DOWNGRADE TO AA+

Hi Forum,

If you can stand the crazy camera action in this video, you will be rewarded with an accurate account of how our Nation's debt actually works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7Xtj04QiQg&feature=topvideos_education

Hi Forum,

Well, Standard and Poors did it. They downgraded US Treasury notes to AA+ from AAA. What matters is why. The major reason cited was the dysfunction of our Government in handling the recent debt ceiling debates. The rating agency doesn't find grownups representing us. I agree. And one thing they specifically point to is the inability to address revenue added to the equation. Surprise, surprise.

Here is a typical News account from CSM:

S&P downgrade of US credit rating sends clear message to Congress: shape up

S&P, one of the three major credit-rating firms, downgraded its rating for US debt Friday night – a move that has the potential to further spook global markets and drive up borrowing costs in the US. The reason for the downgrade, S&P said, was congressional dysfunction. ...

And from the S&P Report itself:

We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the
prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related
fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the
growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an
agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and
will remain a contentious and fitful process. We also believe that the fiscal
consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration agreed to this week
falls short of the amount that we believe is necessary to stabilize the
general government debt burden by the middle of the decade.
Our lowering of the rating was prompted by our view on the rising public
debt burden and our perception of greater policymaking uncertainty, consistent
with our criteria ...
The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as
America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective,
and less predictable than what we previously believed. The statutory debt
ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in
the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year's wide-ranging debate, in our
view, the differences between political parties have proven to be
extraordinarily difficult to bridge, and, as we see it, the resulting
agreement fell well short of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program
that some proponents had envisaged until quite recently. Republicans and
Democrats have only been able to agree to relatively modest savings on
discretionary spending while delegating to the Select Committee decisions on
more comprehensive measures. It appears that for now, new revenues have
dropped down on the menu of policy options. In addition, the plan envisions
only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements,
the containment of which we and most other independent observers regard as key
to long-term fiscal sustainability.