Debt ceiling | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: Jim Bispo's weekly column appears in the Beaufort Observer.

    It's interesting. We hear Standard & Poor's (S&P) telling us that we need to do something to get our financial act together. We hear Moody's Investor's Service telling us the same thing. We even hear the Chinese Dagog Global Credit Rating Co. expressing concern over our finances. Of course the Chinese should be worrying about our finances. It is certainly not difficult to understand where the Chinese group is coming from. They are worried about protecting their investments in the U.S. (which are considerable) - and as long as we have the "tax & spend" anointed one in charge they well should be. It's a whole lot of their money that will be lost if we go down the tubes.

    Apparently we take all those warnings seriously. But why?? Just because the so called "rating agencies" have been around for a long time?? Does anyone know just whom Standard & Poor's or Moody's is?? Are they simply two more George Soros fronts - or perhaps Koch brothers fronts?? Does the administration have then "in a corner"?? Does anyone know?? Yes, they have been around for a long time, but so what??

    According to an Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. Opinion piece in the 7/27 Wall Street Journal, Standard & Poor's and Moody's, "...step out of line in presuming they must be satisfied with our current spending priorities in order to be satisfied with the lone-term payability of America's formal debt.". He further suggests that S&P (in particular) would seem to be joining, "...the politicians in turning an artificial crisis into a real one.". These would be the same "rating agencies" that seem to have missed the housing bubble and all the trouble that arose when it burst. And now, suddenly, they would presume to dictate government fiscal policy with their demands?? There are more than a few folks who believe that we already have enough unelected people in Washington trying to run our lives (Czars, NLRB and others) and that we don't need any more. And now here comes S&P and Moody's to "help" us with our financial decisions. Do we really need all that "help"?? (Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. is a journalist, editorial writer and member of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board.)

    And of course, the next question is: So what if they do downgrade our credit rating?? We know that would likely cause interest rates to go up - but when we're at virtually zero, wouldn't it be a good thing for a little rise in interest rates; not to "Carter" levels, but a little?? Surely the seniors who worked hard, paid off their house, and saved for their retirement wouldn't mind getting a little better return on their CDs. Additionally, do you suppose a downgraded credit rating would help stem demands from virtually every nation in the U.N. for a handout from us?? Short answer: probably not.

    How many insults is the American public willing to tolerate from the Prez?? The latest from the anointed one relates to the debt ceiling disagreement going on in Washington.. We have been told by the Prez so many times that it's already sickening that the sky is going to fall if we don't increase the debt ceiling. We are promised a "default". Social Security checks may not get issued; the military may not get paid, etc. From the standpoint of the administration, it is unfortunate that Ms. Geithner's boy, Timothy, is totally unconvincing when he tells us that all hell will break loose and there will be a default without an increase in the ceiling.

    And now, adding insult to injury, the Prez keeps saying the same thing over and over; "Do as I tell you or the sky will fall" (my translation). And now we hear that privately the White House (whoever that is) is reassuring the "money people" and banks on Wall Street (whoever that is) that there will be no default (whatever that means). Is that what disingenuous means?? Or are they telling us outright lies?? And, by the way, just what does "default" mean?? Is it simply failing to pay the interest on our debt - or does it mean failing to pay any or all of our the bills (such as Education Department grants etc.) that are on the table??

    It almost seems as though the community organizer and his minions are banking on the general public paying so little attention to what's going on with the debt ceiling to-do that he can get away with his duplicity. Unfortunately, it seems likely that he is right. Surely the main stream media won't let the cat out of the bag; so we continue to live in blissful ignorance. Not only will the main stream media (ABC, CBS, & NBC) not let the cat out of the bag; according to the Media Research Center, they have produced 56 reports blaming the Republicans for the so called "crisis" against only 17 reports laying the problem at the feet at the Democrats. That's over 3 to 1 in favor of those who have failed to even produce a budget for over two years. So much for "keeping secrets". So much for honest reporting.

    It wasn't long ago that I heard the Prez talk about "political professionals" as though they were possessed of superior knowledge and intellect than the folks who put them where they are. Until the Prez gratuitously bestowed on politicians the stature of "professionals", being a professional used to require pre-entry training and specialized knowledge - as with engineers, accountants medical doctors, etc. Apparently not so in the world of community organizers. The troubling thing about the Prez statement is that he seemed to be implying that "professional" politicians knowledge is superior to that of the general public; a notion to which most people would very likely take exception. The one thing that politicians seem to learn best seems to be how to feather their own nest. Of course, in some cases that is "pre-entry" learning, but....

    D'ya think??