Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the daunting fiscal challenges our country faces and the urgent need for comprehensive bipartisan action to address our Nation's debt. As we debate the path to securing our country's fiscal future, Greece is battling to keep from defaulting on its bonds. It is in the news. There are legitimate concerns that a default in Greece would send shock waves through the world financial markets, with an impact potentially as devastating as the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers. To avert bankruptcy, Greece has enacted austerity measures so drastic that violent rioting has broken out in its streets. Despite these measures, and despite the aid of other European countries, many economists believe Greece will eventually succumb to its rising debt burden and default. Standard & Poors warned Monday that even with the planned bailout by European banks, Greece's credit rating could be still downgraded to ``selective default.'' While better than a full- blown default, this will almost certainly roil the markets and cut off Greece's access to credit. Alarmingly, Standard & Poor's gave a similar warning to the United States last week. In a statement to Reuters, Standard & Poors said it would drop the United States triple A rating to ``selective default'' if the Treasury Department misses its repayment on $30 billion in maturing bills on August 4.…”