Debt Ceiling Uncertainty Puts States at Risk

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

The federal debt ceiling debate is already complicating life for state and local governments.

Maryland is postponing a bond sale that had been scheduled for Friday, after the state was warned that its credit rating would probably be lowered in the event of a federal downgrade. California, which typically issues short-term bonds at this time of year, is working to arrange bank loans instead, citing the market uncertainty. And state officials across the nation are trying to figure out what will happen to the federal payments they rely on for everything from Medicaid to unemployment to highway construction if a deal is not reached to raise the debt ceiling by the Aug. 2 deadline.

States whose economies rely on the federal government — including Maryland and Virginia, home to many federal employees and contractors — are at the greatest risk if there is no agreement and Washington has to decide which payments to make and which to skip. They were among the states warned by Moody’s Investors Service this week that their credit ratings were being jeopardized by Washington — which would make it more expensive for them to borrow for costs like construction, through no fault of their own.

“For nearly 75 years we have worked hard to earn the highest credit ratings from all three rating agencies,” Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia, a Republican, wrote this week to President Obama and members of Congress, urging them to raise the debt limit. “Now your failure to get the job done is hurting the businesses and citizens of our commonwealth.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/22/us/politics/22states.html

[DCBob]

1. I think stories like this will force both sides to make a deal...

This is no longer a political game.. there are real consequences. This is just the beginning of the shit hitting the fan if they dont raise the debt ceiling in time.

[bitchkitty]

2. self delete dupe n/t

[bitchkitty]

3. I'm sure they will, just in time. n/t

.

[No Elephants]

4. Various Republicans have been admitting in interviews for a while now that they know the ceiling

must be raised, "but August 2 is not a real deadline."

They been admitting that after a lot of blustering about spending and so forth, and only on those increasingly rarer occasions when the interviewer has actually attempted to do his or her job, rather than simply reading the next question off the teleprompter.

(I cannot stand Republicans, but faux journalists (and this time I mean faux, not Fox) are on my list of low lifes in politics, too.)

[RickFromMN]

5. Even if the debt ceiling is raised, how will the Tea Party policy of less government affect them?

I thought, if the Tea Party had its way, there would be less government.

This would mean less government employees and less government contractors.

Wouldn't states, like Virginia and Maryland, suffer anyway?

Won't Moody's have to downgrade their credit ratings no matter what?