Standard & Whores

The so-called investment rating agencies, Standard & Poors, Moody's and Fitch are a complete joke. They are funded by the investment houses and security dealers they supposedly rate. Conflict of interest doesn't begin to describe this cozy, corrupt, little relationship. Legalized financial prostitution would be a more accurate description.

This is how the day before Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and dissolution it was still rated as "investment grade" by all three agencies. Likewise mortgage backed securities despite not being worth the paper they were written on had a AAA rating the day before the bubble burst. Finally, AIG, Bank of America and virtually every other investment house was rated AAA a day before their greed threw America into the crapper.

So the fact that Standard & Whores downgraded the USA's credit rating should have had no impact. That being said to call what Nobama and Congress have done over the past two years half-ass would be giving them 50% too much credit. When Nobama was elected he had an opportunity to make a change in this country. Not since FDR were the people ready to take back their country. All they needed was a little leadership. He passed.

With the debt ceiling he again had a chance to make a real difference. Instead both he and Congress essentially raised America's borrowing ability without any meaningful change in our ability to repay the debt.

While the downgrade was essentially meaningless and thereby politically motivated it was nonetheless well deserved. There is no bigger loss than a missed opportunity. Trust someone whose missed more than his fair share and then some. Plus in the end as is always the case the only people who were hurt were hard-working teachers, police, fireman and the like who saw their retirement savings continue to shrink. Standard and Whores doesn't care we don't effect their bottom line.

KOKO