Standard and Poor's downgrades US to AA+

[Riot]

Washington Post:

House and Senate Republicans have rallied around the notion of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution as a solution to the country’s dire fiscal straits. But over the weekend, the head of Standard & Poor’s sovereign ratings division dismissed the idea, arguing that it would be more harmful than helpful to the country’s creditworthiness.

“In general, we think that fiscal rules like these just diminish the flexibility of the government to respond” to crises, S&P managing director John Chambers told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Saturday when asked whether it’s important that Congress send a balanced budget amendment to the states in order to restore the country’s AAA credit rating.

Chambers made the remarks one day after S&P downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ for the first time in the country’s history.

Since the start of the 112th Congress, Republicans in both chambers have voiced increasing support for a balanced budget amendment, and a pledge to “cut, cap and balance” the federal budget — first raised during the debate over raising the country’s debt ceiling — has become a rallying point among conservatives in the broader battle over the federal budget.