Most people are accustomed to having something less than perfect credit, but the U.S. government has been considered to be the gold standard — irony intended — of borrowers. It was always believed that no one was more certain to repay debts than the U.S. government. That all changed Friday night.
The rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, cut the federal debt rating from AAA to AA+, which might have a significant effect on the interest that the government pays to borrow its ever-increasing pile of debt. You can read the press release from S&P explaining its decision here.
I’m less concerned about what this is going to mean on Wall Street and in the White House than with what the ripple effects are going to be like for the rest of us. Could this be the beginning of toppling the economic system? It’s hard to imagine that, but I do think things are going to get much worse.
My first reaction is that all of us need to accelerate our plans for providing safe places for our families. The worst might not yet be there, but then again, it might.