Breaking: S & P To Downgrade US

From Jake Tapper:

A government official tells ABC News that the federal government is expecting and preparing for bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the rating of US debt from its current AAA value.

Officials reasons given will be the political confusion surrounding the process of raising the debt ceiling, and lack of confidence that the political system will be able to agree to more deficit reduction. A source says Republicans saying that they refuse to accept any tax increases as part of a larger deal will be part of the reason cited. [Emphasis mine]

No, because a bipartisan budget was passed which was crap. Not because the Republicans (at least the Tea Party faction) wanted real cuts in spending. Not projected cuts in future spending 10 years down the road where no other Congress is bound to make those cuts.

This at CNBC:

U.S. government officials are bracing for the rating agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the country’s credit as early as this evening, according to someone familiar with the matter.

Throughout Friday, markets were rife with speculation that S&P, which has had a negative outlook on the U.S. since April 18, would downgrade the country’s credit from its current triple-A level.

On July 14, S&P put the government on a credit watch with negative implications, meaning there was at least a one in two chance the U.S.’s long-term debt would be downgraded within 90 days.

Thanks to Jason for the last link.