Standard & Poor's Dictates Austerity to USA

Yesterday the United States was confronted by a power far greater then itself, far more powerful than the Federal government, with greater authority than "we the people", accountable to no one and beholden only to themselves and their brother institutions such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and a small handful of other super large banks.

Who am I talking about? None other than the three big rating agencies, Standard & Poor's, Fitch and Moody's.

Make no mistake about it, in downgrading the United States' AAA rating, Standard & Poor's has made managing the national debt significantly more costly, which in turn is meant force US economic policy in the direction of a hard austerity policy.

It doesn't matter that the US is healthily solvent.

It doesn't matter that the USA defaulting due to an inability to pay the debt is about as likely as dinosaurs re-populating the Earth.

Indeed, nothing really matters, there is no counter argument because these agencies need explain their actions to no one.

Looking at Europe, it is Standard & Poor's and the other rating agencies who are running things in Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal. It is these rating agencies and their brother banks who have manufactured the crises around national debt and who are dictating the draconian austerity policy responses. When Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch speak, presidents, parliaments, prime ministers and legislatures listen, and take notes.

It should be remembered too that it was these same three rating agencies were the same agencies who certified all of those CDS's (credit default swaps) as solid and good investments right up to the 2008 financial collapse. Not being stupid, these three rating agencies certified these credit default swaps as solid, largely in their own interests and their buddies selling the bad debt. But jeez, all of this doesn't matter. After all, big capital is never accountable.

So, take note. This is how our free enterprise "democracies" work.