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S&P made it clear several times that the main driving force behind a downgrade was the debt, deficit spending, and glacial economic growth.
S&P: Deficit cuts of $4 trillion a good start | Reuters
(Reuters) - Cutting the U.S. deficit by some $4 trillion over 10 years would be a good start, but more savings would be needed over time to bring the country's finances under control, ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Thursday.
There it is in a nutshell.
We can't raise revenues BECAUSE THE DEMOCRATS WILL JUST SPENT IT.
The Democrats want to end the Bush Tax Cuts SO THEY CAN SPEND IT.
They want to tax the rich SO THEY CAN SPEND IT.
They want to tax internet sales SO THEY CAN SPEND IT.
They have no intention of paying down the debt...just keep raising the debt ceiling.
And the Republicans are no better. They raised the debt ceiling too, and spent like they stole Dad's credit card.
The Tea Party is the only hope. They are the only ones who are serious about reducing the deficit and the national debt.
The Democrat haven't produced a budget in years!
How can you even pretend to care about the deficit or debt.
When you find yourself getting your credit downgraded for the first time in history, the first thing you should do is STOP SPENDING.
Then cut spending...cut it some more...and when you get done....go back and cut again.
Then and only then can we raise taxes...to pay down the debt.
Sounds like S+P are a bunch of Pub Morons who will have to cancel this BS.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The bond rating agency Standard & Poor's Friday downgraded U.S. debt from its current triple-A rate to AA+, a move an administration official called "amateur."
Citing government officials it did not identify, ABC had reported earlier Friday the administration was preparing for such a move.
S&P said the downgrade reflects its opinion that the debt reduction plan Congress enacted "falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics."
"The effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges," S&P said in announcing its decision.
One federal official told ABC News the downgrade would be based in part on confusion associated with the way Congress handled legislation to raise the limit on federal borrowing and a lack of confidence that further deficit reduction can be achieved under the current U.S. political system.
Citing another source it did not identify, ABC said another reason for the move was be the Republicans' refusal to allow a deficit reduction deal to include new revenues.
However, another government official said the White House had told S&P the company's thinking was "based on flawed math and assumptions." And S&P acknowledged "its numbers are wrong."
An administration official told NBC News after the credit rating was lowered, "It's amateur hour at S&P."
Treasury Department officials said the S&P announcement came after Treasury pointed out the rating agency, in a draft of its downgrade announcement, overstated U.S. debt by incorrectly adding $2 trillion to its projection of the debt, The New York Times reported.The effect of the downgrade was a matter of speculation Friday but the Times noted that a small increase in interest rates on borrowed funds could add tens of billions of dollars to the nation's annual debt repayment.
There is also a possibility that a downgrade of federal debt could lead to downgrades of other government-backed instruments, possibly leading to higher mortgage interest rates.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.,, the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, said on MSNBC the decision was "just a political judgment by a group of incompetents."
"This is the rating agency that took money from people who were selling junk bonds and told other people to buy it," Frank said, accusing S&P of overvaluing private debt while consistently undervaluing public debt."
They are as responsible for the financial crisis as anybody else.
"There is zero chance of (the United States) defaulting," Frank said.
Moody's Investor Services and Fitch Ratings both said Tuesday they will keep the country's credit rating at triple-A for now, but they said a downgrade is still possible if the U.S. financial situation deteriorates or if promised federal spending cuts don't materialize.
The two credit ratings firms issued their assessments after President Barack Obama signed into law compromise legislation passed by Congress to raise the nation's debt limit and cut its budget deficit.
© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification
Read more: S&P lowers U.S. credit rating - UPI.com
Yeah - no. What they ACTUALLY SAID WAS "because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues"
Derp.
link?
S&P Downgrades U.S. Debt Rating Press Release - MarketBeat - WSJ
Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act. Key macroeconomic assumptions in the base case scenario include trend real GDP growth of 3% and consumer price inflation near 2% annually over the decade.
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 (see Sovereign Government Rating Methodology and Assumptions, June 30, 2011, especially Paragraphs 36-41). Nevertheless, we view the U.S. federal governments other economic, external, and monetary credit attributes, which form the basis for the sovereign rating, as broadly unchanged.
T-publicans got 98% of what they wanted= credit downgrade. Questions?
This is because politics took precedence over the economy. If the President had been given a clean debt bill...just like the 100+ times other Presidents have been given before, we would not have been downgraded.
The Teapublicans will get the blame.
YES! We are back to trying to pin blame on the minority of the Republicans (like 15 people) in the house! FUCK YEAH! Lets hope America is dumb enough to buy it.
Sounds like S+P are a bunch of Pub Morons who will have to cancel this BS.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The bond rating agency Standard & Poor's Friday downgraded U.S. debt from its current triple-A rate to AA+, a move an administration official called "amateur."
Citing government officials it did not identify, ABC had reported earlier Friday the administration was preparing for such a move.
S&P said the downgrade reflects its opinion that the debt reduction plan Congress enacted "falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics."
"The effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges," S&P said in announcing its decision.
One federal official told ABC News the downgrade would be based in part on confusion associated with the way Congress handled legislation to raise the limit on federal borrowing and a lack of confidence that further deficit reduction can be achieved under the current U.S. political system.
Citing another source it did not identify, ABC said another reason for the move was be the Republicans' refusal to allow a deficit reduction deal to include new revenues.
However, another government official said the White House had told S&P the company's thinking was "based on flawed math and assumptions." And S&P acknowledged "its numbers are wrong."
An administration official told NBC News after the credit rating was lowered, "It's amateur hour at S&P."
Treasury Department officials said the S&P announcement came after Treasury pointed out the rating agency, in a draft of its downgrade announcement, overstated U.S. debt by incorrectly adding $2 trillion to its projection of the debt, The New York Times reported.The effect of the downgrade was a matter of speculation Friday but the Times noted that a small increase in interest rates on borrowed funds could add tens of billions of dollars to the nation's annual debt repayment.
There is also a possibility that a downgrade of federal debt could lead to downgrades of other government-backed instruments, possibly leading to higher mortgage interest rates.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.,, the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, said on MSNBC the decision was "just a political judgment by a group of incompetents."
"This is the rating agency that took money from people who were selling junk bonds and told other people to buy it," Frank said, accusing S&P of overvaluing private debt while consistently undervaluing public debt."
They are as responsible for the financial crisis as anybody else.
"There is zero chance of (the United States) defaulting," Frank said.Moody's Investor Services and Fitch Ratings both said Tuesday they will keep the country's credit rating at triple-A for now, but they said a downgrade is still possible if the U.S. financial situation deteriorates or if promised federal spending cuts don't materialize.
The two credit ratings firms issued their assessments after President Barack Obama signed into law compromise legislation passed by Congress to raise the nation's debt limit and cut its budget deficit.
© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification
Read more: S&P lowers U.S. credit rating - UPI.com
If the Tea Party wanted to reduce the deficit they would have supported the President's plan to reduce the deficit by $4T and raise $1T in revenue. Then The U.S. credit rating would not have been downgraded.
The Tea Party, like you, are FULL OF SHIT!
They got what they wanted: a national economic disaster!
Nice cherry-picking, CTL-C/CTL-V....
Try these paragraphs:
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 (see Sovereign Government Rating Methodology and Assumptions, June 30, 2011, especially Paragraphs 36-41). Nevertheless, we view the U.S. federal governments other economic, external, and monetary credit attributes, which form the basis for the sovereign rating, as broadly unchanged.
S&P Downgrades U.S. Debt Rating Press Release - MarketBeat - WSJ
Nice cherry-picking, CTL-C/CTL-V....
Try these paragraphs:
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 (see Sovereign Government Rating Methodology and Assumptions, June 30, 2011, especially Paragraphs 36-41). Nevertheless, we view the U.S. federal governments other economic, external, and monetary credit attributes, which form the basis for the sovereign rating, as broadly unchanged.
S&P Downgrades U.S. Debt Rating Press Release - MarketBeat - WSJ
Owned in the face... And the best part is they never say taxes are the way to get revenue, they could mean policy that grows the economy but hey, being they are clear on spending and "entitlement spending" specifically as being a problem but dont say "taxes needed to be raised" what do we get?? We get people trying to claim spending cuts are not needed but of course higher taxes are!
Tonights decision by S&P to downgrade our credit rating to AA+ is a historically significant and serious event for the United States. The United States has had a AAA credit rating since 1917. That rating has endured the great depression, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the terrorist attacks on 9/11. This President has destroyed the credit rating of the United States through his failed economic policies and his inability to control government spending by raising the debt ceiling.
We were warned by all of the credit agencies that a failure to deal with our debt would lead to a downgrade in our credit rating, but instead he submitted a budget that had a $1.5 trillion deficit and then requested a $2.4 trillion blank check. President Obama is destroying the foundations of the U.S. economy one beam at a time. I call on the President to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work.
[...]The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as Americas 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.
[...]It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options.
[...]The act contains no measures to raise taxes or otherwise enhance revenues,
though the committee could recommend them.
[...]Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.
This is because politics took precedence over the economy. If the President had been given a clean debt bill...just like the 100+ times other Presidents have been given before, we would not have been downgraded.
The Teapublicans will get the blame.
YES! We are back to trying to pin blame on the minority of the Republicans (like 15 people) in the house! FUCK YEAH! Lets hope America is dumb enough to buy it.
DENIAL!!!!!!!!!!
You just blame the liberals for EVERYthing because you hate them.
You vote and decide on topics with pure EMOTION and ZERO thought and facts.
Now get out of here and go beat up your Obama Doll or something.
Nice cherry-picking, CTL-C/CTL-V....
Try these paragraphs:
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 (see Sovereign Government Rating Methodology and Assumptions, June 30, 2011, especially Paragraphs 36-41). Nevertheless, we view the U.S. federal governments other economic, external, and monetary credit attributes, which form the basis for the sovereign rating, as broadly unchanged.
S&P Downgrades U.S. Debt Rating Press Release - MarketBeat - WSJ
Owned in the face... And the best part is they never say taxes are the way to get revenue, they could mean policy that grows the economy but hey, being they are clear on spending and "entitlement spending" specifically as being a problem but dont say "taxes needed to be raised" what do we get?? We get people trying to claim spending cuts are not needed but of course higher taxes are!
Nice cherry-picking, CTL-C/CTL-V....
Try these paragraphs:
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 (see Sovereign Government Rating Methodology and Assumptions, June 30, 2011, especially Paragraphs 36-41). Nevertheless, we view the U.S. federal governments other economic, external, and monetary credit attributes, which form the basis for the sovereign rating, as broadly unchanged.
S&P Downgrades U.S. Debt Rating Press Release - MarketBeat - WSJ
Owned in the face... And the best part is they never say taxes are the way to get revenue, they could mean policy that grows the economy but hey, being they are clear on spending and "entitlement spending" specifically as being a problem but dont say "taxes needed to be raised" what do we get?? We get people trying to claim spending cuts are not needed but of course higher taxes are!
What Bachmann said:
Tonights decision by S&P to downgrade our credit rating to AA+ is a historically significant and serious event for the United States. The United States has had a AAA credit rating since 1917. That rating has endured the great depression, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the terrorist attacks on 9/11. This President has destroyed the credit rating of the United States through his failed economic policies and his inability to control government spending by raising the debt ceiling.
We were warned by all of the credit agencies that a failure to deal with our debt would lead to a downgrade in our credit rating, but instead he submitted a budget that had a $1.5 trillion deficit and then requested a $2.4 trillion blank check. President Obama is destroying the foundations of the U.S. economy one beam at a time. I call on the President to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work.
Bachmann decries credit rating downgrade, calls for treasury secretary to resign | Iowa Caucuses
What S&P said:
[...]The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as Americas 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.
[...]It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options.
[...]The act contains no measures to raise taxes or otherwise enhance revenues,
though the committee could recommend them.
[...]Compared with previous projections, our revised base case scenario now assumes that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, due to expire by the end of 2012, remain in place. We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.
S&P Downgrades U.S. Debt Rating Press Release - MarketBeat - WSJ
