Credibility and Credit Ratings

Aug. 6, 2011


“American credit rating to AA+ instead of AAA”; too bad the ratings agency of Standard and Poor’s does not rate credibility! The place that America finds itself in, and sadly many of America’s friends, has much more to with credibility than credit worthiness. Supported in priciple by the other two horsemen of the apocalypse of the middle class, Thatcher and Mulroney, Ronald Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers in America for going on strike in 1981. Of course Reagan chose to take no notice of any issues that the controllers may have had, but behaved without conscience and the action predicted the ensuing 30 years of attacks on workers and public services.

Spawned from this behavior is free trade where corporations have more rights than people, IMF and World Bank policies that force privatization of public services in countries before lifesaving financial aid is provided, the belief that the only thing that matters is the free market, the purchase of the media to create a hospitable place for governments, corporations and the rich to attack the rights of the middle class and unions, the empowerment of organizations such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that have in reality no real reason to attack their middle class customers or unions but have been swept up in the decades of needless attacks and unnecessary mudslinging and amongst a list far too long for this letter a list of politicians such as Bush and Bush, Gingrich, Harper, Harris and even those that pretended to have a social conscience like Blair. Of course left of this list are the plethora radio personalities such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck who have made a living by doing nothing other spewing venom that serves the interest of the right and no one else.

If credibility were the measure by which a nation’s credit rating was established a lot of problems would exist for countries married to this mantra created 30 years ago. AA+ would very likely be but a hopeful target as the countries married to free trade and the free market have pronounced for thirty years that prosperity will abound if the free market is left to regulate itself and workers are provided no avenue to protect themselves or the pensions they have contributed to for a lifetime of work. Well for those that believe that economic prosperity is around the corner due to the free market perhaps you can loan 700 Billion dollars to the people who have been without work for years, can’t even hope for the slightest chance of dignity in retirement as companies and governments rape pension plans in some ridiculous battle cry of austerity and to name but one more of an endless list: hope for a better life for their children.

Well, we could hope that the equivalent 700 Billion dollars in the US and billions elsewhere that was found to line the pockets of the architects of the most recent economic meltdown in the US and around the world could be found to help families and workers, but this is not likely as those that are “one” with the policies of deregulation, privatization, free trade and free market are seemingly immune to the calls for help from the very people who for some reason keep electing them. Yes, credibility would be a good measure of credit worthiness and that credibility would only see it’s way back to AAA when elected officials acted truthfully and thoughtfully on behalf of all people and when the people that actually have the power took the time to vote in people that put all of us ahead of the very plans that were laid out for all to see when the three horsemen of the middle class apocalypse began their mission of destroying the middle class and trade unionism.

In Solidarity

Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
http://www.greybrucelabour.com/