Standard and Poors Rating Makes Americans Even Poorer

With the announcement of the downgrade in the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poors, the globally focused arbiter of credit rankings of most of the developed and even undeveloped nations of the world, of course Wall Street today took a huge dive, causing many an American, I would imagine, to head for the medicine cabinet and their Pepto Bismol.

In fact, in one of the local papers today there was an editorial cartoon which illustrated two baby boomers standing next to each other with one reading the headlines and commenting to the other, "There goes our retirement savings. At this rate, we'll have to have multiple jobs until we're 90!...with the next panel paning back showing the very same individuals standing in the unemployment line with the other one responding, "I admire your optimism..."

This latest news is once again being used by both political parties to continue to spin those plates in the air, even now many placing the "blame" on the Tea Party while using this latest crisis, of course, for their own election ends - including those claimed "Tea Party" candidates. We've got a third party, alright, but simply another to bring into this three ring circus.

Standard & Poors, whose roots harken back to the 1800's, is now headed by a gentleman who was born in Jakarta, India.

So I guess this downgrading could have been predicted by those in Washington.

I mean, India does have a great deal of our IT jobs, and was also formerly a British holding, which has had off and on conflicts with Pakistan, the country which bin Laden sought refuge and was killed by those Navy Seals, and the country in which Ms. Bhuto was killed a few years back after her extended exile, and who was also educated in Britain...Hmmm...

Not that I believe there is any truly political motive or bias and media spinning going on here...but...

I wonder, since our deficit is merely a paper debt to the Europeans funding our Federal Reserve, without any offsets, just who has been doing the bookkeeping for Washington all these many years?

I'm sure many of those foreign bankers are now scamming some of those rock bottom stocks also right about now, further being given an opportunity to facilitate a "corporate" takeover.

Another boomer and friend recently wrote me who also has a history similar to my own, and is now on the unemployment line.

Worked for over 20 years in the legal profession, about ten more in the travel industry, early in their career in banking and insurance, with also some work in the health care field thrown in for good measure and further diversifying their career portfolio.

All of those employers, of course, paid unemployment on their workforces behalf all those years he was working.

Got his first unemployment check today after working at an hourly position for less than six months before he was eventually laid off from there after a "ramp up."

He is now living high off the hog on $90 per week, less taxes.

While listening to the news hearing that his mortgage interest rates just might increase, and his retirement funds, or what he has left after using it during his unemployment which is basically gone, is now worth even less.

And is pretty much resigned to the fact that all those 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 dollars withheld from his paycheck for Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid most likely he will never, ever see.

Not with the dollar and America being downsized and downgraded.

And just think, with that great American invention, the computer and international online banking, those foreign moneylenders and bankers don't even have to pay for that expensive paper or ink anymore in actually printing our currency.