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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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S&P did the right thing! Time to sober up America.
The S&P downgrade is the latest tactic in the "bring down the balck President" campaign the GOP and their right-wing racists and bigots have been conducting (by the own stated admission) since January 20, 2009. This country is now a country of Republicans and "have-nots." Unfortunately, the "have-nots" are the working and unemployed middle classes. But wait, the GOP can give us Jesus, and, then, we'll all be OK!!
Yup.. its all a "vast right wing conspiracy"... Never mind the 800 billion wasted on stimulus and having the fed print money as fast as people use toilet paper... there is plenty of blame to go around.
YOu are so right JayDeeTee. Anything to destroy the President and make him look bad. That's why the Vote 2012 is more cruicial than the vote 2008. .. We must out these Repubs and TPers!
Nope... It's complete ideology... The tea baggers Ideology came before country...
When any group puts ideology first bad things start to happen... The sad part the people with the ideology don't see it and sometimes take the ideology to the grave... Just look at history and ideology at its worst kills millions of people..
Jeff O has it completely wrong... The tea baggers ideology os to blame... Thats it !!
Just to illustrate how bad ideology can be.... Watch the movie downfall...
Magda Goebbels murdered her six children and then she and her husband committed suicide because she couldn't believe in a world without Nazism..
The S&P downgrade is the latest tactic in the "bring down the balck President" campaign the GOP
This president needs no help being 'brought down', he is doing just fine by himself. Did you not see the rent-a-center van dropping off leopard skin furniture when he moved in the White House? Anyway you slice he will go down in history as the first black president and the first president to be responsible for the first downgrade of credit to the USA in history. You must be proud you voted for him 🙂
We are here because of greed and failure to see a problem with the s and p increasing 15 times in the 80s and 90s. Thanks baby boomers, thanks a lot. Enjoy your retirement of endless vacations and partying. I wish my money would increase like yours' did. Never will happen again. Stock market is only attractive when manipulated, and the new generation will not let that happen. Oh yeah, and if you are buying something using a credit card, you CAN'T afford it. Credit cards.... Haha... worse thing ever invented.
If you're jealous of the baby boomers, that's fine. But don't even try to blame them for the mess we are in. They went to work everyday.
Don't you know...you aren't supposed to use credit cards for things you can't afford. You are supposed to use credit cards so you don't have to carry cash with you and get robbed. You are supposed to use credit cards when you forgot your cash at home and need to charge that $5 cup of coffee at Starbucks. You are supposed to use credit cards when you know you have enough money coming in this month to be able to pay the balance in FULL at the end of the month. If you use credit cards for credit....well....you may have what you want immediately but in the long run you won't have anything as the credit card companies will never let you out of their grip. It is pay pay pay and pay again. If the banks were paying the type of interest they are charging for credit card debt you might stand a chance. But that is not happening...ever.
Use credit cards wisely....which means...don't use them for credit. Use your debit card instead...which will keep you from buying things you can't afford to own.
I agree..... the boomers were given everything they ever wanted by the depression/WWII generation. They took from their parents, destroyed our moral culture, and now they insist on taking taking from their children. Greedy, spoiled sacks of crap....thanx again baby boomers
Anybody on here who blames one side and not the other hasn't done their due diligence. Both political parties are to blame. We are to blame for allowing them to run OUR country.
Absolutely correct...the power is ours, we give it away with ease...
The American consumers are to blame as well......most folks will DEMAND cheaper products, services, etc, then most folks are screaming they have NO job......yeppers each of us will have that 'clean air', no ground destroyed or fish, or animal, and it will be at a fraction of the cost that China charges to produce.........LOL This double edge sword we have is gonna slice us all.....
There seems to be a quick logical conclusion: this is what the elites want. I choose not to call them "wealthy" because they are too greedy to be wealthy. Who gains and who does not? Those of us who have to fear reductions to our living standards, lay-offs, a decreasing dollar, a fat debt and deficit did not want any of this. Who has been gaining? Getting the biggest hand-outs? Not affected by the storm? Who will continue to gain? These are the people who are "our enemies". The financial al qaeda.
I am sick and tired of the crap going on in Washington. I am an Independent, but my "choices" are still Dems or GOP, neither of which is worth a lick of salt. We need a new 'Common Sense' party that has the future of the country in their sights, not just getting reelected. There should also be a time limit on how long people can run campaigns. In England, they limit it to six weeks. Then everybody votes and it's back to work. There is WAY TOO MUICH
The american voters keep re-electing the same dip weeds that got us where we are today. Who's at fault...everyone! The american voters let them do this we have NOBODY but ourselves to blame. Keep putting these money spending dorks in office and look what ya got. SPEND SPEND SPEND now ... we got what we got...want it fixed??? FIRE every one of those money hungry dorks up there and put people up there that will do BUDGET CUTS .. like giving away our money to other countries. Quit spending money we don't have and aren't going to for awhile. And PUT EVERY ONE to work our country is falling apart around our ears.
Maybe it's time for all of us "Regular Americans" to take our money out of the hated banks & stock market & buy govt Bonds. Wrapping yourself in the flag lately? Put your money where your mouth is & show our govt that we support it! If investors were truly pulling money out of stock in Wall St. because they were scared by the downgrading of our credit & worried about the extent of our debt.......why would they be bullishly buying Treasury Bonds & owning that debt?!!!!!
Nobody wants to talk about it. The issue is race. Republicans and Tea Partiers would rather this country sink than to give President Barack any credit for anything. It's so obvious. I wouldn't be surprise in 2012 there will be no Repubs or TPers in the Congress, House of Rep. Go Obama!. Conservatives can not stand that a African American is POTUS.
Tee,
Your comments are racist actually. Anytime you bring race into the discussion you are saying that you are personally aware of race issues. What about all the Americans who are color blind? Are you saying that most Americans are racist? Race has nothing to do with the current economy unless you stop and look at the demographics of unemployment, low wages, poor housing, health coverage, lack of parenting programs and two dozen or so other important aspects of life. It is time for American to promote being American instead of being Italian-American, Afro-American, Polish-American, etc., etc., etc.
whatever
Does the term 'agree to disagree' come to mind here...oh yes, it does....will it work for America....nope will not.
As for myself, I'm NOT in favor of any type of a tax hike..period! As far as I am concerned the FEDS are the largest waste of 'others peoples money' we have. Over the last many years, every time I hear of some sort of an 'oversee' by the FEDS, the first thought that comes to mind is 'how many will find the loop holes that these non common sense folks left wide open'? Can't any program the FEDS come up with run without any problems? Could it be these elected officals should have to answer to an outside audit company, let some of the more knowledgable folks that run large businesses take a look at what these 'never done an honest days work' folks want to do with 'our' money? Until the 'waste' is cut to the bone (like many Americans already MUST do) keep your hands out of my pocket!!!!
How could we honestly blame S@P when our politicians were willing to put politics and ideology before country? After listening to the hardliners, including those running for office, is it any wonder that the world is running scared and losing confidence?
agreed, the dems pushed back against spending cuts with their employment killing tax increases, and the idiotic GOP leadership gave in on raising the debt limit (increasing the national debt that was unsustainable as is) and the cuts we all know will never happen......
Those in power and those holding all the wealth, will allow their fellow man to rot away. But remember, you can't take it with you......
I am suprised they (US gov.) have a AA+ rating! Governments and governement run agencies are horrible at budgeting....look at the US post office and its 5 billion dollar debt lol – jokers, every last one of them!
Weiss ratings downgraded before S&P. Weiss never took money from the banks, etc., it is independent. S&P are a bunch of sucker-uppers. They found no problem with J.G. Wentworth not too long before it went belly up. The Weiss downgrade is the really scary one.
Who cares where I stand? The closing Dow speaks clearly. Resign Obama and take Timmy with you.