Obama 2012-Are You Better Off Than Four Years Ago?

[Ms Tree]

Where is the S&P quote saying that if the Tea Party plan was passed, they would not have lowered the rating?

I will wait.

You will produce that the day when President Bachmann is inaugurated?

It won't even be produced then. You cannot produce a statement that was never even made in the first place.

 

[Ms Tree]

Beers said it, I'll give you that and my apologies. But it was not said by S&P and Beers statement does not jibe with the official statement on their web site.

 

[SparrowHawk]

Once again we have the Progressives attempting to shift blame. Instead of Cut, Cap & Balance the Progressives give us Duck, Dodge & Deflect.

The junior back bench Senator from IL who masquerades as POTUS highhandedly raised the debt to unsustainable levels and obligated the average citizen to Trillions more in Federal Government Spending via ObamaCare.

In order to fund this spending he cranked up the printing presses with QE1 & QE2 creating massive inflation of commodities such as Gas and Food. What group spends a higher percentage of their income on Gas and Food? The evil wealthy? NO! It would be the Middle Class and the Working Poor. Friend of the people my arse.

He's beholden to big labor, big business & the Trail Lawyers Association which makes him no different then Bush being in cahoots with Haliburton. Two wings on the same bird of prey.

Ten years of runaway spending coupled with 4 shooting wars and our maintaining of our empire have brought us to the financial brink and a credit downgrade whose effects have yet to be felt

Now the Progressives want you to believe ALL of this is somehow the fault of a loosely knit group of fiscal conservatives, Libertarians and evangelicals who have actually read the founding documents and reached a few conclusions that are just a little different then the Washington Political Ruling Class. Concepts as simple as the family checkbook. That one should spend no more then they make and that government serves the people not the other way around.

If you buy into the argument that the Tea Party caused the downgrade then you're admitting that Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and others have more credibility than the anointed one and of course that could never be.

 

[delldude]

It won't even be produced then. You cannot produce a statement that was never even made in the first place.

So a S&P official, speaking on a national news network saying what would have prevented the downgrade with S&P isn't good enough?

David Beers is S&P's Global Head of Sovereign Ratings and wouldn't be on TV without S&P's knowledge or permission dude.

If the guy was off the reservation, S&P would have canned his butt.

Congress once again failed to address the issue and the proposal favored by the Tea Party and most fiscal conservatives would have prevented a downgrade.

That simple.

So when Geithner or Bernanke go on national news shows on Sunday's that's not official either?

Your pink glasses need cleaning Pal.

My Goodness Gracious

 

[tech2101]

So a S&P official, speaking on a national news network saying what would have prevented the downgrade with S&P isn't good enough?

David Beers is S&P's Global Head of Sovereign Ratings and wouldn't be on TV without S&P's knowledge or permission dude.

If the guy was off the reservation, S&P would have canned his butt.

Congress once again failed to address the issue and the proposal favored by the Tea Party and most fiscal conservatives would have prevented a downgrade.

That simple.

So when Geithner or Bernanke go on national news shows on Sunday's that's not official either?

Your pink glasses need cleaning Pal.

You have yet to provide a link where Beers actually said that. I see that statement parroted all over right wing blogs with no source from where it originated. Maybe Brietbart???

Provide the link and I will offer my apologies for questioning you.

 

[7days]

I believe this is the video Dell is talking about: http://online.wsj.com/video/sp-chief-explains-credit-downgrade/31350E29-5435-4F85-BA8C-372115979D21.html

 

[delldude]

Actually, more here:

David Beers global head of sovereign debt at S&P reiterated what S&P has said publicly, that both a failure to raise the debt ceiling and a failure to tackle the long term fiscal challenges of the U.S. risk a downgrade of the U.S. AAA rating.

S&P, members said, emphasized that a default would cause a spike in interest rates that would “cascade” through the economy.

The meeting was organized by Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) independent of leadership.

Members emerged from the meeting convinced both of the seriousness of avoiding a default and saying that S&P had reaffirmed their belief that the debt ceiling should not be raised without a credible plan, such as the GOP’s Cut, Cap and Balance, to deal with the debt.

Link

Rep. Bill Huizinga (R-Mich.) said no one wants a default, although there could be some flexibility to sell assets for a short time after Aug. 2.

He said his belief in Cut, Cap and Balance was reaffirmed by S&P saying the U.S. could still face a downgrade even if the debt ceiling is raised, if there is not debt plan in place.

 

[tech2101]

Actually, more here:



Link

You can't find either can you. That is because it does not exist. The S&P, nor Beers ever said that.

 

[tech2101]

I believe this is the video Dell is talking about: http://online.wsj.com/video/sp-chief-explains-credit-downgrade/31350E29-5435-4F85-BA8C-372115979D21.html

I watched that show, and the video since then. He never said what Dell and many other bloggers now quote him as saying.

It is simply one of those things that people believe if it is repeated often enough.

Maybe this will help.

The following is a rush transcript of the August 7, 2011, edition of "Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace."

Standard & Poor's has downgraded the U.S. credit rating Friday night for the first time ever from AAA to AA-plus. That means U.S. treasury bonds are no longer considered the safest investments in the world.

Joining us now, David Beers, head of S&P's government debt rating unit.

Mr. Beers, what's the practical effect of your downgrading. If the U.S. debt is now riskier, does that mean that investors can and should demand higher interest rate to buy U.S. treasury bonds?

DAVID BEERS, STANDARD & POOR'S: Well, I guess there two parts to that. One is that in lowering the rating one notch to AA-plus, what we actually are saying is this, that a mild deterioration in the U.S.'s credit standing relative to AAA and we'll find out tomorrow what the market makes with that. But based on historical experience, we wouldn't expect that much financial impact in terms of higher interest rates for example.

WALLACE: Well, let me ask you, though, about the markets. The Tel Aviv stock market, one of the few that is in operation on Sunday morning, closed -- rather opened 6 percent down and then they had to close it for a while because of the volume of trading.

Can we expect the same kind of very strong downward pressure in Asia tonight and in the U.S. markets tomorrow?

BEERS: Well, you know, I'm no better than you in forecasting the stock market. But I think it's important to put this in perspective for your viewers -- because a lot of what's worrying the markets is the unfolding story in Europe and also a perception from a global economic perspective that the world economy may be slowing down.

So, I think the markets are reacting to a lot of factors, not just what S&P said on Friday.

WALLACE: Your downgrade -- and I read it -- focuses much on the political gridlock in Washington as it did on the economic situation in this country. Do you hold Republicans or Democrats more responsible for dysfunction here? And any compromise that they end up coming up with it, do you need to see a mix, a combination, of both entitlement reform also revenue increases?

BEERS: Well, Chris, you know, in this country, Congress and the administration are jointly responsible for the conduct of fiscal policy. And -- so, this is really not about either political party. It's about the difficulty of all sides in finding, you know, a consensus around fiscal policy choices, now and in the future.

WALLACE: But do you need to see the mix? Does any compromise have to have both entitlement reform and revenue increases to be credible? BEERS: Well, we think credibility would mean that would -- any agreement would command support from both political parties because, of course, the composition of Congress and, of course, the administration could change from 2012 onwards. But the key thing is -- yes, entitlement reform important because entitlement is the biggest component of spending and they are the part of spending where the cost pressures are greatest.

WALLACE: The White House, as you know, is not happy with this decision and, in fact, they have accused S&P of amateurism. They say when they went through your numbers, they found a $2 trillion overstatement of what the debt would be. And when they pointed that out to you, they you simply changed the rationale but continued to downgrade the debt.

BEERS: Now, of course, that's a complete misrepresentation of what happened. And here, we're talking about highly technical assumptions about projecting, you know, budget base lines far into the future. And when we made the modifications that we did after a conversation with the treasury, it doesn't change the fact that in our estimation, that even with the agreement of Congress and the administration this past week, that the underlying debt burden of the U.S. government is rising and will continue to rise most likely over the next decade.

WALLACE: I got about a minute left and I want to ask you two questions. So, I'm going to try to get my questions brief and I'll ask you to do the same with your answers.

S&P is widely seen as one of the villains in the housing bubble for the strong rating that you gave for the subprime mortgage securities. Some people are suggesting that this downgrading is an effort to get your reputation back?

BEERS: Yes. Well, that's completely untrue. And as a matter of fact, the group that rate, the one that rates government ratings has an excellent track record in terms of what ratings are designed to do, which is to provide a meaningful indicator of credit risk.

So, as far as the track record of our ratings are concerned, we think they are very robust. Other people think they are robust, too. And we think that will continue to be the case.

WALLACE: And very briefly, Mr. Beers, given the economic and the political situation in the U.S., which will we more likely to see -- an upgrading of U.S. debt back to AAA or further downgrades?

BEERS: Well, we have a negative outlook on the rating and that means that we think the risks currently or the rating are to the downside.

WALLACE: Mr. Beers, we're going to have to leave it there. We want to thank you so much for coming in and talking with us today, sir.

BEERS: Thank you, Chris.

WALLACE: The S&P downgrade was one more blow in a week when the Dow Jones fell almost 6 percent. And the latest jobs report showed unemployment still over 9 percent.

 

[delldude]

Listening to what he is saying is the key and is what its all about.

that even with the agreement of Congress and the administration this past week, that the underlying debt burden of the U.S. government is rising and will continue to rise most likely over the next decade

 

[tech2101]

Listening to what he is saying is the key and is what its all about.

S&P said they wouldn't have down graded if Congress had followed the Tea Party recommendations.

I guess the quote you attributed to him above was said under his breath or using clairvoyance.

 

[delldude]

Big celebration tonight in Texas Techie?

 

[tech2101]

Big celebration tonight in Texas Techie?

Texans are 3-0! Yes we are celebrating. How are the Steelers?

 

[delldude]

Texans are 3-0! Yes we are celebrating. How are the Steelers?

Doing pretty good....little injury issues though.

I'll give to a TKO.

 

[tech2101]

Doing pretty good....little injury issues though.

I'll give to a TKO.

We are better off now than 4 years ago.