Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Kevin Dayhoff The Tentacle: Turn off the faucet on spending …and the lights

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4559

Kevin E. Dayhoff

It was a tough day in the world’s dystopian financial markets Monday as turmoil over the global economy turned into wide-eyed, white-knuckle fear and liquidity began a desperate search for a safe place to spend the night.

Watching the drama unfold was like watching the sequel to a “B” horror movie. Last Friday the stock market lost 4 percent of its value and last Thursday the Dow Jones Industrial Stock Average dropped 512 points.

The S&P 500 is now down more than 11 percent in three days, according to The Washington Post.

On Monday, the Dow fell 634 points, or 5.5 percent, according to numerous media reports including The New York Times, which noted that stocks suffered its sharpest drop since 2008 – since Dec. 1, 2008, to be exact.

“Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the United States’ credit rating late Friday night heighten[ed] the economic anxiety coursing the country, a reality that threatens to have outsized political consequences as we head into the 2012 election,” observed Chris Cillizza writing for The Washington Post.

The story of the S&P’s Sovereign Ratings Committee to downgrade the nation’s credit rating for the first time since it began assessing the credit-worthiness of countries in 1941 quickly become one of a panicked sell-off in the stock market.

The financial world was certainly not reassured when the response by the Obama Administration to S&P’s dramatic decision was to blame the Tea Party “terrorists” and “tyrants” for the nation’s economic malaise.

Someday we will be thankful that S&P downgraded the nation’s credit rating and for the advocacy of the Tea Party to stop deficit spending...

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4559

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