S&P is a bunch of irresponsible f**ks

[Random.Capital]

Quote from bone:

The same way as the 47 States with balanced budget amendments - you do not spend any more money than you take in.

The States also have separate capital budgets.

It is not true that they only spend what they take in - they spend what they take in plus what they can afford to borrow. Picking a state at random - say, Maine - it has over $1B in state-incurred debt. Fully legally state incurred debt, fully compliant with the requirement that Maine's budget be "balanced".

It's really not all that different from what the federal gov't is doing, except that the debt ceiling is (more or less) formally tied to the ability to borrow, and the States can't print their own currency.

 

[adadadog]

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[bone]

Quote from Random.Capital:

The States also have separate capital budgets.

It is not true that they only spend what they take in - they spend what they take in plus what they can afford to borrow. Picking a state at random - say, Maine - it has over $1B in state-incurred debt. Fully legally state incurred debt, fully compliant with the requirement that Maine's budget be "balanced".

It's really not all that different from what the federal gov't is doing, except that the debt ceiling is (more or less) formally tied to the ability to borrow, and the States can't print their own currency.

Well, why don't you compare Indiana and Illinois - that illustrates the point to perfection.

 

[HeSaidSheSaid]

SEC should take away their license as being a credit grading agancy like they did with Arthur Andersen

 

[Random.Capital]

Quote from bone:

Well, why don't you compare Indiana and Illinois - that illustrates the point to perfection.

Why? The fact is that states with balanced budget requirements can and do routinely spend more than they take in. Just like the federal gov't, using much the same mechanisms.

Whether they do it "smart" or "stupid" is a separate question. If this is the question you actually want to talk about, then the direct inference is you don't have a problem with gov'ts spending more than they take in (or you wouldn't have used states' spending as an example), you just have a problem when the money is spent in ways you don't approve of.

Which is a perfectly reasonable position to take, frankly.

Alternately, you just didn't understand how state budgeting works, which is also fine, learning is a life long process, we all do it.

 

[Debaser82]

My country has the same credit rating now as the US.

The difference is we have a 4% deficit.

A 15% savingsrate.

A trade surplus.


Ofcourse we don't have a printing press.

 

[bone]

Quote from Random.Capital:

Alternately, you just didn't understand how state budgeting works, which is also fine, learning is a life long process, we all do it.

Facts are stubborn things: Indiana has a $1.5B budget surplus - in fact, the Governor just authorized performance peer reviewed based bonuses for public employees. Illinois is broke and broken - citizens and businesses are fleeing the state unless they are the ridiculously well compensated union public employees.

 

[bone]

Quote from Random.Capital:

Why? The fact is that states with balanced budget requirements can and do routinely spend more than they take in.

You do not want to admit the truth: the States with balanced budget amendments are in FAR better fiscal shape than the States without such laws. The states without balanced budget amendments are blue states. It would pain you to admit that fact.

 

[bone]

Quote from Random.Capital:

Whether they do it "smart" or "stupid" is a separate question.

No, it's not a seperate question - it is the PRIMARY question and you are dismissing the premise out of hand.

FACT: there are 43 States where the Governor has line item veto authority or the budget process. And those States are, of course, in the best fiscal shape.

DON'T SPEND MORE MONEY THAN YOU TAKE IN. PROBLEM SOLVED.