Northern Virginia Put On Credit Watch

See more here.

Comments

[WoW]

call me stupid (not really) but why would a locatities credit rating be tied in anyway shape or form to federal action?

[Dan]

WoW, for the same reason the state of Virginia's AAA rating will take a hit if the Federal government is downgraded. Northern Virginia is rather dependent on the federal government for much of its prosperity. There will be a ripple effect. And it will be one hell of a ripple.

The great irony, I think, is that these same ratings agencies are the ones who kept giving AAA ratings to credit default swaps that were widely known to be worthless junk. And yet none of their folks ever went to prison for their prominent role in nearly wrecking the economy. Maybe someone should gently remind them that the DoJ could still take an interest in indicting them if they get too froggy about this downgrade shit.

[Red Alexandria]

@WoW -

Moody's agency said - "The ratings of these local governments, particularly those with a high economic dependence on federal activity, would be vulnerable to a downgrade of the U.S. government,"

Unless cuts in the neighborhood of $4 trillion dollars are passed, Moody's and/or Standard & Poor's is going to downgrade the U.S. and thereby the local Government's. The problem, as they (Moody's & Standard & Poor's) see it, is not that America can't pay its debts next month, but that America has grown its debt to such a degree that we can't pay them in the long run without serious restructuring of the federal government.

See - http://news.yahoo.com/u-credit-downgrade-inevitable-032700785.html

[Sam]

Six of one, half dozen of the other. If the Federal Gov't starts spending $4 trillion less, as Red suggests, that influences the Federal employees who live in the cities surrounding DC to pay the real estate taxes levied to pay off municipal bonds. Which means they become less reliable as investment vehicles anyway.

Bad news bears.

[Red Alexandria]

@Sam -

That would be $4 trillion over 10 years.

[NotJohnSMosby]

Moody's doesn't give a shit about cuts, they are concerned with the debt level and annual deficits. Raising revenue or cutting spending, all they care about is that a deal is done and there's some roadmap to getting back to Clinton-era balanced budgets or even surpluses.

[NotRepublican]

How many times are we going to let the Republicans destroy our economy before people stop voting for these idiots?

[Jack]

Frankly, most people don't give a damn about Moody's ratings anyway. They stopped being credible some time ago.

[Valley Indie]

How many times are we going to let Democrats in Washington destroy our economy before people stop voting for these idiots?

[NotRepublican]

Republicans create messes, Democrats clean them up. End of story.

[Interested Observer]

Not Republican - That is what we do but it is not the end of the story. We need to stand up. Every demand or "compromise" set by the Reps has been met. The result - they keep upping the ante. The Dems fold on not putting revenue (ie taxes) on the table, the Repubs then demand something else. The Dems demand that Social Security and Medicare are left alone, then nevermind, they are targets, the Reps say that it has to be 2.4 Trillion, the Dems say OK, then that is not good enough for them. Every time the Dems try to negotiate and compromise in good faith, the Reps change the rules. It is enough. The Dems have already caved on virtually everything. What else needs to be done... just sign our paychecks over to big oil and big business? Keep calling them the job creators as they don't do a damned thing and rake in record profits while creating zero jobs? We kept the Bush tax cuts, we are always willing to bite the bullet to do what is best for the country. I am so angry and frustrated that again we are being played. Kill Social Security, kill Medicare and Medicaid, kill Head Start, kill environmental protections, kill fair wages, kill workers rights, and while you are at it, bring the whole friggin country down with you. And maybe the world economy.
Remember, when O'Connell first got elected, he said that his first priority was to make sure Obama wasn't re-elected. I just didn't think that they would be willing to take the entire country down to achieve their goals.
I have voted for a couple of Republicans in my life including John Warner and Tom Davis, but I can promise that it will never happen again.