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Took those lazy rating agencies a while. - 1.6 Trillion budget deficit - 14 Trillion national debt - 55 Trillion US total debt - 115 Trillion Unfunded liabi
by chailatte 15y ago
Took those lazy rating agencies a while.
- 1.6 Trillion budget deficit
- 14 Trillion national debt
- 55 Trillion US total debt
- 115 Trillion Unfunded liabilities
- 17% U6 unemployment
- 45.8 Million Americans on Food Stamps
- 52 Million Americans without health insurance
- 1/2 of mortgages are underwater
- 63% labor participation rate, lowest since early 80s
- -5% in Real medium household income in the last 10 years
- 25% of US households have zero or negative net worth
- 1 out of every 45 households was hit with foreclosure
- average length of unemployment is now 40 weeks
- wtallis 15y agoThe S&P rating is only an assessment of risk in the US Treasury bonds, not a general rating of entire US economy.
- _delirium 15y agoIn particular, their statement seems to claim that it's almost entirely due to their view that the U.S. might choose not to pay back its bonds, not that it couldn't; when explaining what's changed since previous assessments, their statement mainly focuses on the political will to service debt.
- joezydeco 15y agoListen to the Planet Money podcast. Lots of factors are considered, including political ones.
- watchandwait 15y agoThat's wrong, the GDP and expected GDP is a big part of the rating-- known as the "capacity to repay".
- wtallis 15y agoDoesn't the phrase "capacity to repay" make it clear that GDP matters only to the extent that it is a risk factor?