International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde criticized the U.S. government's budget policies as too tight on Tuesday, in an appearance in Amsterdam that was interrupted by student protestors.
Lagarde said the U.S. government's debt reduction plans are too abrupt, including the $85 billion in federal budget cuts known as the sequester. She said the current policies, if maintained, could lead to a contraction of 1.5 percent in the U.S. economy.
The U.S. "should consolidate less in the short term, but give...economic actors the certainty that there will be fiscal consolidation going forward," she said.
Lagarde had just begun speaking to students at the University of Amsterdam when the protestors began an organized, chanting disruption. One would call out "mic check!" and dozens more would yell back "Madame Lagarde!"
Then individual students challenged her as believing "technocracy better than democracy" and mocked for saying that Greeks should "help themselves...by paying all their tax."
Security guards dragged students away until there were none left shouting, and eventually the interview resumed.
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