House GOP sabotaged America's Credit Rating
Posted on Saturday, August 06, 2011 at 09:32 AM
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That's the conclusion that most economic observers and Wall Street have just come to about the debt ceiling mess.
In response to this perception - and to the recent dangerous power plays to damage the president in Washington - Standard & Poor yesterday historically downgraded the United States of America's credit rating from AAA to AA+.
The agency was responding to Washington's apparent complete inability to reach an agreement on how to address the large fiscal gaps in our economy, or how to align revenues with spending commitments.
Closing the financial gaps, it is generally accepted, will require tax increases and the closure of tax giveaways to the rich, otherwise the money can simply not be raised. Remember that today taxes as a percentage of GDP are at historic lows and corporate tax receipts as a percentage of GDP are also at historic lows.
Not so, say the Republican party, who have now elevated tax cuts to the realm of a near religious faith. Taxes, they claim, should never go up - only down. It makes perfect sense to them that CEO's and hedge fund managers should pay lower tax rates than high school teachers. We should never return to the dark days of the 1990's or the tax rates of that era, they cry.
Add to that insuperable creed a blanket refusal to compromise with Democrats on any major legislative issue - and add a general Tea Party contempt for a working government and its international relations and commitments - and yesterday's downgrade can be seen for what it is: cold water over the faces of suicidal ideologues.
Everyone in America, from fiscal reform groups to the general public, had accepted that spending cuts and tax increases were inevitable. But Congressional Republicans now believe that anything that is requested by President Obama must be refused by them, regardless of the ultimate cost to the nation.
The result was a modest deal composed of spending cuts - and even that was opposed by a sizable number of Congressional Republicans.
In seeking to the end the Obama presidency Congressional Republicans have overreached and brought about an end to the American Empire instead.
(Tea Party members cheer after being blamed for the Credit downgrade)
55 Comments
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PhlutiePhan | Aug 09, 2011, 10:34 AM EDT
We are three years into the Oba Administration. How long are you going to blame Bush? Sure, there are waves from throwing a rock in the pond. However, there is a new rock that has been thrown. Criticize both.
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hollabackgurl | Aug 08, 2011, 09:30 PM EDT
The problem of deficits could be solved very easily - tax the rich, something that Obama and his right wing shills like band want us to forget about. Tax rates for the rich were at their lowest from 1924 to 1929 when they were less than 25%, and again from 2000 to 2011, when they dropped to about 35%, not counting tax loop holes. Both of those rates of low taxation were triggers for depressions.
The tax rate for the rich climbed to 79% under FDR and Truman (with a brief jump during the war and then were raised again under Eisenhower to 90%. They were steadily lowered until they again reached into the mid 20% range in 1988 which triggered with the Crash of 1988.
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peterson | Aug 08, 2011, 08:34 PM EDT
No,,--- The wild spending of the trillions borrowed by obuma from the Chinese to finance his "stimulus" payments to questional recipients with no strings attached caused the debt. He cannot blame that on Bush !! The Democrats will have a real awakening in 2012 ! Hurrah for the Tea Party. Ireland could use one !!
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seanomelbourne | Aug 08, 2011, 07:35 PM EDT
The teahadist are despised in Australia the results of their economic madness is stretching the globe.They should crawl back into their trailers and leave the world to those who care. A bunch of morons destroying a proud and respected U.S.A.
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hollabackgurl | Aug 08, 2011, 04:31 PM EDT
Today was Teabaggergeddon. Thank you Tea-Baggers, my 401(k) thanks you as well. Thank you for being hell-bent on getting Obama out, even if they have to push us into double-digit unemployment, and screw the economy and our credit rating for the next 10 years.
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hollabackgurl | Aug 08, 2011, 04:08 PM EDT
Our corporations are enjoying record profits and tax breaks and they are not creating a single new job. Trickle down economic theory is bull#$it.
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JohnQCitizen | Aug 08, 2011, 01:21 PM EDT
The Entire World sees what The Grand Old Tea Party has done to the U.S. They are to blame for the downfall. They are bad for America and bad for the World, nothing more than terrorists. Vote Them out America.
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Josephboland | Aug 08, 2011, 11:47 AM EDT
Balogna. You are spouting the liberal credo that spending our money cures all. Does that work in Ireland? No not here either.
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chesapeake | Aug 08, 2011, 11:01 AM EDT
The road to ruined credit as more attributable to the largesse of the Obama regime than any other set of circumstances. The billions upon billiions of of dollars spent on government jobs and unions, taking over of General Motors then giving it to the unions... giving, giving and giving while taking away the incentives for private industry jobs. I will admit that the Republican budget was not well thought out... they should have demanded much more and stuck it out. The Dems already knew that the present administration had almost guaranteed that our credit was shot and Obama was at his weakest. Now, they have given him more life. The Dems have done what Jimmy abd Bill could not... virtually destroying our ability to right the ship peacefully. doiZBikk
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hollabackgurl | Aug 08, 2011, 09:24 AM EDT
"I will tell you ladies and gentlemen, I detest and despise everything the left stands for. How anybody can endorse and embrace an ideology that has killed a billion people in the last century is beyond me." - Tea Party Nation CEO Judson Phillips, speaking at a Republican event in Wisconsin. That's the GOP's idea of a politician these days.
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hollabackgurl | Aug 08, 2011, 09:23 AM EDT
Verizon made $27 billion in profit in just the last quarter, but wants employees to give up some of their health and pension benefits. That's the new American economy the GOP wants to protect with tax cuts and corporate giveaways.
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bonjouryall | Aug 08, 2011, 06:53 AM EDT
Harry Reid himself pointed out the Obama stimuls did not work. So maybe this will. The Tea Party has fairly pointed out that when revenues have been raised in the past, the money is not used to pay down the debt but is spent for 'needs' -usually several times over. My recollection also is that taxes will go up when the Bush tax cuts expire soon. On the other hand, the wealthy have gotten much richer while the middle class has dwindled due to unlimited free trade pushed by Bush/Clinton. And many people are hurting badly right now. While I do favor taxing the rich more, and ending loopholes, I say taxing imports from countries that do not have similar environmental standards is the most fair way to proceed, with the most immediate payoff for creating American jobs. Lastly, social security has always been underfunded on a personal standpoint - it relies upon more people paying in than the number paying out. It is only fair to require higher contributions since the national demographics have changed the old unsustainable ratio.
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hollabackgurl | Aug 07, 2011, 07:48 PM EDT
Sorry Peggy P but speaker John Boehner loudly claimed that he 'got 98% of what he wanted in the deficit' debacle. So that's Boehner and the GOP's idea of leadership and that's exactly where to pin the blame for the credit downgrade. Just ask S&P, they are on record for having done so themselves.
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seanomelbourne | Aug 07, 2011, 07:02 PM EDT
The party of no is in disarray run by the "credit down grade teaparty"
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