Far Right, Tea Parties, Palin Cause Deaths and Woundings

[Annie]

Let's talk about anything but rising gas prices and our economy:

U.S. on the Way toward Losing AAA Credit Rating - By Kevin D. Williamson - The Corner - National Review Online

U.S. on the Way toward Losing AAA Credit Rating
January 13, 2011 8:24 A.M.
By Kevin D. Williamson

In the heady, bubblicious days leading up to the financial crisis, the major credit-rating agencies were asleep on the job — which is exactly what one would expect from a federally protected cartel. They are neither the brightest lights nor most conscientious souls in the financial universe.

So when Moody’s and Standard & Poor start making panicky noises about U.S. public finances — as both did today — then it is time to fire up the klaxons of alarm across the fruited plain. If it’s bad enough to get the attention of these incompetents, it’s bad. From the WSJ:

Moody’s said the U.S., Germany, France and the U.K. still have debt metrics, including the debt affordability, compatible with their triple-A ratings at Moody’s. But all four countries must bring the future costs arising from pension and healthcare subsidies under control if they “are to maintain long-term stability in their debt burden credit metrics,” Moody’s said in its regular triple-A Sovereign Monitor report.
​

Moody’s noted that measures were recommended by the U.S. National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, appointed by President Obama, to achieve a balanced primary budget by 2015, but that there was insufficient support to trigger consideration of those recommendations by the full Congress.​

If you think the 2008 financial crisis was bad, ask yourself this: Who is big enough to bail out the United States? Answer: Nobody.

Note to Washington: If you thought the Tea Party looked like an angry mob, wait until you see what happens when Social Security checks start bouncing.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Let's talk about anything but rising gas prices and our economy:

U.S. on the Way toward Losing AAA Credit Rating - By Kevin D. Williamson - The Corner - National Review Online

U.S. on the Way toward Losing AAA Credit Rating
January 13, 2011 8:24 A.M.
By Kevin D. Williamson

In the heady, bubblicious days leading up to the financial crisis, the major credit-rating agencies were asleep on the job — which is exactly what one would expect from a federally protected cartel. They are neither the brightest lights nor most conscientious souls in the financial universe.

So when Moody’s and Standard & Poor start making panicky noises about U.S. public finances — as both did today — then it is time to fire up the klaxons of alarm across the fruited plain. If it’s bad enough to get the attention of these incompetents, it’s bad. From the WSJ:

Gee....where was the Murdoch Street Journal, six-years-ago???!!!!!

 

[Talismen]

Let's talk about anything but rising gas prices and our economy:

U.S. on the Way toward Losing AAA Credit Rating - By Kevin D. Williamson - The Corner - National Review Online

U.S. on the Way toward Losing AAA Credit Rating
January 13, 2011 8:24 A.M.
By Kevin D. Williamson

In the heady, bubblicious days leading up to the financial crisis, the major credit-rating agencies were asleep on the job — which is exactly what one would expect from a federally protected cartel. They are neither the brightest lights nor most conscientious souls in the financial universe.

So when Moody’s and Standard & Poor start making panicky noises about U.S. public finances — as both did today — then it is time to fire up the klaxons of alarm across the fruited plain. If it’s bad enough to get the attention of these incompetents, it’s bad. From the WSJ:

Moody’s said the U.S., Germany, France and the U.K. still have debt metrics, including the debt affordability, compatible with their triple-A ratings at Moody’s. But all four countries must bring the future costs arising from pension and healthcare subsidies under control if they “are to maintain long-term stability in their debt burden credit metrics,” Moody’s said in its regular triple-A Sovereign Monitor report.
​

Moody’s noted that measures were recommended by the U.S. National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, appointed by President Obama, to achieve a balanced primary budget by 2015, but that there was insufficient support to trigger consideration of those recommendations by the full Congress.​

If you think the 2008 financial crisis was bad, ask yourself this: Who is big enough to bail out the United States? Answer: Nobody.

Note to Washington: If you thought the Tea Party looked like an angry mob, wait until you see what happens when Social Security checks start bouncing.

Nasty stuff.

It will continue to spin out of control, as long as the current fiscal policies are in place.
And yes, I blame BOTH sides of the aisle for the onset of this mess.

 

[Flopper]

This will be an interesting story to follow. When the financial fundamentals deteriorate for a private corporations or government, S&P and Moody's issue this type of warning. If the fundamental do not change, a credit watch will be issued which tells owners and potential buyers of US debt, that they are considering issuing a change in ratings within two years if the situation does not change. Usually a AAA rating is down graded to AA or A. For the private sector this is not usually earth shattering but for the US debt it is. Not only would the government suffer due to a rise in interest rates, but ever holder of US debt which means most banks throughout the US and world, most all large financial institutions, and most central banks would see the value of their holdings of US debt fall in value. In short this would bring on an international financial crisis, which is why I believe this will not occur.

Even the issuing of a credit watch would shake the entire financial system. This would surely bring together both houses of Congress with legislation to cut spending and increase taxes. We would not be able to wipe out the deficit in one year, but we could certainly do enough to protect our AAA rating. Keep in mind the ratings of the US debt depends quite a bit on what other countries are doing.

 

[Annie]

This will be an interesting story to follow. When the financial fundamentals deteriorate for a private corporations or government, S&P and Moody's issue this type of warning. If the fundamental do not change, a credit watch will be issued which tells owners and potential buyers of US debt, that they are considering issuing a change in ratings within two years if the situation does not change. Usually a AAA rating is down graded to AA or A. For the private sector this is not usually earth shattering but for the US debt it is. Not only would the government suffer due to a rise in interest rates, but ever holder of US debt which means most banks throughout the US and world, most all large financial institutions, and most central banks would see the value of their holdings of US debt fall in value. In short this would bring on an international financial crisis, which is why I believe this will not occur.

Even the issuing of a credit watch would shake the entire financial system. This would surely bring together both houses of Congress with legislation to cut spending and increase taxes. We would not be able to wipe out the deficit in one year, but we could certainly do enough to protect our AAA rating. Keep in mind the ratings of the US debt depends quite a bit on what other countries are doing.

Indeed. As the post makes clear, there is no country, none, that could bail out the US. It's not Ireland, Greece, Spain, Eastern Bloc of former USSR, combined. Not bailable.

 

[Jackson]

And blaming isn't useful at this point. Solutions are. It's time they get their big heads together and start working FOR the country and not for their party.

Start having hearings with the top economic people on the planet. Not Geithner and his crew, it's out of their league. They should know that by now. Let the people hear through CSPAN and perhaps they will understand the problems we face so the silly vitriol will stop and we can learn about the real problems we face.

 

[Claudette]

Ditto.

 

[JamesInFlorida]

The blame game is all noise to distract Americans from the real issue: the economy. That's the only reason why Rodger Clemens is going to go on trial for lying about using steroids (which effects nobody), instead of you know-actually addressing important issues. It's ridiculous, but whatever keeps the American public's eyes off the gas pump and the economy I guess.

 

[PoliticalChic]

And blaming isn't useful at this point. Solutions are. It's time they get their big heads together and start working FOR the country and not for their party.

Start having hearings with the top economic people on the planet. Not Geithner and his crew, it's out of their league. They should know that by now. Let the people hear through CSPAN and perhaps they will understand the problems we face so the silly vitriol will stop and we can learn about the real problems we face.

"In new research Biggs, et al., analyzed the history of fiscal consolidations in 21 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development over 37 years. If the United States were to copy past consolidations that succeeded, what would it do?
This is an important question, because failed consolidations are more the rule than the exception:
To be blunt, countries in fiscal trouble generally get there by making years of concessions to their left wing, and their fiscal consolidations tend to make too many as well.
As a result, successful consolidations are rare: In only around one-fifth of cases do countries reduce their debt-to-GDP ratios by the relatively modest sum of 4.5 percentage points three years following the beginning of a consolidation.
Finland from 1996 to 1998 and the United Kingdom in 1997 are two examples of successful consolidations.
The data also clearly indicate that successful attempts to balance budgets rely almost entirely on reduced government expenditures, while unsuccessful ones rely heavily on tax increases. On average, the typical unsuccessful consolidation consisted of 53 percent tax increases and 47 percent spending cuts. By contrast, the typical successful fiscal consolidation consisted, on average, of 85 percent spending cuts."

Biggs, Hassett and Jensen: The Right Way to Balance the Budget - WSJ.com

BTW, I also believe that we should include 90% 'silly vitriol.'

 

[whitehall]

Let's talk about anything but rising gas prices and our economy:

U.S. on the Way toward Losing AAA Credit Rating - By Kevin D. Williamson - The Corner - National Review Online

U.S. on the Way toward Losing AAA Credit Rating
January 13, 2011 8:24 A.M.
By Kevin D. Williamson

In the heady, bubblicious days leading up to the financial crisis, the major credit-rating agencies were asleep on the job — which is exactly what one would expect from a federally protected cartel. They are neither the brightest lights nor most conscientious souls in the financial universe.

So when Moody’s and Standard & Poor start making panicky noises about U.S. public finances — as both did today — then it is time to fire up the klaxons of alarm across the fruited plain. If it’s bad enough to get the attention of these incompetents, it’s bad. From the WSJ:

Moody’s said the U.S., Germany, France and the U.K. still have debt metrics, including the debt affordability, compatible with their triple-A ratings at Moody’s. But all four countries must bring the future costs arising from pension and healthcare subsidies under control if they “are to maintain long-term stability in their debt burden credit metrics,” Moody’s said in its regular triple-A Sovereign Monitor report.
​

Moody’s noted that measures were recommended by the U.S. National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, appointed by President Obama, to achieve a balanced primary budget by 2015, but that there was insufficient support to trigger consideration of those recommendations by the full Congress.​

If you think the 2008 financial crisis was bad, ask yourself this: Who is big enough to bail out the United States? Answer: Nobody.

Note to Washington: If you thought the Tea Party looked like an angry mob, wait until you see what happens when Social Security checks start bouncing.

Don't you Palin haters realize you are the problem? The dirty little secret is that the left never wastes a crisis or a tragedy. They rant about hate speech and the first thing they think of is more hate speech.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Speaking of the federal reserve cartel, TJ summed it up nicely:

"If the America people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currencies, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their prosperity until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

Too bad we couldn't have learned from such wisdom.

 

[uptownlivin90]

If America doesn't do something drastic, soon, we're due for one huge terrible wake-up call.

 

[Flopper]

This will be an interesting story to follow. When the financial fundamentals deteriorate for a private corporations or government, S&P and Moody's issue this type of warning. If the fundamental do not change, a credit watch will be issued which tells owners and potential buyers of US debt, that they are considering issuing a change in ratings within two years if the situation does not change. Usually a AAA rating is down graded to AA or A. For the private sector this is not usually earth shattering but for the US debt it is. Not only would the government suffer due to a rise in interest rates, but ever holder of US debt which means most banks throughout the US and world, most all large financial institutions, and most central banks would see the value of their holdings of US debt fall in value. In short this would bring on an international financial crisis, which is why I believe this will not occur.

Even the issuing of a credit watch would shake the entire financial system. This would surely bring together both houses of Congress with legislation to cut spending and increase taxes. We would not be able to wipe out the deficit in one year, but we could certainly do enough to protect our AAA rating. Keep in mind the ratings of the US debt depends quite a bit on what other countries are doing.

Indeed. As the post makes clear, there is no country, none, that could bail out the US. It's not Ireland, Greece, Spain, Eastern Bloc of former USSR, combined. Not bailable.

The US has no need for a bailout. Compared to a country like Greece, the US is in great shape. The Greek debt to GDP ratio is 10 times worse than the US. There income tax rates are nearly twice ours with a sales tax of 19%. Their GDP growth rate is worse than ours. A bailout for countries such as Greece or Ireland was imperative to avoid massive government default.

Our 2010 deficit is 1350 billion. It was 455 billion prior to the recession, a deficit we have had a number of times in the last 20 years without danger of the debt being downgraded. A deficit cut of about 900 billion should put us in good shape however, we do not have to cut spending 900 billion. The CBO estimates a 15% increase in revenue in 2011 or 350 billion and that's with all the Bush tax cuts in place. So we need to cut 550 billion in spending but we don't have to be do it all in one year. Also CBO projections of increased revenue in 2012 reduce the amount we need to cut even further. Obama proposed a deficit reduction over a 5 year period. I would think if we cut 100 billion in spending per year over the next 5 years, that would be more than sufficient.

We could solve the problem with a 3 or 4 percent across the board tax increase, but that could endanger the recover and reduce revenue.

Getting 100 billion in spending cuts should not be difficult. It is appearing less and less likely that we will need the huge job bills and bailouts of the last two years that ran the deficit up. Couple that a with draw downs in troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, 100 billion in spending cuts should be easy. If we're smart we will use this opportunity to cut spending across the board.

I think the mostly likely result is going to be a bill that cuts quite a bit of spending with moderate tax increase.

The only problem here is convincing Congress that cuts in the deficit is not an option but a necessarily. Hopefully it won't take Moody issuing a credit watch because that will have serious financial consequences.

The Revenue Outlook

 

[Avatar4321]

This is precisely why we need to cut spending and cut taxes and grow ourselves out of this economics slump while reducing our debt.

So now we may lose our rating in the next two years... this is really not good people. Especially considering the inflation already coming our way.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

If America doesn't do something drastic, soon, we're due for one huge terrible wake-up call.

It's coming, this year.... brace yourself.

 

[Flopper]

Speaking of the federal reserve cartel, TJ summed it up nicely:

"If the America people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currencies, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their prosperity until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

Too bad we couldn't have learned from such wisdom.

Who would be stupid enough to propose that?