A divided government that seems stuck in perpetual gridlock, took the US economy to the brink of default, only to be saved by a last-minute agreement last week.
Apparently this was not enough for Standard & Poors (S&P), the debt rating agency which was not capable of warning about impending problems with Lehman Brothers, or with the mortgage debt crisis a couple of years ago.
S&P downgraded US debt from AAA to AA+ and the stock market which had been having one bad day after another for the past two weeks, had an absolutely horrendous day today. Over the last couple of weeks, the stock market has declined by a figure that is closing-in on 20%.
Meanwhile, the President has a mere 42% approval rating and Congress has a dismal 14% approval rating!
The polls notwithstanding, it should be immediately obvious to even the most casual observer that the citizens of the US do not think any of the politicians are doing anywhere near an acceptable job.
I think it is clear we are not simply approaching the brink of disaster; we are teetering on the very edge. The question before us now is: can any one of the political geniuses figure-out how to keep us from tumbling over that edge?
Apparently this was not enough for Standard & Poors (S&P), the debt rating agency which was not capable of warning about impending problems with Lehman Brothers, or with the mortgage debt crisis a couple of years ago.
S&P downgraded US debt from AAA to AA+ and the stock market which had been having one bad day after another for the past two weeks, had an absolutely horrendous day today. Over the last couple of weeks, the stock market has declined by a figure that is closing-in on 20%.
Meanwhile, the President has a mere 42% approval rating and Congress has a dismal 14% approval rating!
The polls notwithstanding, it should be immediately obvious to even the most casual observer that the citizens of the US do not think any of the politicians are doing anywhere near an acceptable job.
I think it is clear we are not simply approaching the brink of disaster; we are teetering on the very edge. The question before us now is: can any one of the political geniuses figure-out how to keep us from tumbling over that edge?
Ούτε οι πολιτικοί, ούτε οι πολίτες ξέρουμε πια τι μέλλει γενέσθαι. Είμαστε σε μια δίνη θανάτου. Μόνο ας ελπίσουμε στην πραγματική Δύναμη και Σοφία που είναι ο Θεός. Τα ανθρώπινα είναι όλα μπερδεμένα και ανήμπορα...
ReplyDeleteJohn, politicians in all the corners of the world are trying to balance on the tightrope between pleasing their voters and paying back their debts to their sponsors. Otherwise they would shut down the stock exchanges, impose a limit on the profit you can make out of other peoples' misery, cut down on their war expenses and other unnecessary waste, and invest in welfare and real economy (Greek oiko-nomia= sorting out their houses).
ReplyDeleteStavroula and Antoni - thanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteYou're both right. I keep hoping for some sanity to return to the systems in both countries.