Rep. Ryan’s warning

Boston Herald ^ | August 7, 2011 | Boston Herald Editorial Staff

[americanophile]

Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the nation’s credit rating gives House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan every right to say “I told you so.”

Even earlier this week when President Obama was taking his victory lap for the debt-ceiling compromise, Ryan was disclosing the cold, hard truths of the economic troubles that lie ahead — truths that a jittery Wall Street has been more than aware of.

In an oped column in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal, the Wisconsin Republican reiterated, of course, that the president really has no budget plan.

“The president’s February budget,” he wrote, “deliberately dodged the tough choices necessary to confront the threat of runaway federal spending. It was rejected unanimously in a Senate controlled by his own party.”

Well, so much for that auspicious beginning.

The president knew then and knows now that his health care and welfare state agenda demand new and higher taxes, that the costs of Medicare and Medicaid will continue to rise at unsustainable levels and that he has no plan for dealing with that.

In fact, when presented with options by his own debt commission appointees, Obama continued to be in denial.

Not so, Ryan. And he has a lot of help in the truth-telling department from the Congressional Budget Office, whose numbers he cites in the Journal oped.

[KeyLargo]

US stock futures tumble after S&P downgrade of US

By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer – 2 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock futures tumbled Monday amid a rout in global stocks after Standard & Poor’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time.

S&P cut the long-term debt rating for the U.S. by one notch to AA+ from AAA late Friday. The move wasn’t unexpected, but it comes when investors are already feeling nervous about a weak U.S. economy, European debt problems and Japan’s recovery from its March earthquake.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial futures fell 200 points, or 1.8 percent, to 11,202. S&P 500 futures fell 24, or 2.percent, to 1,173. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 44, or 2 percent, to 2,143.

[americanophile]

I’m aware. S&P has been warning of it for weeks; the writing was on the wall. Only passage of a serious debt reduction plan like Paul Ryans, Connie Macks, or Boehner’s CCB would have avoided it. Unfortunately, the Dems wouldn’t allow it. That’s all there is to it. Nothig the GOP could have done except force a shutdown and reap the whirlwind. The downgrade would have surely come, only the GOP would be twisting in the wind. It’s as clear as day.