W ith a quarter of a million people on the streets of London protesting against the UK budget cuts, and with the US government days away from a potential shutdown, social divisions over fiscal policy are deepening. It is not hard to see why. Both the US and UK have had a profound shift of income distribution from the poor and the middle-class to the rich in the past 30 years, yet the fiscal adjustments are dominated by sharp cuts on public services combined with reductions on corporate tax rates. The social contract is under threat. Only international co-operation can solve a runaway social crisis in many high-income countries.
25万人走上伦敦街头抗议英国的预算削减计划，美国政府倒闭的危险迫在眉睫，由此可见，围绕财政政策的社会分歧正在深化。原因不难看出。在过去30年里，美英都经历了从贫困人群和中产阶级向富裕阶层的大规模收入分配转移，而财政调整却以大举削减公共服务和降低企业税为主。社会契约正受到威胁。只有借助国际合作，才能解决出现在许多高收入国家的难以控制的社会危机。