8:19 p.m.: S&P downgrades U.S. credit

[ilovedomains]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_919867.html


WASHINGTON — Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's on Friday downgraded the United States' credit rating first time in the history of the ratings.

The credit rating agency said that it is cutting the country's top AAA rating by one notch to AA-plus. The credit agency said that it is making the move because the deficit reduction plan passed by Congress on Tuesday did not go far enough to stabilize the country's debt situation.

[south]

It's long overdue I'm afraid. They are being generous only dropping by one "notch".

[Gerry]

It's long overdue I'm afraid. They are being generous only dropping by one "notch".

I agree. Should have dropped the credit rating in fall of '08 when all the big brokerage firms were being bailed out, collapsing, and feeding the banks rolls of cash. Those are the institutions, right here on American soil, who brought down the creditworthiness of this nation. Why it is taking this long to catch up with the markets is beyond me. Goes well beyond politics. It is a matter of fiscal responsibility that goes back to those that have been saying for the past few years...we didn't learn a thing.

Here's what happens when you offer subsidies to the farmers (even pay them for not growing food) and tax loopholes the size of an aircraft carrier to the mega corporations and big oil companies.

NO ONE likes paying taxes and NO ONE wants to see tax increase. But thanks to letting all the high and mighty not pay, there is no revenue. Zilch. None. You can cut shit all you want but at the end of the day you have cut nothing, just merely diverted it to something else. Meanwhile, there is no revenue. Zilch. None. There is no coin in the pot. Hell, we don't even have a pot to piss in.

I just thank god we have people like Rick Perry who will lead this nation to jesus and out of debt.

[H2FC]

I just thank god we have people like Rick Perry who will lead this nation to jesus and out of debt.

Sorry I will have to disagree with you Doc but although he's not as stupid, Rick Perry is just another George W. Bush from Texas. But on the bright side, when all of his political beliefs are exposed he won't have a snowball's chance of being elected.

[Gerry]

Sorry I will have to disagree with you Doc but although he's not as stupid, Rick Perry is just another George W. Bush from Texas. But on the bright side, when all of his political beliefs are exposed he won't have a snowball's chance of being elected.

Notice I did not capitalize god or jesus. There's a reason for that.

[south]

Sorry I will have to disagree with you Doc but although he's not as stupid, Rick Perry is just another George W. Bush from Texas. But on the bright side, when all of his political beliefs are exposed he won't have a snowball's chance of being elected.

You honestly thought he was being serious with that comment?

Doc, the problem is quite simple. Government is like a spoiled child. The more you give them, the more they want. Daddy needs to say no at some point before the child breaks the whole family's bank account.

http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartb...nment-revenues

China is correct. The U.S. needs to "cure its addiction to debts” and “live within its means"

[H2FC]

Notice I did not capitalize god or jesus. There's a reason for that.

Forgive me Doc....I should have known better.

[Tia Wood]

Regardless of whether one agrees with the decision or not, am I reading this correctly that it has been downgraded based on speculation or is there something more to all this?

[Gerry]

Downgraded based on debt to reserve ratio, to put it in a nutshell.

A certain portion of all money goes to paying bills but there is no funds to pay the bills. So the borrowing continues.

Regardless of any plan reached this past week, making cuts has not got a blessed thing to do with revenue coming in.

You can cut, cut, cut. Just like your household budget. But with no money coming in, something is going to get turned off, some bills are not going to be paid, and your credit rating (score) will drop.

Basic, simple, fundamental economics.

[south]

In case you missed this:

http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartb...nment-revenues

[katherine]

Nothing has been done to even contain the level of debt. They just raised authorized ceilings.
It's like increasing the daily allowance of a drug addict.
You're avoiding a 'crisis' but you might very well wake up next to a dead body tomorrow morning.

[Raider]

Nothing has been done to even contain the level of debt. They just raised authorized ceilings.
It's like increasing the daily allowance of a drug addict.
You're avoiding a 'crisis' but you might very well wake up next to a dead body tomorrow morning.

Your exactly right.. The recent deal to raise the debt ceiling does little to nothing in paying down the national debt.. Now the drug addict has 2 TRILLION more in bribe money to help re-elect himself in 2012.

[Gerry]

Meanwhile, some of us are still wondering where the nearly 3 Trillion increase in the last 6 months of the Bush presidency went.

3 Trillion dollars? Well, we know the 3 Trillion did not go to pay for wars as the wars were improperly funded (estimates 1 billion a day). We know the 3 Trillion did not fund the prescription drug plan (it was unfunded). We know the 3 Trillion did not go to bail out the banks and other institution (that was a separate fund - the Paulson plan). Hmm, 3 Trillion gone in the remaining 6 months of Dubya's admin? Where did it go? Who's pockets did it go in to?

The whole discussion/conflict of raising the debt now is mind boggling...it went up $3 Trillion in the last 6 months of 2008. Does anyone seem concerned where that money went to?

For that matter, 2000 - 2008 saw the debt raised a total of 7 times, went from 5.6 Trillion to nearly 11 trillion bucks during a period that saw one of the slowest economic growth periods. More interesting, economists estimate that in the total eight years of the Bush administration, only an estimated 3 million jobs were created - the lowest gains per year since records were being kept going all the way back to Harry Truman.

So, as a taxpayer and as a US citizen and a member of the GOP, I really, really, really have to wonder how those Bush era tax cuts were meant to create millions of jobs and put America back to work. Well, how was cutting taxes benefiting America when we were in the midst of two wars? Gee, that surely demonstrated some fiscal sense - NOT! Jobs creation? Oh yeah! The military - an odd strategy...get thousands of working age young kids killed and open up positions followed by the tens of thousands of young incapacitated with crippling, debilitating, life long injuries...ooo, one of the other poorly funded programs - how to pay for the billions of dollars annually anticipated cost of care. How many Trillions will that add to the long term obligations of the economy? Again, those tax cuts were so crucial in creating all those jobs...financial sector?

I can not quite grasp how some economists are now claiming that more private sector jobs were created in 2010 than the entire Bush eight years.

[Raider]

What Father Gerry FAILS to tell you is that HIS party, the Democratic party who controlled BOTH houses of congress from Jan 2007 to Jan 2011, RAISED THE DEBT CEILING 6 TIMES, this is was not the work of the GOP but rather the work of Tax and Spend Democrats like Nancy and Harry Reid, People like him who believe in bigger Government, believe in raising taxes and imposing regulations that KILL jobs.

Let's have a look at those debt ceiling increases when Democrats controlled both houses of congress shall we?

2007 110-H.J.Res.43 Raised the debt ceiling from $8.9 Trillion to $9.8 Trillion

2008 110-H.R.3221 Raised the debt ceiling to 10.6 Trillion

2008 110-H.R.1424 Raised the debt ceiling to $11.3 Trillion

2009 111-H.R.1 – American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Obama's Spending Bill) Raised the debt ceiling to $12.1 Trillion

2009 111-H.R.4314 Raised the debt ceiling to $12.4 Trillion

2010 111-H.J.Res.45 Raised the debt ceiling to $14.3 Trillion


So let's recap, From the time Democrats took control of both houses, they raised the debt ceiling from $8.9 Trillion to $14.3 Trillion.

Instead of "Father Gerry" preaching from the pulpit and asking where $3 Trillion of it went, shouldn't he be asking where $5.4 TRILLION of it went from his own party?

A preacher who preaches with blinders on.

[Aristo]

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