire banking crisis is paved over with a tidal wave of taxpayer cash, and in the case of the US, no accountability or responsibility are ever assessed or assigned. In fact, many of the culprits grow richer from the bailout itself. That is, the rich grow obscenely rich and the bottom 90% pay for welfare for the rich with austerity, lower real wages, wage slavery, soaring prices, and higher taxes (see Trump’s tariff taxation).
So, banks, billionaires, and the IMF … and this true throughout the West… believe society is something to prey upon, something to feed off, like a vampire, but when it comes time to support children, families, and society this greed collective shuns any all responsibility (despite making huge profits). Keep in mind, these banks make their money by creating money/currency out of thin air and charging usurious rates… any chimpanzee can do it. I don’t want to belabor the point, but we all need to get the know the IMF better, because not only does the IMF offer advice but it takes over the fiscal and tax affairs of nation-states, like Greece after the 2008 crisis and Goldman Sachs sold some curious derivatives that obscured Greek debt (until it could be obscured no more). What’s the old saying? Baby, you may not do politics, but politics ultimately will do you. To that adage we could add: Baby, you may not do the IMF, but IMF will surely do you and then some. Except for the rich and bankers of course… magically, they’re off limits.
Before I close, it’s not just banks and billionaires… monopolies have huge power over nation-states and governments. Screaming all manner of insanity about growth, the economy, threatening to exit a country if their every whim is not met, and doing incredible damage to economies, creating abject inequality and economic calamity for families, labour, social cohesion, children, and the future with their greed-first ideology.
So, what’s to be done? Nationalization is one immediate solution. The State could set up its own bank or set up retail and commercial lending at the central bank, the BOE. Take a metaphorical chainsaw to the private sector and greed, especially on something so essential as banking. I’ve long argued that any essential goods and services have no business being in the hands of capital and greed, as it immediately lends itself to rabid exploitation and moral hazard. A government willing to set up banking services could cut the legs out from under the private sector and tell them, they better leave the UK. The casino most of the larger banks have become are often more of a liability and a distraction from the real economy, that is to say, far more trouble and risk than they are worth. A state bank would also be far better conduit for accommodative, expansionist, and restrictive monetary policy, than the private sector. What we see from bankers, billionaires, CEOs running essential goods and services is pure conceit, that is the power mad arrogance of bankers and the oligarchy are entirely out of control. Nation-states can fight the battle alone or better still, they can collude, gather as a unified front against corporate power & greed’s tyranny. Imagine the EU beefing up their tax collection services to include armies of tax attorneys and accountants to run down billionaires offshore, Bermuda, Belgium, tax havens, wherever a billionaire bunker can be found. If the EU and UK wanted to get entrepreneurial it could set loose mercenary battalions of attorneys and accountants on billionaires and multinationals, who avoid and dodge taxation. That is, place a financial bounty on each oligarch’s head for successful criminal and civil prosecution and a cut of the tax proceeds collected. The creativity here is limitless. Think Blade Runner for accounting and tax nerds, retiring oligarchs instead of replicants?
Ultimately, what’s clear is fascist corporatism, greed-first, the endless growth paradigm, globalization, and oligarchy rule are complete failures, especially in terms of a guiding economic ethos, generating empathy & support for an increasingly impoverished world, and as a governing ideology. Remember, they are all hypocrites, perfectly fine helping themselves to state money and credit lines, while condemning socialism for the 99%.
What’s clear: corporate fascism as always has failed, as has hatred and contempt for humanity. Perhaps, it’s time for the IMF to remember this and get on board... redirect its efforts to helping humanity, not a privileged few.
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing
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