Thumbs up, Fitzpatrick, Christie

These politicians got it right.

Thumbs up to Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick for raising serious questions about Standard & Poor’s devastating decision to downgrade America’s credit rating.
Since S&P’s action, the stock market has plunged and boomeranged, threatening the retirement accounts of millions of Americans.
Not unfamiliar territory for S&P.

Fitzpatrick notes that “five days before the major bankruptcies of Enron and Worldcom, they were rated as investment grade (by S&P). These guys are frequently not accurate,” he said.

No kidding!
Recall that the firm gave triple-A ratings to securities made up of high-risk, sub-prime mortgage loans. When millions of financially insecure homeowners defaulted on those loans, the securities collapsed in value, igniting the 2008 financial crisis.

A member of the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Fitzpatrick’s comments might help convince the Senate Banking Committee to do what it’s threatening to do: investigate the S&P decision.

Sounds like a good idea. Commendations to Fitzpatrick for weighing in on the issue.

Also, thumbs up to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s three-word response to Port Authority plans to raise the tolls on its tunnels and bridges, already among the most expensive in the country, by a whopping $4. “You’re kidding, right?” the governor said, calling the proposal a testament to mismanagement.

The Port Authority proposal would boost the daily cost of entering New York City from New Jersey to $12. That’s $60 a week, $240 a month — practically a car payment.

While this poses just an occasional expense to most of us here in Bucks County, we draw attention to Christie’s comments as an example to officials here: When government or its agencies threaten to dip into our pockets with impunity, those we elect to represent us should not mince words in coming to our defense.