There goes the punch bowl

No shock and awe, except for maybe those who thought the party could go on forever, and maybe the politicians who thought they could deceive the voting public forever.

Work longer (duh) and either pay more taxes (likely) or get less from government (less likely) or both.

For nations living the good life, the party's over, IMF says: "Who doesn't want more balance in their life?

But the translation is a bit ruder, something on the order of: 'Suck it up. The party's over.'

To keep the global economy on track, people in the United States and the rest of the developed world need to work longer before retiring, pay higher taxes and expect less from government. And the cheap imports lining the shelves of mega-chains such as Wal-Mart and Target? They need to be more expensive."