Have you been tracking the story of these ratings agencies and their evolving comments on the US Debt? Robert Reich:
What's so outrageous about this is that it was Standard & Poors and Moodys who so badly rated the all the exotic financial instruments created during the real estate bubble. They gave their imprimatur to so many instruments that turned out to be lethal and toxic, it took the world economy off a cliff.
Which then required the US government to step in and 1) bail out the banks, 2)bail out AIG, and finally, build a stimulus that would help the economy recover.
And now these same people are threatening to downgrade US debt? Where was their fiscal responsibility a few years back?
This whole situation feels so unreal with the GOP only controlling one part of the federal government, but able to make outsized demands on the rest of it (but unable to complete it without Dem cooperation).So who comes in at the last minute with an assist? Moody's and S&P, who are essentially reinforcing the GOP's narrative and blackmailing the United States with demands.
It feels like a coup d'etat.
Feels like a coup d' etat
Just last winter, S&P and Moody's were saying something completely different: that raising the debt ceiling doesn't mean we're going to spend more, it's just a reflection of past bills. Ezra Klein has more on that.
All of America’s big credit-rating agencies — Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s — have warned they might cut America’s credit rating if a deal isn’t reached soon to raise the debt ceiling. This isn’t surprising. A borrower that won’t pay its bills is bound to face a lower credit rating.But Standard & Poor’s has gone a step further: It’s warned it might lower the nation’s credit rating even if Democrats and Republicans make a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Standard & Poor’s insists any deal must also contain a credible, bipartisan plan to reduce the nation’s long-term budget deficit by $4 trillion — something neither Harry Reid’s nor John Boehner’s plans do.
What's so outrageous about this is that it was Standard & Poors and Moodys who so badly rated the all the exotic financial instruments created during the real estate bubble. They gave their imprimatur to so many instruments that turned out to be lethal and toxic, it took the world economy off a cliff.
Which then required the US government to step in and 1) bail out the banks, 2)bail out AIG, and finally, build a stimulus that would help the economy recover.
And now these same people are threatening to downgrade US debt? Where was their fiscal responsibility a few years back?
This whole situation feels so unreal with the GOP only controlling one part of the federal government, but able to make outsized demands on the rest of it (but unable to complete it without Dem cooperation).So who comes in at the last minute with an assist? Moody's and S&P, who are essentially reinforcing the GOP's narrative and blackmailing the United States with demands.
It feels like a coup d'etat.