I noticed in the news that the credit ratings agency, Standard and Poor's, had issued a grave warning to the United States and the citizens of the Universe that the U.S. risked it's cherished AAA credit rating if it didn't get it's shit together.
http://www.kansascity.com/...
I'll admit it kind of pissed me off because these bastards were a major player in getting us here in the first place having given AAA ratings to the major players on Wall Street and the Big Banks to gamble our Social Security and Medicare away. Not to mention when we borrow more money from ourselves we'll have to pay ourselves more interest.
So I decided to check into it. Why do we need a credit ratings agency? Who owns the credit ratings agencies? What effect do the credit ratings agencies have on citizens? What effect do the credit ratings agencies have on interest rates? I worked Google as best I could and damned if every time the first ten entries weren't from the Standard's and Poors websites or something obviously affiliated. Red flag on google, I didn't even open.
Then I found Robert Reich's article. Done. Makes too much sense for me to continue on. I've got some antiwar research to do.
http://robertreich.org/...
His article titled: "The Biggest Driver in the Deficit Battle: Standard and Poor's" nails home some good points.
"But Standard & Poor’s has gone a step further: It’s warned it might lower the nation’s credit rating even if Democrats and Republicans make a deal to raise the debt ceiling. Standard & Poor’s insists any deal must also contain a credible, bipartisan plan to reduce the nation’s long-term budget deficit by $4 trillion — something neither Harry Reid’s nor John Boehner’s plans do.
If Standard & Poor’s downgrades America’s debt, the other two big credit-raters are likely to follow. The result: You’ll be paying higher interest on your variable-rate mortgage, your auto loan, your credit card loans, and every other penny you borrow. And many of the securities you own that you consider especially safe – Treasury bills and other highly-rated bonds – will be worth less."
In other words, Standard & Poor’s is threatening that if the ten-year budget deficit isn’t cut by $4 trillion in a credible and bipartisan way, you’ll pay more – even if the debt ceiling is lifted next week."
At this point I'm thinking, who in the fuck are they to have this kind of power"?
Then Reich says in his article:
"Who is Standard & Poor’s to tell America how much debt it has to shed in order to keep its credit rating?"
Hell Ya! I wanna know, I really wanna know, who the fuck are you, you you, you, you.
Reich comes thru again:
"Could it have anything to do with the fact that the Street pays Standard & Poor’s bills?"
Shit, not again. I've heard enough, thanks Robert. I knew something was up. You're telling us Standard and Poor's is part of the financial oligarchy that is trying to steal all our fucking money.
I don't need to know anymore, I don't want to know anymore. I've got some research to do on Libya. The Rebels there don't seem to be what they're telling us but every time I've googled, the first ten lines are from the Pentagon.