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Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s headquarters are seen in the financial district of New York. It’s unlikely that the agency’s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating will spur Washington to take the necessary steps to reduce the country’s debt. (Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images / August 6, 2011)
By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times
August 7, 2011
Reporting from Washington—- The historic decision by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the U.S. credit rating may provoke some havoc in financial markets this week, but it’s unlikely to deliver the shock necessary to prod Washington politicians to take the unpopular steps required to cut the nation’s debt.
A key to the political effects of the downgrade will be the reaction of financial markets Monday.
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