On the Downgrade and POLITICS...

[nadinbrzezinski]

Ok I know Rachel has made the point, so let me take this a step further.

This is not about the economic outlook. This is not about our ability to pay. It really is not.

When Standards and Poors downgrades debt they can do it over the economic issue... this is not about that. This is about our political system. They see our system as weak, unstable and dysfunctional. They have done that in the past for OTHER countries... and they are doing it now for the American Empire.

So while the downgrade may or may not stink at the economic level, digest what they are saying about this country at the political level. A few of us, and apparently we live in a fantasy world, have been saying this for a while. Me saying it, whatever, it is a trends analysis. These guys saying it... they just told DC, buck up Jack... Oh and how BOTH parties react to this in the next 48 hours will be telling to our FUTURE STABILITY. If especially a certain group digs their heads even further... that will not be good.

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. Investors have a right to know about dysfunctional and obstructionist leadership

whether a corporation or a sovereign nation.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Yep, absolutely

[Armstead]

8. All they gotta do is open a newspapewr or turn on the TV

It's as plain as the nose...etc.

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. Oh, and WSJ reached out to Cantor, who refused to comment

Twitter rumor is that they are going on a pub crawl in Georgetown looking for Boehner.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. LOL

[ozone_man]

5. It's about time, and it's a good thing.

It's like helping a heroin addict realize that what they're doing is bad for their health.

We're addicted to credit, time to cure the addiction. It's as simple as that, isn't it?

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. it is not about the credit

we've had debt since the nation was formed... it is about the politics

governments run on credit... period

[ozone_man]

12. Not at this level, not since WWII anyway.

The reason that the present situation is different is that there is large personal and national debt, affecting the credit rating at personal and soon at national levels. Sure, mortgage rates are low, but few qualify for them. At the national level, a lower rating will make the cost of borrowing higher, discouraging it.

It would be one thing if our national debt had gone to something constructive, like infrastructure improvements, creating jobs, education, clean energy, ... But, it has gone to bailing out Wall Street and funding unnecessary wars. Similarly at the personal level, the debt went to buying too much house and watching those investments disappear as the housing bubble collapsed. The debt still has a ways to go before it is purged from the system. That means depression for a while.

[Kablooie]

7. The Republicans made a conscious decision that ...

eliminating Obama is more important than world and national economic security.
And this is from the party of big business.
What they did is totally insane as governing body.

Their strategy is to make the government as non-functional and destructive as possible, assuming this will be attributed to Obama in the next election.
It's really a shame that they are probably right.
By next year November the country may be in such a terrible state that suffering citizens who want "change" will vote for the Republican.

The problem then will be for the new president to fix the horrible mess that his party created and there won't be a Democrat to blame if he fails.

it's a dangerous and stupid game they are playing.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Yep, Thomas Frank on the subject

http://www.amazon.com/Wrecking-Crew-How-Conservatives-Rule/dp/0805079882

The Wrecking Crew

[frustrated_lefty]

10. After all the finger pointing, blame games and posturing

are over, it will be interesting to see what the practical impact of the downgrade is on political maneuvering.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. That is why the next 48 hours will be critical

if they stay in the status quo then things will get much worst... and the other two companies might follow.