Indeed, rating-agency downgrades, a widening of sovereign spreads, and failed public-debt auctions in countries like the United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, and Spain provided a stark reminder last year that unless advanced economies begin to put their fiscal houses in order, investors, bond-market vigilantes, and rating agencies may turn from friend to foe. The severe recession, combined with the financial crisis during 2008-2009, worsened developed countries’ fiscal positions, owing to stimulus spending, lower tax revenues, and backstopping and ring-fencing of their financial sectors.
评级降级，国债息差扩大，英国、希腊、爱尔兰和西班牙等国公债流拍……说真的，去年的种种迹象严峻地提醒人们，除非发达经济体着手整顿财政结构，否则投资者、“债券市场义勇军”（ bond-market vigilantes ，指通过抛售国债来对抗扩张性政策的投资者群体）和评级机构就会由朋友转为敌人。 2008~2009 年，金融危机和严重衰退联翩而至，发达国家税收下滑，却不得不扩大开支刺激经济，还要为金融业输血、调养，这一切都使它们的财政体质急剧恶化。