U.S. is a Bad Debt Risk

From the Daily Ticker on finance.yahoo.com this articles shows thew consequences of the an out of control National Debt. Although both parties at least are saying they recognize the problem the debt is causing and can cause, there are two different trains of thought on how to come out of the debt. The Liberals want to tax the wealthy and the conservatives want to cut spending and build the economy.

Already frightened by fears about Europe's debt crisis and China's latest tightening, financial markets got really spooked Monday morning when Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on America's AAA debt rating to negative from stable.

The idea America could lose its AAA rating is not new but S&P's action makes it more likely as a real-world event; specifically, the outlook revision means a 33% chance of a rating change within 2 years, according to S&P.

An actual debt downgrade would raise the cost of interest payments for the U.S. government, as well as raise borrowing costs for U.S. consumers and corporations. Higher rates would have a crushing effect on the debt-laden U.S. economy, which helps explain the market's reaction: Treasury prices fell, sending yields higher, while money flowed out of stocks and other "risk" assets.

In recent trading, the Dow was down more than 200 points to 12,134 while the S&P was trading below the key 1300 level. With the notable exception of precious metals, commodity prices were also tumbling, with notable decline in oil and copper. In addition to silver and gold, the volatility was the big winner with the S&P Volatility Index (VIX) up 18%.

"We believe there is a material risk that U.S. policymakers might not reach an agreement on how to address medium- and long-term budgetary challenges by 2013; if an agreement is not reached and meaningful implementation is not begun by then, this would in our view render the U.S. fiscal profile meaningfully weaker than that of peer 'AAA' sovereigns," S&P said in a statement announcing the change.

"They have to be careful: you can't yell fire in a crowded theater," Dow says of S&P. "But it's a good time to do it with the debt ceiling coming up. There's reason for concern — if people don't get on the ball quickly we're going to have problems not too far out."

And if this kind of market action persists, the problems will be here sooner vs. later.

Idiot of the Week - Hannity Talk Show Caller

I was driving across town on Friday, listening to talk radio and thinking about the recent news article about what President Obama said when he thought he was off the air,....you know,..the bit where he spews vitriol and drips with contempt because Paul Ryan and the Conservatives in Congress have the support of the American people to cut spending,...and cut spending drastically.

But not everyone is a pro-Constitution, pro-small government, anti-debt person,....there are many still out there that can't see the danger,..even when it is in front of their liberal faces. Some people are just plain idiots. This week's Idiot of the Week is a lady who called into the Sean Hannity radio show. No matter what you say or think about Sean Hannity, he does give liberals their talking time on his program.

Sean was talking about how Obama has run up the debt with his massive spending and entitlement programs; about how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't excuses for the debt as he explained the lack of debt rising during three of these critical years in the war (under Bush of course); .....Sean also argued that Obama's continuous blaming of Bush is actually hurting his chances of re-election as the debt accumulated more than Obama that from Presidents Washington through Reagan combined.

Well this one women calls in telling Sean that American views do not necessarily pertain to people who have came from a slave background. She went on to explain that people who grew up in a slave background, having ancestors who were slaves, cannot get on the "American" band wagon train of thought that Sean Hannity professes daily on radio and television.

She said "you all" (meaning conservatives) will not ever understand President Obama since he is speaking from that background and he still needs to right many wrongs left over from the Civil War. She finished her rant with the fact (her fact) that she was glad we have morals back in the white house.

It was one of those you've got to be kidding me moments! Someone who is so stupide they should not be allowed a voter card,....but when has lack of a voter card or even citizenship kept Liberals from voting? First of all, since Obama fails to produce a birth certificate, nobody can be certain where he was born. He is on tape and his Grandma is on record for stating he was born in Kenya. But no matter where it was, how can Obama have a slave background with a Kenyan father and Indonesian step-father?

And why does this women dis-associate herself from Americans? Have the Liberals succeeded in their quest to blame America for everything to such an extent where people are embarrassed to call themselves Americans?

And Morals in the White House, huh? With radical mentors and friends such as Reverend Wright, the Terrorist Ayers,........criminal buddies like Tony Rezco,......boy, you can sure back up that claim!

Dr. Charles Krauthammer - Obama's Budget Speech a Disgrace

One of my favorite political commentators is Charles Krauthammer, who tells it like it is in a soft spoken, no frills manner.

Dr. Charles Krauthammer says about President Obama's budget proposal speech,..."I rarely heard a speech by a president so shallow, so hyper-partisan and so intellectually dishonest, outside the last couple of weeks of a presidential election where you are allowed to call your opponent anything short of a traitor. But we're a year and a half away from Election Day and it was supposed to be a speech about policy,......nothing but an attack on Paul Ryan's plan".

Well Dr. Krauthammer,..what you heard was also Obama's opening speech for his run for 2012.

And shame on you Mr. President for lying about the Republicans and what Rep. Paul Ryan's proposed budget will do. When are you and your minions going to step up and argue your point of view on the merits rather than using lies against the Republicans?