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Moody's: Neither debt plan protects the nation's AAA rating
The Hill ^ | 07/29/11 05:11 PM ET | By Peter Schroeder

Posted on 07/30/2011 10:06:14 AM PDT by MontaniSemperLiberi

The "limited magnitude" of both debt plans put forward by congressional leaders would not put the nation's AAA credit rating back on solid footing, Moody's Investors Service announced Friday.

"Reductions of the magnitude now being proposed, if adopted, would likely lead Moody's to adopt a negative outlook on the AAA rating," the credit rating agency said in a new report. "The chances of a significant improvement in the long-term credit profile of the government coming from deficit reductions of the magnitude proposed in either plan are not high."

It added that "prolonged debt ceiling deliberations" have increased the odds of a downgrade, but that the firm is still confident policymakers will avoid a default.

"It remains our expectation that the government will continue with timely debt service," the firm said. It also clarified that as far as it is concerned, the nation will only default if it misses an interest or principal payment on U.S. debt, not if it misses payments on other obligations like federal employee salaries or Social Security benefits.

The report also gives credence to a claim popular among Republicans: that the government has enough cash to avoid a default even past the Aug. 2 deadline set by the Treasury Department.

"If the debt limit is not raised before August 2, we believe that the Treasury would give priority to debt service payments and could thus postpone a potential debt default for a number of days," it said. "Revenues would be more than adequate for some period of time to meet those payments, although other outlays would be severely reduced as a result."

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 112th; debt; debtceiling; moody
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To: wildbill
The political advantage is lost by threatening the people.

Thanks to object reviews, the bluff has been or is being called.

To suggest that Social Security will not be paid.

The analogy: you have $100 in bills and only have $90. Which bills do you pay?

21 posted on 07/30/2011 11:48:18 AM PDT by dhs12345
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To: MontaniSemperLiberi

Agreed. The threat to the bonds is wholly related to the inflation in the supply of the currency with which they will be redeemed. Someone needs to teach those in Congress who cannot grasp this, that the Laws of Supply & Demand apply here, just as with every other market phenomenon.


22 posted on 07/30/2011 11:50:47 AM PDT by Ohioan
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To: MontaniSemperLiberi

Ratings Agencies are like the fake “Fact-Check.com” websites. They all work for the Bankers. Ha Ha Fools!


23 posted on 07/30/2011 12:10:38 PM PDT by rwoodward ("god, guns and more ammo")
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24 posted on 07/30/2011 12:40:54 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Yes, as a matter of fact, it is that time again -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: MontaniSemperLiberi
it is very interesting that the very agencies which played major, major roles in the economic downfall, now decide whether or not we start climbing out of the abyss.
25 posted on 07/30/2011 1:33:49 PM PDT by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and its allies.)
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To: dhs12345

What really I am bothered by is how minuscule the proposed cuts are. Boehner’s bill cuts $900 Billion over several years in future, and the Reid bill cuts $2.7 Trillion over 10 years but is a phony number since it includes savings by ending middle-east wars!

Then I look at the current YEARLY deficit of $1.5 Trillion and with Obamacare coming on line next year, spending will only increase.

Lastly, when Washington says they are cutting, they never mention that baseline budgeting has built in 7% yearly increases. Which means if you cut 1% it is actually a 6% increase!

Only reason stock market is doing OK is because most major companies are now doing business worldwide and they benefit from growing economies in Asia. US retail sales are abysmal.


26 posted on 07/30/2011 3:31:35 PM PDT by repub4ever1 (Capitalism is not perfect, but it beats all other systems hands down.)
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To: dhs12345

What you said!

An honest objective ratings firm would have already downgraded us. And rightly so.

Hell, I wouldn’t loan money to us!


27 posted on 07/30/2011 3:44:13 PM PDT by 2111USMC (Not a hard man to track. Leaves dead men wherever he goes.)
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To: repub4ever1
Sad and it doesn't bode well for this country.

Unfortunately, partly due to the Dems, the private sector is shrinking.

Maybe at some point in the future, we can correct the nose dive. We are Americans, after all.

28 posted on 07/30/2011 5:06:48 PM PDT by dhs12345
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To: 2111USMC

And exactly what we need... a swift kick in the pants.

Better now when we can do something about versus when we are so deep in hock that we have to start selling everything to pay off our debts.


29 posted on 07/30/2011 5:13:31 PM PDT by dhs12345
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To: Logical me

‘Moody will do anything to support getting and keeping the communists takeover of America.’

A company which receives ALL of its income from private financial securities supports the complete abolition of its own income. Very funny!


30 posted on 07/30/2011 5:28:58 PM PDT by Lucius Cornelius Sulla (Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable -- Daniel Webster)
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To: repub4ever1

‘he who hath the printing press gets AAA rating....always!’

You mean like the governments of Greece, Ireland, Iceland, and Spain, all of which have government printing presses printing currency, and none of which have an AAA rating?


31 posted on 07/30/2011 5:32:23 PM PDT by Lucius Cornelius Sulla (Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable -- Daniel Webster)
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To: Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Their problem is not excessive printing, it is excessive borrowing. IOW “DEBT”!


32 posted on 07/30/2011 6:11:49 PM PDT by repub4ever1 (Capitalism is not perfect, but it beats all other systems hands down.)
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To: repub4ever1

Just like us.


33 posted on 07/30/2011 6:23:04 PM PDT by Lucius Cornelius Sulla (Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable -- Daniel Webster)
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