On Friday evening, Standard & Poors downgrade the credit rating of the United States from “AAA” to “AA+,” a move which is unprecedented and will undoubtedly have huge implications on the 2012 election. The move came as a response to analyst conclusions that the debt deal compromise reached earlier last week would be insufficient at reigning in the massive deficit. Below are the responses I could find for several candidates.
“We have just learned that for the first time in our history, the United States’ top credit rating has been downgraded by credit rating agency S&P.
“We were told by proponents of increasing the debt ceiling that a credit downgrade would come if we didn’t raise the limit, but the opposite was true.
“The ratings agencies had been warning us for some time that it is imperative upon the U.S. government to get its fiscal house in order and tackle its debt and deficit problem by taking serious steps.
“Unfortunately, the game in Washington has been one of partisan blaming and bipartisan out-of-control spending.
“America has been dealing with this severe economic crisis for years because the Washington establishment failed to focus on the true issues at hand: a declining dollar and out-of-control spending.
“Last November, millions of frustrated Americans let it be known that they wanted our debt crisis solved and our spending problem to end. They sent a group of new lawmakers to Washington to end business as usual.
“America’s creditworthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama’s failed record of leadership on the economy. Standard & Poor’s rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country’s decline under President Obama. His failed policies have led to high unemployment, skyrocketing deficits, and now, the unprecedented loss of our nation’s prized AAA credit rating. Today, President Obama promised that ‘things will get better.’ But it has become increasingly clear that the only way things will get better is with new leadership in the White House.”
“Tonight’s 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 a list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work.”
On Tuesday, April 19, 2011, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner promised that America faced “no risk” of a credit downgrading. Less than four months later, he is proven shamefully wrong. As I have feared for months, the S&P has chosen to downgrade America’s credit rating from AAA, which we have always enjoyed, to AA+.
Perhaps this is because the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats never once demonstrated a willingness to propose its own ideas for meaningful spending cuts, something credit agencies signaled were necessary to redeem America’s financial standing in the world.
As a corporate executive, I’ve rescued companies from the brink of bankruptcy and returned them to profitability. That involved balancing budgets or even creating them in the first place, something that the Democratic leadership in Congress hasn’t done for 828 days. If I couldn’t run companies without budgets, how can the government?
“This is a sad moment for the United States, but it’s a reflection that our country is in trouble. President Obama is inept when it comes to creating the conditions or job creation and economic growth. It’s time for a new direction and a new President.”
Look for this to be the lead off topic at Thursday night’s debate.
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