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Your take: Where do you stand on S&P downgrade?
[Updated at 1:41 p.m.] The inability of Congress and President Barack Obama to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling sparked a firestorm of anger directed toward Washington. Readers said they were angry, disappointed and fed up. They had no problem about where to point the finger when it came to blame. Quite frankly there was downright outrage.
And now Standard & Poor's has downgraded the U.S. credit rating by one notch to AA+, removing it from the Triple A-club for the first time in history.
CNNMoney.com: Did S&P get it right? | Time.com: A political miscalculation
As the market reacts to the downgrade status, CNN.com wants to know how people feel about it. Grab a video camera and sound off on iReport here.
Some iReport contributors are already speaking out about the downgrade, whom it affects and how much the American public understands and cares about the issue.
Egberto Willies, a frequent iReport political commentator, says he believes that the S&P downgrade of the U.S. is “a fraud on the American middle class.”
“The reality is, Standard & Poor's and all these organizations are the same companies who rated credit default swaps that brought down the economy and forced us to get into further debt to bail out the financial sector,” he argues in his video. “They're the ones who allowed that to occur.”
Omekongo Dibinga says he thinks Americans simply don’t care what the country’s credit rating is.
“Most Americans are too busy worrying about their own credit to care about America's credit rating,” he says in his video. “With our AAA rating, we've still had a Great Depression and a Great Recession. People have still lost their homes and thousands of jobs. Is this what our rating got us?”
Dibinga says the lowered rating may even serve as a needed wake-up call for politicians and corporations.
"Maybe this credit will be good for America," Dibinga said. "Maybe these corporate types at the top will start to think twice, but for the rest of us, we're going to wake up tomorrow and our life won't seem to have changed because of a downgrade.”
Melissa Fazli from Yorba Linda, California, sent a video reaction shortly after the S&P downgraded the U.S. credit rating. She says that everyone should pay as he goes: “No more debt.”
She says she also believes the downgrade is “a kick in the face” but hopes that people will vote for politicians who will “wake up” and “get their act together and work together.”
And those commenting on CNN.com and CNNMoney.com haven't shied away from sharing their views either. Here's a sampling of what you had to say:
"S&P was absolutely right to downgrade the US government–the country is frighteningly deep in debt. For decades, the federal government has proved itself utterly incompetent in managing the taxpayers' money and this is the result. And if government can't manage our money responsibly, it's time to cut up the credit cards–we need a balanced-budget amendment." - CNN commenter HenryMiller
" The S&P is full of it. This is the same agency that assured investors and gave excellent ratings to toxic mortgage back derivatives. They are
responsible with the banks for the finical [sic] crisis and now they are playing more games and leading us into a double dip. Make no bones, they have their own agenda. I would not be surprised if they are short-selling and making out like bandits. These people are all crooks!!!" - CNN commenter Daniel Tal
"good for S&P....you clowns in Washington want to act like fools? You get called on it!!!!!" - CNN commenter stooges999
"And they are "sticking by their decision"? Wonder if the S&P is also "sticking by their decision" on the sub-prime mortgages the touted as
AAA before the collapse in 2008???" - CNN commenter esmith3750
"Anyone who listens to S and P after the crimes they committed during the financial meltdown is an idiot" - CNN commenter Jon King
In response to that comment user Barfly52 wrote: "Looks like investors are listening. Market down 325 points in first 75 minutes."
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Let's face the truth. With debt soaring, dirty tricks of banks as everyday practice, mess in regulations, printing $$$ at will, does anybody could even think that US should have AAA? Give me a brake. Some honesty, please! and be happy that US still has AA because many in the world think that it should be much lower than that.
Our priorities have been skewed! Instead spending our money on war Libya is the latest. We have slid down the ladder and will continue to slide till we get right with our Maker and that ain't OBOMBA
Sad to say, but it's about time. The stock market should plummet like it did in the great depression era and set the millionaires, billionaires, and trillionaires on the same level as most everyone in America. That should handle their greed. Make 'em stand in the soup lines like the very, very poor who live on the street.
Jo Jo
There are countries that already have that program in place. If you wish you can go to Cuba or N. Korea and enjoy all the peoples paridise has to offer. There everyone is equal and recieves the same two pair of under ware each year. There are no rich and everyone is poor. You will recieve your 10# of beans each month for your food ration which should satisifie your needs. Naturally you will have to work for the goverment for free to recieve those beans.
Agreed!
Tea Party Republicans pass the biggest tax increase of the Obama Administration. The so-called Republican leadership should be overthrown for letting the new-hires run the company; how stupid. S&P called it right; when the Tea Partiers claimed they wanted to create a default any sane person would know the credit rating would be damaged.
You do know that S&P stated that if there were not a 4 trillion in spending cuts bill passed with the raising of the debt ceiling, that they would downgrade? They stated that a couple weeks before the vote. The spending cuts total about 3 trillion NOT 4 so they downgraded *exactly* as they said they were going to do weeks before the teaparty even had a role to play in the vote.
You want to blame someone and you don't want to look at the fact that all the parties spend TOO MUCH. Nice denial friend.
I agaree. This is just what the TP wanted. They really don't care about America..They just want the President out.
I believe S&P's actions rob it of what little credibility it still had (after it completely blew it with re: to its ratings of the garbage securities that led to the current financial crisis). The fact that it would take such an action, not based on serious questions about America's ability to pay its bills, but simply to deliver a message to our politicians, is nonsensical. Additionally, the fact that it would do this at a time when our economic recovery is struggling, is represensible. The conduct of S&P representatives deserves all the scrutiny the world can muster.
Don't blame S&P. Blame the real culprits: America's asset-seeking – credit dependent, citizens and politicians alike. As well as the rich corporation moguls that hoarde money by lobbying for tax breaks, all at the expense of the middle class taxpayer.
They are so right. I mean these are the same guys that gave all that wonderful mortgage debt a AAA rating that eventually blew up. 🙂
A no vote of confidence for the president and congress. It is time these people who are controlling our lives either top playing the name game and do something productive. You are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Every member of congress or any president should be replaced if they are playing the blame game. It is time for action. As US citizens our action plan needs to be replace every sitting member of congress and the president. Time for change; very apparent during the debit ceiling crisis.
Hi everybody,
I've been reading these posts and there is nothing but blame…and there should be. We have the right to be angry at what is happening to the United States. The anger towards Congress that people are showing (myself included) is justified. The bottom line is that all the political parties, Democrats, Republican, and Tea Parties failed us. Instead of doing what was right for the nation by creating a solution to the debt crisis they choose to bicker, blame each other, choose to stick with party lines and will probably continue to do so. Our presidents failed us…Obama, Bush, and Reagan and by ignoring the problem until it became the pink elephant in the room. Most importantly, however as Americans we failed ourselves. We think of the federal government as some far away land called Washington D.C. being run by these so called politicians and lobbyist, but in actuality we are the government, but we seemed to have lost our voice. We didn’t do our part of keeping a tab on the federal government, we just left everything up to them and as result we have reach this situation.
I'm not some moral police looking down at people, because I know I did not do my part. Just because I am 21, and young is not an excuse to be ignorant and let my country go to hell. I didn't call my Senators or Congressperson and ask what they were doing to solve this. You guy didn’t see me on television, trying to start a protest or assembly in order to get our governments act together and come up with a comprehensive bill. I didn’t come up with any plan myself either. I just left to our government to figure it out, because I have my own life to live and we are all like that. It not our problem until it affects us.
However I'm realizing now( forgive me not caring before), that every one of us whether you are Caucasian-, African-American(black) or African, or Hispanic or Asian or, man or woman, Jew, Christian, Muslim, atheist, Hindu, or anybody else I am leaving out(Sorry)… we are all in this boat together. If the United States of America goes down, then we all go down, and that has impact on the rest of the world whether we like it or not or whether we care or not.
But I not ready to give up on us. I am not ready to let America fall yet. I can't rely on this current Congress and the President to give us a solution. If they want to bicker fine, I'll just vote them out of office. I want to hear from you guys, the freaking awesome American People that you are, not the Average Americans the politicians and media think we are. I know many of you can probably run this country a lot better than the elect people we have today, so what are your thoughts and ideas to solve our current debt and unemployment crisis? How would you reduce government spending, where would the cuts be, how would you propose to bring jobs back to our country?. Some of you may have far-out ideas, but I'm cool with that. And I could less if you guys are democrat, or tea party or republican or libertarian, etc., those are just labels.
So if any guys respond, I would appreciate it. And I know it's long post, but this my first time posting on CNN’s comment section, so I had a lot things to say. And here my e-mail:
emyres@cox.net
What bothers me the most is that the American people spoke and elected President Obama. Now due to a very few loudmouths.... no one is listening to the grown-ups in the room. There have always been groups of this type and in other
civilized nations no one would pay attention to them. Who is the snarky kid with the big stick standing behind the TP?
Steph,
Nice words. Unfortunately you are in the minority when it comes to understanding labels and the counterproductive nature they serve in dividing/polarizing people that would otherwise be united. But its not counterproductive for everyone, for one, a divided population leans itself to effective control via fear and/or anger from other divisions within the populace, serving politicians, especially House Representatives whom need only focus on small communities regularly hatched out via red lines on a map based on class and race. The media also reaps the benefits from the “divide and concur” strategy as they obtain a committed viewer base, which will continuously tune in assuming the network “journalists” continue to feed their bias, and in many occasions hatred of people with labels that may differ from their base.
That said, you are in the wrong forum asking for solutions, people mainly come here to vent their frustration by attacking or belittling each other. You should purse politics by starting to look at some active clubs in your nearby colleges; what we need is more people like you in Washington.
Good Luck!
KR
I am upset that S&P downgraded our nation's credit rating at this time. The downgrade probably should have occurred when we were invading other countries. Military actions, and the afterward reparation always drain our budget. Or perhaps, this should have occurred at the height of the bail outs and subprime mortgage mess. Why, do it now? How did the S&P miss taking any actions, or giving any warnings prior to the subprime mortgage mess?
I think the S&P did this for political reason more then anything else. It surely wasnt because they feared we couldn't pay our debts, They no we absolutely positively can, So there is a motivation behind this action other then credit.
Only the Administration, the government media and those paying nothing actually believe that the problem is not taxing enough.
When is the President (and I am a supporter) and the Democratic Party going to admit the "emperor has no clothes"
"The Tea Party" = The Mad Hatter's Tea Party.....they have no desire to solve any problems....they are pranksters in the worst sense of the word....they are "punking" us all....and want our country to fall off the cliff.....folks we are in a potentially life changing year....when middle class life as we take for granted will be gone forever
Maybe if congress did away with their pay increases and started paying for their health insurance like everyone else does, the economy might start to get better. Why are we spending billions of dollars to explore space? Why are we still helping other countries in need?
Biggest tax breaks to weathiest > One PARTLY necessary plus second unnecessary war > Pretend to "balance" the budget without increasing revenue = current situation. Wake up Americans. Vote the idiots out, otherwise we will be keep blaming S & P and the Government for everything.
This downgrade is a 100% manufactured by the Tea Party Republicans. This was alsolutely unecessary. These new breed of Republicans have no interest in governing. They are not fit to lead a democratic society like ours. Maybe their corporate masters will thik next time they decide to invest in uninformed, crisis manufacture fools. It serve Wall Street right for pay for their election. Keep investing in them, very soon you will not have a Wall Street to ask for no regulation.
agree totally